Melissa Auf der Maur is set to release her first new music in 16 years with the album Bass Womb Room: My ’90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings. The project combines unreleased 1990s demos with eight new compositions created for an upcoming photography exhibition.
The former Hole bassist and Smashing Pumpkins touring member recorded the demos in her Los Angeles living room during the 1990s using a TASCAM 4-track machine. She incorporated acoustic guitar, layered vocals, bass, keyboards, and everyday sounds such as a leaking faucet.
Auf der Maur described the songs in a statement as reflecting resistance to major label pressures for glossy hits. She said they represent her internal experimentation and the private side of the artist who joined big American rock bands.
The album arrives digitally and on cassette September 4 via Envision. An accompanying photography exhibition opens September 2 at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, with a 240-page photobook following on September 8.
