Japanese singer Kazu Makino met Italian brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace in New York City in the early '90s and formed a band named after a song by '70s no-wave outfit DNA. Their early sound owed a stylistic debt to Sonic Youth, so it's not a surprise their first two albums, Blonde Redhead and La Mia Vita Violenta, were released on a label owned by SY drummer Steve Shelley. Later albums found a growing sense of beauty and stillness amidst the cacophony. Signing to 4AD, the trio began to explore an even more lush, delicate sound with increasing electronic elements.