The almost accidental aquisition of the Synthi 100 synthesizer at the studio at Indiana University-South Bend directed by Barton, along with McLean's immersion in the work of Ianis Xenakis while composing in Xenaks's studio in Bloomington, ushered McLean into a new sound world where traditional elements such as harmony, melody, timbre were scrambled, overturned, and forged into a new, more original and personal creative voice. The seminal work in this period was his Dimensions II for Piano and tape with its experimental notation and lush textures. Several other works, soon recorded on Orion and CRI, formed a solid stable of electroacoustic compositions. During this period the music of Morton Subotnick was seminal in McLean's work, especially in his Spirals