The dub/trip-hop production team Otaku came together in San Francisco in 1998, originally to soundtrack an art exhibition comprising alien artifacts. Brothers Colonel 32 and NaN had already been recording for several years, however, utilizing the reams of samples collected on their hard drives as well as their growing mixing skills. Influenced by earthy beat-oriented scenes from hip-hop, dub, the Orb, and Brooklyn's illbient scene, the pair recorded Bitwise Operators and released it on the Malvado label in mid-2000. They also composed the title track for an internet-only sci-fi series named Pix and Rez. ~ John Bush, Rovi