gained the reputation for releasing many critically acclaimed albums, with very few being commercial hits. McGee sold half the company to Sony Music. Shortly thereafter, Creation signed the band Oasis, who became a huge critical and commercial success. Their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? became the biggest selling British album of the decade. According to Fish, support from Sony/Creation began to wane; "Honestly, there wasn't enough time in the day to do anything other than handle Oasis business." In the mid-90's, Pat and Max Eider had begun to mend fences, and July 1995 saw Max Eider opening for the JBC at a gig in London. He was brought onstage for an encore of "Zombie Love," marking the first time they'd played together since Eider left the group in 1986. Pat and Max soon found themselves playing together occasionally again as a duo. Despite the reunion with his former partner, Fish felt the Jazz Butcher moniker was limiting his musical exploration. Seeking to create another vehicle for himself, he formed the band Sumosonic. This was a stylistic shift from the JBC, making use of samplers, synthesizers and sequencers. A single, "Come, Friendly Spacemen" was released in 1996, with the album "This is Sumo" appearing in 1998. Sumosonic was much more dance/techno driven, yet Fish's lyrics contained many of the hallmarks of the Jazz Butcher material. Sales of This is Sumo were dismal. Alan McGee had begun to see the result of operations being handled by Sony accountants and marketing managers, and how it was affecting less commercial artists on the Creation Label. Fish received a letter from Alan McGee suggesting a parting of ways, "We'd better jack it in before you get bitter," Fish recounts. By March, 1998, Fish was no longer signed to Creation. The next year, Creation ceased operations. Without the support of a label, Sumosonic ran its course, and played their final show in September 1998. Rotten Soul (1999-2000) In 1999, Pat received an invitation from Vinyl Japan to record an album for their label. The budget, according to Fish, was about 10% of what it cost to make Cult of the Basement. Former guitarist Peter Crouch had, at this time, been recording demos on a digital multi-track recorder. Fish thought this might be an effective means of recording an album within the budget parameters. This approach presented several limitations; most notably the use of MIDI