Melissa Auf der Maur may be best known for her role as Hole’s bassist during the band’s peak in the mid-’90s, or even her brief stint in Smashing Pumpkins shortly thereafter, but she also released a pair of solo albums in 2004 and 2010 and, more recently, has dipped her toes in the realm of film via collaborations with her husband, Tony Stone. In September, Auf der Maur will display a variety of talents between two newly announced endeavors: The first is a photo exhibit titled Melissa Auf der Maur: My ’90s Rock Photographs, which opens on September 2 at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and two days later she’ll drop the somewhat-related Bass Womb Room: My ’90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings, which, as the name implies, pairs newly unearthed solo recordings from the 1990s with field recordings she recently set to tape for the photo exhibit.
“I wrote these songs in the context of rising pressure from the major label-driven music industry on myself and my peers to make glossy hit songs to dominate radio airwaves,” Auf der Maur shared in a press release, noting how her time in Hole influenced the sounds of the recordings—not to mention the toll of newfound stardom. “These songs are the sound of my internal experimentation and a way of keeping the Montreal art girl alive inside. These sounds are the quiet and private side of the girl who joined the big American major label rock band.”
On top of it all, Auf der Maur also recently announced the release of a photobook from which the exhibit takes its name on September 8. You can pre-order that via DelMonico Books here, and Bass Womb Room via Envision Records here. Additionally, more info on the photo show can be found here.
