A true veteran of the indie sound art and electronic music scene, Hal McGee has been mining the possibilities of sound for 40 years. From his earliest collage experimentations with Viscera, and on to his electronic solo electronic explorations as Dog As Master and his many collaborations with other artists, Hal has produced a body of work that is essential listening for anyone interested in the sound and electronic avant-garde. Electronics, field recordings, words... anything that constitutes SOUND... are the ingredients for Hal's sonic sculptures. His music isn't for the car stereo, but instead requires a more active, and certainly attentive, role on the part of the listener, who benefits most from the experience when the sounds are savored and slowly digested over repeated listens.
~ Jerry Kranitz, Aural Inovations


Hal McGee is an American experimental artist and producer, active since 1981. With Debbie Jaffe, McGee operated the Cause And Effect cassette label and distributor in Indianapolis, Indiana. In the mid-1980's, McGee recorded works as a member of Viscera and Dog As Master, and in collaboration with If, Bwana aka Al Margolis.

McGee moved to Florida in 1988, where he operated the Electronic Cottage label out of Gainesville, FL, simultaneously with an Electronic Cottage Magazine into the 1990's. This was restarted as an online zine and community in April 2018.

In the mid to late 1990's, McGee released dozens of cassettes of homemade experimental music, solo and in collaboration with Jeph Jerman, Brian Noring, Big City Orchestra, Emil Hagstrom, Charles Rice Goff III and many others. He also produced a series of Tape Heads cassette compilations on his own HalTapes label.

In the late 1990's and early 2000's Hal McGee started releasing homemade CDr albums. During this time he collaborated heavily with Brian Noring of the FDR Tapes, in person and via mail collaboration, and with his long-time partner Chris Phinney. In 2006, with the encouragement of Andrew Chadwick and Christopher Miller, McGee began performing live for the first time since 1987, joining the ranks of Florida's live noise/experimental music scene. From 2014 to 2015 Hal operated a new label, Kassette Kult Tapes, and has contributed to Exit (16). He continues to release music on the HalTapes label.

Since 2008 Hal has hosted a numbered series of live performances from his apartment called Apartment Music. Attendance is limited mostly to participants but documentation is posted on his YouTube channel, and some live audio recordings have been released.
~ from Discogs
www.discogs.com/artist/424754-Hal-McGee
www.electroniccottage.org/hal-mcgee