German techno/house musician Ian Pooley (real name Ian Pinnekamp) debuted as half of T'N'I, a duo with dj Thomas "Tonka" Gerlach that released the EP Low Mass (Force Inc, 1991). The two morphed into Space Cube and eventually parted ways.

His early singles were collected on the first full-length under his own name, The Times (Force Inc, 1996). Meridian (V2, 1998) was substantially different from the "hard" style that had made his fortune, incorporating elements of pop, disco, soul and even jazz.