California based Terre Thaemlitz is one of the most original voices in contemporary Electronica. On albums such as Couture Cosmetique, Means From An End, and the Kraftwerk 'tribute' Die Roboter Rubato, plus the 12"s released on his Comatonse label, Thaemlitz uses textural motifs to explore theoretical issues surrounding the creation and reception of music. Institutional Collaborative documents a sound-file exchange with journalist/computer musician Dowe. According to the duo, "Track titles for Institutional Collaborative are based on a formula of 'track number/exchange path of source materials/time,' so the 'DTD' in '03/DTD/05:56' refers to a 3-part audio exchange starting with Dowe, then Thaemlitz and Dowe again. We did most of the work on this track in June of 1997. One of Institutional Collaborative's themes is the collapse of the Ambient Marketplace of the late '80s and early '90s, and how that conditions the production and reception of electroacoustic music. There are several allusions to 'marketable' Ambient music, some more obvious and satirical than others, such as the 'moog in a drippy cave' quality of this track's initial generated sounds. The primary processing technique remains the same as the track progresses, but the sound begins sonically and statistically evolving toward more notably digital results."
Mille Plateaux is distributed by SRD