THE COMPILATION

Collaboration went on for the next two and a half years, a slow-moving side project to studies and, for Gabe, more immediate musical commitments. Michael brought a computer to the dormitory with him in the fall of 1998, devoting hours outside of class time to techniques in editing and producing.

"This was pure exploration," notes Michael, "I was mostly playing around — even if electronic music weren't, as Quincy Jones put it, 'Like painting a 747 with Q-Tips.'" Whereas Gabe had written during this time, for a four-piece back home, a score of tunes, the side project resulted in no more than half a dozen.