Although
Orenda Fink made her first splash as the songwriting partner of
Maria Taylor, she later became a respected bandleader and solo musician in her own right, drawing upon everything from Haitian folk music to pop/rock for her own material.
Fink and
Taylor first launched their partnership as students at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, which led to the formation of
Little Red Rocket several years later. When that group disbanded after two albums -- 1997's
Who Did You Pay and 2000's
It's in the Sound -- due to the dust-up of Geffen Records' merger with Universal Music Group, the two decamped to Athens, GA, and formed the sulk-pop duo
Azure Ray.
While working to get
Azure Ray off the ground, the musicians were recruited to join
Now It's Overhead, which brought them to the attention of that band's label -- Saddle Creek -- as well as co-founder
Conor Oberst. In 2001, both
Azure Ray and
Now It's Overhead released scantly received self-titled debuts, and
Taylor and
Fink took up full-time residence in Omaha -- Saddle Creek's home base -- one year later. A second
Azure Ray release,
Burn and Shiver, followed before 2002 was up. The pair's third full-length, 2003's
Hold on Love, brought indie scene raves on the merits of the singles "The Drinks We Drank Last Night" and "New Resolution." Meanwhile,
Now It's Overhead released another album in 2004 amid heavy touring.
Fink remained active outside of her partnership with
Maria Taylor by working with such acts as
Moby,
Bright Eyes, and
Japancakes. Accordingly, when
Azure Ray split up in 2004, she wasted little time involving herself with other projects, even forming two Saddle Creek bands (
O+S and
Art in Manila) and releasing material with both. Moreover, she struck out on her own as a solo artist, drawing upon her travels in India, Cambodia, and Haiti to shape the sounds of 2005's
Invisible Ones. A second solo effort, the stripped-down
Ask the Night, followed in 2009. ~ Andrew Leahey & Tammy La Gorce, All Music Guide