by John Bush
 
When hes not crafting house-inspired, intelligent jungle with his partner Mark Mac as 4 Hero, Dego McFarlane records ragga, trip-hop, and drumnbass as Tek 9. The side project began in 1991, after 4 Hero had released four EPs on the duos Reinforced label. Dego initially recorded the Kingdom of Dub EP, and then recorded (with Manifest and Cheewa toasting over the top) the ragga classic A London Sumtin as Code 071 — though the single appeared later as Tek 9. During 1993-1994, Dego worked only sparingly as Tek 9 while running his Tom & Jerry label and working on 4 Hero material. He later returned to the project with several EPs — The Return of Tek 9, Breakin Sound Barriers, and Killing Time — and in 1996 released Tek 9s debut album, Its Not What You Think It Is!!?! The album charted a mellower course than the early EPs, concentrating more on downtempo, hip-hop, and house than ragga jungle. After a busy two years working on 4 Hero material, Dego returned in late 1999 with the second Tek 9 LP, Simply.