Band Apart

French/American duo Band Apart existed on the outside fringes of the already esoteric no wave scene in the early '80s. Made up of New York City-based lyricist/vocalist Jayne Bliss and French multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/producer Medak Mader, the short-lived group produced just one EP and one full-length album of their otherworldly synth and skronk before disbanding in 1983. International duo Band Apart were formed around 1981 and quickly signed to eclectic Belgian indie label Crammed Discs. The group's strange and atmospheric sounds drew from both the jagged post-punk and no wave scenes that were emerging in the early '80s as well as more experimental and textural approaches to rock. Their use of guitar effects and synthesizers resulted in an alien type of pop that included elements that would later make up the core of shoegaze, dream pop, chillwave, and other subgenres. Bliss and Mader's first work as Band Apart was a self-titled four-song EP in 1981. The group performed on occasion and followed their EP with their sole full-length release, Marseille, in 1983. They split up not long after the album's release but would linger as a cult favorite for years to come. In 2019, Crammed Discs collected select tracks from Band Apart's studio output for a remastered, self-titled reissue.
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