Melissa Auf der Maur Finds 'Relief' in Collapse of Major-Label System

In 2010, Melissa Auf der Maur finally released her long-awaited album, the multi-media 'Out of Our Minds,' and she did it without the help of a record label, major or indie. As the former Hole bassist tells Spinner, she couldn't be happier about.

"It's definitely the best time for someone like me who, in the '90s, when the music industry was so simple and functioning -- and I'm very lucky to have been part of a chapter when things really did work in music -- but I come from a visual arts background," she tells Spinner. "I went to a fine arts school, where you played music, acted in plays, did visual arts and fine art photography, all equally. It was very diverse and about having one story or message with options in the way that would tell it."

Still, Auf der Maur agrees that playing music opened many doors for her.

"The moment I struck it lucky and the magic door of music opened to me I embraced it, but it always felt like I'd sacrificed all these other forms for music," she says. "For me, the best thing that ever happened to me was that Capitol Records fell apart and me getting out of that contract for another solo record. It's happened to a lot of artists and this expansion in technology has given maximum freedom of expression. I feel like I am benefiting creatively from this shift in the landscape."

Even at the time, as support of a major label slipped away, the upstate New York-based Montreal native was undaunted. "I've been trying to get out of that box for a long time," she says. "Even at the time I went with Capitol I thought I must be crazy going into this old-school box. It was a relief."

Melissa Auf der Maur's 'Out of Our Minds' Video