Self

Self, sometimes stylised as sElf, is an alternative rock band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, active from 1993 to the present. The group is associated with alternative rock, electronic, geek rock, grunge, indie pop and indie rock, and is described as a US alternative pop/rock band from Tennessee.

Line-up and background

The project is largely the work of Matt Mahaffey, who grows up in Murfreesboro and begins as a drummer, forming his first band at around nine or ten years old with older musicians. Before establishing Self, he plays with punk, reggae, pop and bluegrass square-dancing groups, and also produces rap beats from his college dorm room. His broad range of listening and experience helps shape the band’s mixed sound.

Mahaffey founds the indie label Spongebath with Seth Timbs and manager Rick Williams. Although Mahaffey receives most of the attention, he is not the only member or sole songwriter. Current members include Chris James, who plays keyboards, piano, samplers, guitar and backing vocals; Mac Burrus, who plays bass guitar, keyboards, horns and backing vocals; and Jason Rawlings on drums. Former members include Matt Mahaffey’s brother Mike Mahaffey on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals, and Timm Nobles on bass guitar. Seth Timbs also contributes to songwriting and sings on a cover of “Dizzy”, but is not an official member.

Recordings and releases

Self’s debut album, Subliminal Plastic Motives, appears in 1995 on Spongebath. It is followed by The Half-Baked Serenade in 1996 and Feels Like Breakin' Shit in 1997, which is released free on the internet. The EP Brunch follows in 1998, and Breakfast with Girls appears in 1999 as a co-release on Spongebath and DreamWorks.

In 2000 the band releases Gizmodgery, an album made entirely with children’s toy instruments. That same year it also issues two internet-only releases, Self Goes Shopping and Selfafornia. In 2005 the band again releases an album for free online, Porno, Mint, and Grime, which consists of demos from 2001 to 2004 sessions for the unreleased album Ornament and Crime.

Ornament and Crime is complete but remains unreleased by DreamWorks for legal reasons, although a DVD is also completed and may or may not appear because of legal issues. The set includes a cover of AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, which has not been approved. The band also records a cover of They Might Be Giants’ “Ana Ng”, which appears on Hello Radio in 2006. A single, “Could You Love me Now?”, appears in 2010 and later serves as the B-side to the Record Store Day single “Monogamy”. The album Super Fake Nice, announced in 2010, appears in 2014. In 2017, Ornament and Crime is issued on CD and vinyl, but not on streaming platforms for legal reasons.

Related context

The name Self is used by several unrelated acts, including a melodic pop punk band from South Carolina, a dark ambient project from Brooklyn, black metal projects from Belgium and Costa Rica, and a lo-fi acoustic project from Adelaide, Australia.