Tek 9 is one of many pseudonyms used by British-born Dennis ‘Dego’ McFarlane, best known for his work with breakbeat duo 4hero. He came to prominence as 4hero’s Dego and created layered, house music-inspired jungle with his bandmate Mark Mac. In order to explore dance and electronica’s many sub-genres, Dego McFarlane chose to release his experimentations under a variety of pseudonyms including Cousin Cockroach, Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, Mr. Good Good, Dollis Hill, Da True B-Boy Descendant and Tek 9. The Tek 9 project, which explored mellower forms of electronica and hip-hop including downtempo - began in 1991 with the single “Kingdom of Dub”. After numerous singles and EPs under the Tek 9 name – “Just a Dream” (1992), “The Return of Tek 9” (1993), “Killing Time” (1994) and more – he released his debut album, It’s Not What You Think It is !?!!, in 1996. That debut was followed by Simply (1999), Tek 9 (2019), and Vintage (2021). While Tek 9 is not a ‘prolific’ artist, Dego McFarlane remains busy with 4hero and his other pseudonyms.
