Dream pop band
Mahogany was formed in December 1995 by Allysa Massais and
Andrew Prinz, who shared a love for composers such as
Debussy and bands such as
Section 25. In February 1996, Larry Hofmann of Burnt Hair Records saw the duo play one of its first shows in Lansing, MI, and later released a split 12" with fellow Lansing band
Auburn Lull. After
Prinz's sister Marissa joined on keyboards,
Mahogany released the
Dual-Group EP and received airplay on the
John Peel show in the U.K. Over the next two years, they released recordings on Tinseltones, Liquefaction, and Clairecords, as well as the
What Will Become of the Key of Reason? EP in 1998, a joint effort between Clairecords and
Mahogany's own label, Disques de Simultanes (Simdisc). Later that year, the band recorded its debut full-length,
The Dream of a Modern Day, co-released by Clairecords and Burnt Hair (later reissued by Darla in 2001), and included
Jesse Rafferty of
Asha Vida on percussion. After that record was recorded, Massais left Michigan to continue her studies in sculpture, while the Prinz siblings recorded songs under the name Mohagonny. In 1999, they changed the name back to
Mahogany, while also moving to Brooklyn, NY, where they were joined by programmer
Robert Pietrusko and guitarist/vocalist
Lorraine Lelis, and began recording and issuing various singles and EPs, all of which were collected on the 2005 Darla release
Memory Column: Early Works & Rarities 1996-2004. By this time the band's lineup had changed considerably and was now an octet, with
Andrew Prinz,
Pietrusko,
Jason Holmes,
Ryan Hancock,
Jeremy Scott,
Ana Breton,
Roy Styles, and
Katrina Rudmin all contributing to the lush, layered sound
Mahogany produced. Even though the group's studio was broken into in the fall of 2005, with most of their equipment and some of their recordings stolen, they pressed on, releasing the two-disc
Connectivity! (which featured some production help from
Cocteau Twins'
Robin Guthrie) the following year. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide