CAKE’s adherence to their original guiding principles has only grown stronger. Originally formed as a somewhat antagonistic response to grunge, CAKE’s democratic processes, defiant self-reliance, and lucid yet always inventive music have made them a nation-state unto themselves, with no obvious peers, belonging to no school. In addition to writing, arranging, producing, and performing their own music, they have learned to engineer their recording projects in their solar-powered studio, which actually produces more power than needed to run it, causing the building’s electric meter to spin backward.