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

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

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

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. 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 the game of 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 inferi ...

'' after signing to Re-Constriction Records. The album was critically acclaimed, with John Bush of

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

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 Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

, SMP issued their second album ''

Ultimatum An ultimatum (; ) is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance (open loop). An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series o ...

'' in 1998 on Catastrophe Records. Sean Ivy left SMP around this time to join Christ Analogue and was replaced by guitarist Rick Aguilar and drummer Xian Di Marris. SMP's third full-length album '' Terminal'' 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 RPM *'' Terminal'' (A.D.S.R. Musicwerks, 2000) *'' Hacked'' (2002,

Underground, Inc. Underground, Inc. was a Chicago-based subsidiary of Invisible Records, consisting of a collective of independent labels, producing various studio albums by Invisible Records artists, side projects and compilations with the same focus on being a ...

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 in ...

) *'' 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, prog ...

'' (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 SMP (also known as Synthesia Murder Program) are an American industrial music group formed in Seattle, Washington. The original incarnation consisted of Jason Bazinet and Sean Ivy before Ivy left to join Christ Analogue in 1998, allowing SMP t ...

'' (1997) *'' Shot'' (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 Rap rock groups Invisible Records artists Re-Constriction Records artists Underground, Inc. artists 1984 establishments in Washington (state) WTII Records artists {{electronic-band-stub