Headset

The brainchild of producer, DJ, and Plug Research label owner Allen Avanessian, the loose project Headset went from dreams to reality when Avanessian was contacted by ~scape label head Stefan Betke. Betke's request for a track for a compilation prompted Avanessian to call Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, Figurine, and the Postal Service. Avanessian laid out his idea of rounding up producers and MCs in the same manner 4AD label owner Ivo Watts-Russell had rounded up musicians for This Mortal Coil. Like Watts-Russell's project, the members of Headset would share an aesthetic. Possible collaborators had to be future-minded and embrace electronics. John Tejada, Daedelus, Thomas Fehlmann, Beans, and Shadow Huntaz fit the bill and were soon involved. Combining cutting-edge electronica with envelope-pushing hip-hop, Headset made its debut in 2001, with the track "Dustmite" appearing on ~scape's Staedtizism 2 compilation. Three years later the full-length Spacesettings appeared on Plug Research in North America and ~scape in Europe.