idm · techno · ambient

The Black Dog

idmtechnoambientelectronic

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265 996

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6 763

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265 996

Last.fm listeners

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About

Adopting the common euphemism for depression as their name, The Black Dog are often credited with "inventing" the IDM style of music in producing a style of dance music equally enjoyable in the comfort of one's living room. The group was founded by Ken Downie along with Ed Handley and Andy Turner, who would later produce music under the Plaid moniker. Initially they were unable to find a label to back their releases and had to start their own, Black Dog Productions, for their pioneering debut Virtual. Their success with Virtual and later singles would lead to releases on several labels including GPR, Rising High and most famously Warp Records, for whom they entrusted their first full-length album Bytes in 1993. Their music was often produced under a variety of aliases, such as Close Up Over, Xeper, Atypic, I.A.O., Balil and Discordian Popes. These were often names for the different projects of the three artists individually. Following 1995's Spanners, their second album for Warp, Ed and Andy departed from Black Dog Productions to work full-time on their project Plaid. Ken Downie continued to work in The Black Dog solo, and later a brief stint with Steve Ash and Ross Knight for the album Unsavoury Products. Ken would later join forces with Richard and Martin Dust, owners of the label Dust Science Recordings, for The Black Dog's most stable lineup - from 2005's Silenced to Ken Downie's passing in 2025. Their work over two decades would see them explore minimal techno and ambient (including a "contemporary reply" to Eno's Music For Airports with the more dystopian Music For Real Airports) alongside an aesthetic shift from ancient civilisations towards brutalist architecture and depictions of modern Sheffield. RIP Ken Downie 20/12/25 .

Source: Last.fm

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