After collaborating on a number of smaller projects and engineering tasks M&R began fleshing out the inception of Gist over the course of two releases by the Hysterical Preservation Society on which they both participated. The songs, many of which began their lives in University City, Missouri, traveled with Mitch to Miami where Gist began to formally take shape. This unique collaboration born on the internet is the result of M&R's varied experiences and talents producing a most unusual confluence of sounds.