Carbon/Silicon

By the summer of 2003, Jones and James had two full albums' worth of material ready, but realized that due to sample clearance issues most of it would probably never see an authorized release. Rather than let the material go unheard, Jones and James posted two albums online as free downloads, Sample This -- Peace and Dope Factory Boogie, credited to the group name Carbon/Silicon. Given the impressive résumé of the two frontmen, word spread quickly about Carbon/Silicon, and the free albums became popular items on peer-to-peer music-sharing sites. In the spring of 2004, Carbon/Silicon launched their own website, featuring more material for free download, and Jones and James began playing live shows employing pre-programmed rhythms, prompting former Creation Records chief Alan McGee to describe them as "the Stones jamming with a laptop." Making the rounds of British rock clubs, Carbon/Silicon encouraged fans to record their shows in both audio and video and post the results on fan sites; the group soon became a well-documented phenomenon without the help of publicists or a record company. In 2005, Patti Smith invited Carbon/Silicon to appear at the Meltdown Festival she curated that year, and the band began work on a new album, with songs posted online as they were completed.