Book of Dogma cover

Book of Dogma

Recorded
1989-1995
Released

To understand how IDM became whatever it is, The Black Dog is as good a place to start as any. They’re from Sheffield, like Warp, and absolutely demonstrate how producers began in the mode of making dancefloor records and then quickly faded into some other thing entirely. Originally Ken Downie, Ed Handley and Andy Turner, The Black Dog only retained its original lineup for a few years. In that time, though, they sketched out a lot of what IDM came out of and went into. Book of Dogma is maybe their most unpretentious and fun album, a collection of their first six EPs. They haven’t even decided what they are doing, and flirt with hip-hop and house—they even sample Stevie Wonder. By the end of the album, they’re making music closer to something like ambient and they’re naming their tracks  with vaguely Authechre-ish titles: “Vir2l” and “Vanttool.”

Sasha Frere-Jones

Recommended by

Suggestions
Risp LP cover

Risp LP

Richard Devine
Koch cover

Koch

Lee Gamble
Pomegranates cover

Pomegranates

Nicolas Jaar
Syro cover

Syro

Aphex Twin
Intra cover

Intra

Drumming, Mark Fell
Amber cover

Amber

Autechre
Vlsi cover

Vlsi

Monolake
Dark Humor cover

Dark Humor

Jana Rush