Brainbox

Location: Canada

Brainbox is Toronto based man of digital manipulation, Tom Third. His latest release is titled Primordia. Last known under the moniker Brothers and Systems, Tom has resurfaced with a new musical direction and new name.

Tom Third's first Nettwerk release was Brothers and Systems' Transcontinental Weekend: a cross-pollination between soul, funk, bossa nova, hip hop, house and technology.

Primordia, better defined as the existence from or at the beginning of time, would best describe Tom's new disposition and musical nuances. The name Brainbox was born out of a book Tom was reading while on vacation in Costa Rica. When asked, "Why Brainbox?", he replied, "Well, it's like food - I just liked the taste."

Before signing to Nettwerk in 1991, Tom worked alone with a four track tape recorder and various synthesizers to release his music independently. His background in film making and knowledge of general audio recording led him into soundtrack work for various art projects including his collaboration with performance artist Meryn Cadell on her single, The Sweater, and a remix on her single, Barbie. Tom also traveled to Madrid with installation artist Philip Barker to perform a live soundtrack for his piece Campos Magneticos and he produced a talking book, Ungulate Siesta, with avant garde poet Christopher Dewdney.

To classify the sound of Brainbox under one genre would be extremely difficult. Tom explains that Primordia is "cocktail music of the future" or "electronic listening music." He explains, "This is music you can listen to when you have your friends over."

(from 1994)