Biography
Dego McFarlane balances his work in house-infused intelligent jungle alongside Mark Mac under the 4 Hero name by issuing ragga, trip-hop, and drum'n'bass material through the Tek 9 alias. That endeavor started in 1991 once 4 Hero had already put out four EPs on the Reinforced imprint the pair founded. Dego first cut the Kingdom of Dub EP, then laid down the ragga classic "A London Sumtin'" with Manifest and Cheewa adding toasts; although tracked as Code 071, the single eventually surfaced under the Tek 9 banner. Throughout 1993 and 1994 he devoted minimal attention to Tek 9 while operating the Tom & Jerry label and focusing on 4 Hero sessions. He later revived the project via the EPs The Return of Tek 9, 'Breakin Sound Barriers, and Killing Time before issuing Tek 9's first full-length, It's Not What You Think It Is!!?!, in 1996. That debut took a gentler direction than the preceding singles, favoring downtempo, hip-hop, and house textures over ragga jungle. Following an intensive stretch devoted to 4 Hero, Dego resurfaced at the end of 1999 with Tek 9's sophomore album, Simply.