[6] In a 2008 interview, Jack Barnett said that hip hop acts Wu-Tang Clan, especially member RZA,[7] Timbaland and J Dilla influenced the first album Beat Pyramid.
[8] Barnett also stated that his inspirations included the electronic music of Aphex Twin and the cartoon series The Smurfs,[7] though he later suggested this was not serious.
[11] Before their second album Hidden was released, Barnett revealed that he had been writing music for bassoon and stated that the aim was for a final product where "dancehall meets Steve Reich".
The video clip for the single Organ Eternal was directed by Willy Vanderperre and featured the acclaimed Belgian actress Line Pillet.
[27][28] This was followed in January 2019 by an erotic, gender-blurring video for "Inside The Rose",[29] made in collaboration with photographer Harley Weir, and the announcement of a new album of the same name.
Recorded in Essex, London and Berlin, and mixed in Los Angeles, Inside the Rose was described as "another creative reinvention"[5] and as their most direct and accessible music yet.
[30] The album's release was marked with a "happening" event at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, involving a stage set constructed out of slashed silk hung from scaffolding, designed by George Barnett and artist Freya Don.
[32] After the release of Inside the Rose it was announced that Thomas Hein had departed the group, due to his academic commitments in studying computational neuroscience.
[citation needed] This was followed by The Blue Door, their third performance at the Barbican Centre in London, which featured large-scale video projections and two scaffold-tower installations draped in gauze, with a band augmented by sopranos, brass, percussion and special guests.