The group was founded by Ken Downie along with Ed Handley and Andy Turner. In 1989, they were unable to find a label to back their releases and had to start their own, Black Dog Productions. Their first full-length album, Bytes, was released on the 15th of March 1993. Their music was often produced under a number of different names, such as Close Up Over, Xeper, Atypic, I.A.O., Balil and the Discordian Popes. In 1995, Ed and Andy left Ken, who continued working as The Black Dog on his own for a while, releasing the solo album "Music for Adverts". With new management, and an increased vigour, Downie then teamed up with Steve 'Hotdog' Ash and Ross Knight. Though they completed over a dozen critically acclaimed remixes during this period, only one album was ever released "Unsavoury Products", which featured the talents of parisian beat poet 'Black Sifichi' on vocals. In 2001, Downie teamed up with Richard and Martin Dust, owners of the label "Dust Science Recordings". Since the