Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink met at age 15 at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, where they first collaborated musically. Before Azure Ray, the two were in a band called Little Red Rocket. After playing an acoustic set in Athens, Orenda and Maria were approached by Brian Causey of Warm Records.

Soon after, Little Red Rocket disbanded, and Azure Ray became their main project. Azure Ray has released four albums--two on Warm Records (Azure Ray and Burn and Shiver) and two on Saddle Creek Records (the November EP and Hold on Love). Although they started out in Athens, Georgia, Maria and Orenda are now based out of Omaha, Nebraska, where they moved to take part in the growing music scene.

In addition to playing in Azure Ray, Orenda and Maria have worked with several other groups, including Now It's Overhead. Orenda has worked with Japancakes. They have also collaborated with artists such as Moby (they co-wrote and performed "Great Escape" on 18) and Bright Eyes.

In 2004, Maria and Orenda decided to focus on projects other than Azure Ray. Maria's first solo album, 11:11 was released in May of 2005 to critical acclaim. This March, Maria released her followup solo album, Lynn Teeter Flower.

Orenda released her first solo album, Invisible Ones, in August of 2005. Toward the end of 2006, Orenda helped form the band Art in Manila. They released their first album, Set the Woods on Fire, this August.