Ken Downie joined up with Ed Handley and Andy Turner (of Plaid), in 1988 to form Black Dog Productions, a secretive east London techno crew. Their first EP on Black Dog Records emerged a year later, and subsequent releases consolidated their reputation as creators of some of the U.K.’s finest abstract techno. Their debut full-length album BYTES was released as part of Warp’s Artificial Intelligence series in '93. One of the highlights of the series, it garnered production work for the group, notably on remixes for Nicolette and Björk. In '95, Handly and Turner returned to Plaid, leaving Downie to uphold Black Dog as a solo project.