Jeff Phelps – Magnetic Eyes

When Tascam launched the groundbreaking Portastudio in 1984, which allowed multitracking on the far less expensive cassette tape, Phelps immediately bought one and quickly added a Roland SH-101 monophonic synthesizer, a Fender Rhodes case piano, a Roland drum machine and a simple Radio Shack stereo microphone.

These basic tools were used to create his first commercial productions for his own label Engineered For Sound: the 1985 LP Magnetic Eyes and the 45 LP Now You're Gone by Antoinette. These DIY sketches yielded little profit, and Phelps kept his day job in the energy business. Jeff Phelps eventually found his way back to performing and recording and began the Next Level Band toward the end of the decade. Houston foodies may have seen them at the opening of Texas' first Cheesecake Factory.

"Magnetic Eyes" has already had a few lives, from the TomLab replica pressing in 2010 to its inclusion on Dante Carfagna's genre-bending Personal Space compilation. This 2021 edition features the previously unreleased second mix, completed after errors were discovered in the original 1985 pressing. Enjoy this technically perfect, artist-approved version of a visionary techno-inspired masterpiece.