Another inseparable quality was colorful ambition. At the end of the 1999 Christmas holiday, Gabe and Michael finished a compilation titled Figure Concord under the sobriquet "Museum." Copies of a disc and an eight-page booklet were sent to friends and a few labels; also, to Alan Wilder, a former member of Depeche Mode whose work was an inspiration, and who openly accepted discs from fans.

"We believed in the work," says Michael, "and although promotion is to be undertaken without shame both Gabe and I acknowledge some embarrassment about flashing our peculiar, bombastic little album. In a cover letter, with such preterition, I asked Alan for a leg up, or at least a good word. He sent back an autographed glossy and a tactfully reticent answer. We took this as good reason to focus less on great expectations and more on music."