It took Terre Thaemlitz until he was 30 to come to terms with his weird name.

But by the time he had decided his career and life pather were as a "transgendered queer who does sexy stuff", he realised that his parents' decision to tag him with such a sobriquet was felicitous.

"My brothers had good German names, Carl and John, (but) my name, and the fact I wore glasses, immediately put me outside the viable male category. It was difficult growing up," Thaemlitz says.

This weekend he's headlinging Fabrique, an electro-acoustic night at the Brisbane Powerhouse. He'll be presenting his "analysis of lvoe as a cultural mechanism," or Lovebomb, a show which combines digitally processed word samples to narrate scenarios of global violence.

"I use music as a form of discourse, rather than subjective expression," he says.

"It's important for me to get around what's standard for computer performance, the kind of thing where a guy - literally and overwhelmingly a guy - sits behind a PowerBook and creates the sounds.

"Lovebomb is a real chance for the producer and audience to share feedback."

Thaemlitz has made a name for himself in the world of computer-based music, spreading the sounds via his own company, Comatonse Recordings.

"My music appeals to people who have no idea what they are getting themselves into," he says.

"A lot of my performances are at art institutions, because a project like Lovebomb is about presenting music as a critique." (Note: that sort of generosity towards art institutions doesn't sound like me...! - Terre)

Thaemlitz starts his performance by talking about his theme, then presents the audio and video part of the show. Then there's a discussion between him and his audience.

"The thing that I really enjoy is when people ask smart questions, so there's a second layer of thinking and that helps me maybe change the show."

Lovebomb, presented by Room 40, at the Brisbane Powerhouse, 9:30pm, June 12