Stephen Vitiello is a sound and media artist. CD releases include “Bright and Dusty Things” (New Albion Records), “Listening to Donald Judd” (Sub Rosa) and “The Gorilla Variations”, with Molly Berg (12k). Vitiello’s sound installations have been presented internationally, including exhibitions at the Cartier Foundation, Paris, the Whitney Museum of American Art in NY and the High Line, also in NYC. Originally from NY, Stephen is now based in Richmond, VA.
Rutger Zuydervelt records as Machinefabriek and is based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Zuydervelt's numerous EPs and albums are partly self released, and on labels such as Dekorder, Type, Staalplaat, Root Strata, Experimedia and Spekk. Collaborations have included Peter Broderick, Steinbrüchel, Andrea Belfi, Tim Catlin and many more. For the last few years Zuydervelt output also included music for art projects, films, and dance performances.

Vitiello and Zuydervelt teamed up for the first time on “Box Music”, released in 2009 on 12K. Each composer sent the other a box, containing various (non musical) objects. Sound recordings of these objects were then manipulated and used to build the music on the album. This fruitful collaboration continued at the send+receive festival in Winnipeg and Montreal, where the two met for the first time. Again, both artists compiled a box for the other. The boxes were presented at the start of the concert. Without knowing what would be inside, they improvised with the surprises found in the boxes. The recording of these playful concerts were edited for this CD, “Birds in a Box”, adding a remix by Ezekiel Honig.