Much is made of Detroit techno progenitors proximity to the auto plants.Similarly, overlooked electronic pioneer Jeff Phelps was raised just blocks from a Western Pennsylvania steel millclose enough to smell the sulphur and hear the roaring blast furnace. When Tascam released theirground breaking Portastudio in 1984allowing multi tracking on the far more financially inclusive cassette tapePhelps purchased one immediately, and quickly added aRoland SH-101 monophonic synthesizer, Fender Rhodes suitcase piano, Roland drum machine, and a basic Radio Shack stereo mic. Those basic tools were employed on his first commercial productions for his own Engineered For Sound label: 1985s Magnetic Eyes LP and Antoinettes Now Youre Gone 45. These DIY sketches generated few profits, and Phelps kept his day job in the energy business.

Jeff Phelps eventually found his way back into performanceand recording, starting with The Next Level Band near the end of the decade. Houston gourmands might have caught them at the opening of Texass first Cheesecake Factory. Magnetic Eyes has already had a few lives, between TomLabs 2010 replica pressing and inclusion on Dante Carfagnas genre-defying Personal Space compilation. This 2021 edition features theheretofore un-re-released second mix, completed after discovering flaws in the initial 1985 pressing. Enjoy this technically perfect, artist-approved version of a visionary techno-adjacentmasterwork.