Since defecting from their prog-influenced indie band to form SMD nearly a decade ago, Ford (a producer for the Arctic Monkeys) and Shaw's sound has evolved from its earliest iteration as melodic electro-house into the sprawling synth explorations of 2012's Unpatterns LP and more club-focused Delicacies 12" series, which featured collaborations with producers like Bicep, Roman Flügel, and Cosmin TRG. The duo's most recent full-length venture Whorl, released via LA imprint ANTI- in 2014, arguably carries them the furthest afield from the mainstream yet. Citing the increasingly circulated idea (among producers, at least) that technological constraint forces greater creativity, the pair stripped themselves of their laptops and usual rafts of gear to make the album, working with just one analogue synth and one sequencer each. Both a project and a product, Whorl is the result of desert jam sessions at Joshua Tree national park and live recordings made during an appearance at Pappy & Harriet's in Pioneertown, California.

For CTM 2015, SMD perform Whorl live in Germany for the first time against the striking visual manipulations of Jack Featherstone and Hans Lo.