British noise rockers Oil Seed Rape often drew comparisons to abrasive American bands like Butthole Surfers, the Jesus Lizard, Swans, and especially Big Black. The latter resemblance was even more pronounced early on, when the group employed a drum machine that gave it a slight industrial flavor reminiscent of Godflesh. Oil Seed Rape was the brainchild of one W. Travis, who formed the band as a one-man home-recording project in rural Gloucestershire, United Kingdom and named it after the yellow flowering plant cultivated in the area.