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Almost in answer to the grunge movement that was pervasive on college campuses in the early 90s, the experimental art rock quartet Morsel was formed in Ann Arbor, MI, in 1992. Bassist Be Hussey, vocalist and flute player Miriam Cabrera, guitarist Shawn Jimmerson, and drummer Brian Boulter experimented with dark textural rhythms and dissonant guitar lines, augmented with the flute and vocals being run through a Leslie rotating speaker, giving their compositions a uniquely otherworldly sound.

Their 1993 self-released cassette, the G.I.B.L.E.T. EP, was followed by the Steve Albini-produced Noise Floor on the ill-fated Choke label the following year. Soon after the album's release, Jimmerson left the band to transform himself into Clark S. Nova, frontman for the industrial metal band Wig, and Morsel recruited local guitarist and producer Geoff Streadwick and part-time drummer Jacques Duskin. Their 1995-1996 recordings appeared on the sublime Morsel E.P. and proved to be the strongest and most forceful period of their career.

Several lineup changes plagued the band for the rest of their career, but the core of Hussey and Cabrera (and didgeridoo/electronics twiddler Fat'hed) were well supported on the 1997 CD I'm a Wreck by guitarist Jason Burbo and drummer Chad Pratt. That album was subsequently remixed by Warren DeFever (His Name Is Alive) and Robert Rich, among others, on 1999's limited-edition Wrecked and Remixed. After recording Para Siempre (with Hussey moving to drums and Joshua Pardon taking over on bass) in 2000, the band took a break to devote time to other projects and the album was released in the summer of the following year.