Thinkbox (thinkbox.ca) was a loose new media collective of media artists that work at the intersection of electronic sound and video – one iteration calls them ‘project based sound artists’. At least 4 of these artists have sound,music releases, in 2009 and 2010 inlcuding Bissonnette, McNamara, Theakston,and Van Loo. Their work as a collective appears to be a series of live video and sound performances, a compilation of largely guitar based electronica and ambient sound design. As with much sound art and especially live, improvised, collaborative work – the work of the Thinkbox collective tends to exist only as event posters and the (substantial) independent releases and works of the artist’s involved.
The Thinkbox collective is based in and around Windsor, Ontario – across the river and border from Detroit – with all of its attendent musical history. The Detroit based www.metrotimes.com predictably places Thinkbox in the context of Techno’s genesis, development and bifurcation as moving the techno/electronic aesthetic betond the club dance floors to the gallery and museum space.
Given the timing however (2003-2008) it would seem more likely that Thinkbox were rather more influenced by the increasingly ubiquity of (largely eurpoean) post glitch ambient electronica of the form popularised by the likes of Christopher Fennesz or the ‘Artic Ambience’ of Biosphere. That claim appears reinforced by the individual releases of Christopher Bissonnette one of the founding members of the collective.A sound and graphic designer, Bissonnette use of the guitar and field recordings recalls both Fennesz and perhaps Oren Ambarchi and fellow Canadian (Vancouver) Loscil. Other members of the collective include Mark Laliberte (http://www.marklaliberte.com/index2.html) - an independent curator , ‘project-based’ artist and experimental poet – who also performs ambient soundscape/design work – his Pillow Scenes Soundworks marked the first and only CD release for the collective. Mark has been heavily involved with the Zine culture and currently produces the design/pictorial magazine Carousel (http://www.carouselmagazine.ca/) while exhibiting a wide range of intermedia and installation works that are united by the kind of countercultural cool that belies their zine-culture influences. Chris McNamara is a Windsor based video artist who teaches new media at the University of Michigan. Chris also works with collaborator Dermot Wilson under the name Machydem Inc. – mostly producing film and digital video projects. Steve Roy, Rob Theakston – an electronic music producer working a similar vein to that of Bissonette -with a slightly more dissonant edge- and Bill van Loo – an electronic music producer who also works with guitar to produce live ambient electronica (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGgsCV7gh88).