SMP (also known as Synthesia Murder Program) are an American industrial music group formed in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. The original incarnation consisted of Jason Bazinet and Sean Ivy before Ivy left to join

Christ Analogue Christ Analogue was an American industrial rock group started in 1995 by frontman and producer Wade Alin. History Christ Analogue was devised in 1995 by programmer/vocalist Wade Alin. After Markus Von Prause joined on guitar, the duo debuted ...

in 1998, allowing SMP to function as a solo vehicle for Bazinet's musical output. The project was then put on hiatus in 2008, before being brought back in 2010. SMP continues to issue albums digitally with '' Hacked Vol. 2'' being released in 2016 by Music Ration Entertainment.

History

Musicians Sean Setterberg, later taking the moniker Sean Ivy, and Jason Bazinet were originally based in San Diego and San Francisco before relocating to Washington and forming Synthesia Murder Program. The duo's sample-based sound was informed by industrial music,

punk music Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

. The band self-released their debut EP called ''Stalemate'' in 1994. In 1995, SMP issued their debut studio album ''

Stalemate Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position ...

'' after signing to

Re-Constriction Records Re-Constriction Records was a division of Cargo Music based in California. The record label, label was founded in 1992 and headed by Chase, who was previously the Music Director at KCR (AM), KCR, a student radio station on the campus of San Dieg ...

. The album was critically acclaimed, with John Bush of

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

declaring that "SMP recall the industrial grooves of

My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK) is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley). ...

on ''Stalemate'', except with more of an emphasis on rapping." After ''Stalemates release the band decided to change artistic direction and opted to embrace a less abrasive sound. Showcasing a greater emphasis on

techno music Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

, SMP issued their second album ''

Ultimatum An ; ; : ultimata or ultimatums) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a coercion, threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the ...

'' in 1998 on Catastrophe Records. Sean Ivy left SMP around this time to join

and was replaced by guitarist Rick Aguilar and drummers Matt Sharifi and Xian Di Marris. SMP's third full-length album ''

Terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

'' saw the return of Sean Ivy and was released in 2000, a remix album titled '' Hacked'' followed in 2002.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' ( Re-Constriction, 1995) *''

'' (Catastrophe, 1998) – #19

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

RPM *''

'' (A.D.S.R. Musicwerks, 2000) *'' Hacked'' (2002, Underground, Inc./

Invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light fr ...

) *'' Crimes of the Future'' (2004, Music Ration Entertainment) *'' The Treatment'' (2007, Music Ration Entertainment) *''

Pissing on the Legacy ''Pissing on the Legacy'' is a remix album by SMP, released in October 2008 by Music Ration Entertainment. Track listing Personnel Adapted from the ''Pissing on the Legacy'' liner notes. SMP * Jason Bazinet – lead vocals, drums, progra ...

'' (2008, Music Ration Entertainment) *'' Coda'' (2010, Music Ration Entertainment) *''

Death of the Format ''Death of the Format'' is the seventh studio album by SMP, released on June 11, 2013 by WTII Records. Reception DJ Arcanus of ''Lollipop Magazine'' gave ''Death of the Format'' a mixed review, saying "SMP (Sounds of Mass Production) delivers on ...

'' (2013, WTII) *'' Hacked Vol. 2'' (2016, Music Ration Entertainment)

EPs

*''

'' (1994) *'' Ultimatum EP 1.0'' (1997) *''

Shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 ...

'' (2011, Music Ration Entertainment)

Singles

*"Synthesia Murder Program" (1993, DoublePlusGood Productions) *"Militia Love"/"Acid Drop" (2002) *"No Space" (iammynewt – Studio X Remix) (2011)

References

External links

* * * * Alternative rock groups from Washington (state) Musical groups from Seattle Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups from San Francisco American industrial rock musical groups Invisible Records artists Re-Constriction Records artists Underground, Inc. artists 1984 establishments in Washington (state) WTII Records artists {{electronic-band-stub