APPROPRIATING THEIR NAME FROM THE FIRST CULTURE OF THE OLD WORLD TO EXPLORE THE NEW, PHOENECIA, AKA JOSHUA KAY AND ROMULO DEL CASTILLO, WAS INAUGURATED IN MIAMI IN 1997. THE PAIR PREVIOUSLY RECORDED UNDER THE SOUL ODDITY MONIKER, RELEASING AN ALBUM AND A SERIES OF 12-INCH SINGLES FOR THE US MAJOR LABEL ASTRALWERKS. IN LATE 1996 THEY FOUNDED SCHEMATIC MUSIC COMPANY, THE INFAMOUS RECORD LABEL WHICH WOULD GO ON TO CARVE A DISTINCT NICHE IN THE LANDSCAPE OF MODERN MUSIC BY DEBUTING SCOTT HERREN (PREFUSE73, SAVATH & SAVALAS), OTTO VON SCHIRACH, RICHARD DEVINE, DINO FELIPE, PUSH BUTTON OBJECTS, SECRET FREQUENCY CREW, NICK FORTE, AND HEARTS OF DARKNESSES, AND RELEASING COLLABORATIONS WITH MATMOS, AUTECHRE, JAMIE LIDELL, MATTHEW HERBERT, JANDEK AND GLEN VELEZ, AMONGST MANY NOTABLE OTHERS. IN 2001 THEY RELEASED A FULL-LENGTH ALBUM ENTITLED BROWNOUT, WHICH IN THE WORDS OF THE LATE TIM HASLETT WAS "PHOENECIA'S MAGNUM OPUS, THE PLACE WHERE THE IDEAS FOUND IN THE PRECEDING RECORDS ARE ALLOWED TO COME TO FULL FRUITION". IT WAS ALSO REMARKED THAT THE ALBUM WAS "CINEMATIC, BUT PRIMARILY IN THE RESPECT THAT THE TRACKS ARE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY THE SOUND DESIGN OF FILM, AS OPPOSED TO THE SCORE". THIS MARKED A DECISIVE BREAK FROM THEIR PAST AND SET THE TRAJECTORY FOR THE SOUND THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OVER THE NEXT 7 YEARS, WHICH CONSISTED MAINLY OF EXHIBITIONS, FILM SOUNDTRACKS, REMIXES, COMPILATION TRACKS, AND THE WORK COMPRISED IN THEIR LATEST ALBUMS ECHELON MALL AND LEWD ARCHIVES.