Over the summer of 1997, sounds were collected with Gabe's four-track tape recorder; transferred to computer and spliced into layered rhythms. "The program wasn't multitrack, so placing one phrase over another was tedious, and would have been unbearable if we had done it once before in our lives. Instead, those sessions went by like the aimless joy of somebody opening MS Paint for the first time."

By the middle of August, a two-minute percussion instrumental was complete. As Gabe readied for his junior year, Michael returned to Syracuse with a cassette tape of the tiny production. The recording was played for a few friends and then stowed, but the successful project gave the two confidence in their work and its unique methods, as well as curiosity about what else Gabe and Michael could put together — and where that might take them.