The Black Dog

Techno / Electronica / Experimental

Sheffield, United Kingdom

Billboard

The Black Dog are one of the seminal artists in techno and electronica Inspired by hanging out at the KLF's Trancentral studio, The Black Dog started putting out records that were influential across the world. Soon established as Britain's leading left-field techno group, The Black Dog were defined the Artificial Intelligence sound and released truly legendary albums such as Spanners, Bytes and Temple of Transparent Balls. They also established themselves as one of the few truly great live acts in techno, able to conjure up extraordinary sounds and riotous grooves that simply tore up the clubs. No-one sounded quite like the Black Dog then, and no-one does now, and the band is healthier now than it has ever been. Now kennelled with the Dust Science label, The Black Dog has since 2005 released two highly acclaimed CDs (Silenced and The Book of Dogma), as well putting out both a re-mastered version of the Virtual and Techno Playtime EPs and seven new singles. The Dog has attracted huge attention as a result, and an LP for Glasgow's Soma label is due for release in the Winter. But what has always sustained The Black Dog is the enormous groundswell of popular support for the group's live shows. The band crosses the dividing line between live set and DJ set with ease, and is able to both twist minds and rock parties - often simultaneously. Hence their international reputation and popularity, with dozens of gigs across Europe including performances in front of 45,000 people at Spain's Monegros Festival and a stellar performance at The Glade. The Black Dog have matured into one of the few must-see acts in dance music and electronica.

The Black Dog was formerly the trio of Ken Downie, Ed Handley, and Andy Turner, also known at the time as Black Dog Productions. Ed and Andy left to pursue their own project, Ken continued with several different line ups of Black Dog before choosing to work with Martin and Richard Dust from Dust Science Recordings after a long break from the music scene