Melissa Auf der Maur Releases First New Music Sep 4

Musician and artist Melissa Auf der Maur will release her first new music in over 15 years this September, unveiling a collection of previously unheard 1990s demos alongside new compositions created for a major photography exhibition. The project, titled "Bass Womb Room (My 90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings)," is scheduled for release digitally and on cassette on September 4 via Envision Records.

The album features seven four-track tape demos written and recorded by Auf der Maur in her Los Angeles living room during the 1990s, a period when she was touring globally as the bassist for the bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins. These intimate recordings, made on a Tascam four-track machine, were created as a personal counterpoint to the major-label rock environment she inhabited professionally. The demos feature acoustic guitar, layered vocals, bass, keyboard, and field recordings of everyday sounds, employing lo-fi techniques like reversing tapes and pitch-shifting. Auf der Maur described the lyrics as streams of consciousness or direct readings from her daily diary.

Alongside these archival tracks, the release includes eight new interlude pieces. These were composed...