The origins of Chris Cutler and Tim Hodgkinson's collaboration date back to 1971: seven years in the group Henry Cow, then in concerts and recordings with The Work, with Nikola Kodjbashya, on the soundtrack to Fabien Prioville's film Pina Bausch's Cafe, in various improvisational groups, and with former members of Plastic People of the Universe on a celebration of the Czech poet Ivan Jirous. Both are still members of Henry Now, Hyperion Ensemble and Hyperion International and - with Yumi Hara - The Watts. Chris and Tim first played as a duo in 1983.

Chris Cutler is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Cutler is best known for his aforementioned work with the English avant-rock band Henry Cow, but has also been a member and drummer for other groups such as Art Bears, News from Babel, Pere Ubu and (briefly) Gong/Mothergong. He has collaborated with many musicians and groups, including Lindsay Cooper, Zeena Parkins, Peter Blegvad, Telectu and The Residents, in addition to Fred Frith of Henry Cow, and has contributed to over 100 recordings.

Tim Hodgkinson is one of the most versatile figures in experimental music, yet he is self-taught as a musician. He studied social anthropology at Cambridge, which led him to travel to Asia and study shamanism. Along with another great, Scottish improviser Ken Hyder, he toured Siberia and Moscow during the dark Cold War era under the slogan “Friendly British Invasion: In Search of the Soviet Shamans”. The two continued their study of shamanic rituals on subsequent trips to Tuva and Altai, partnered by the throat singer Gendos Chamzyryn, who often performed in the Czech Republic. Hodgkinson alternates several approaches in his work. In the Henry Cow era, it was detailed and listener-intensive sound structures; with The Work, he offered an exacerbated punk rock whirlwind; and with Konk Pack, he draws on no-holds-barred improvisation and contemporary classical music. His range of instruments is similarly broad, from clarinet, bass clarinet and saxophone to the keyboards he played with Henry Cow. In later lineups, including the Konk Pack, he plays lap steel guitar, an instrument originally used in Hawaiian music.