Saetia


Saetia was a New York City-based screamo band. Their name originates from a misspelling of the Miles Davis track "Saeta", from his album Sketches of Spain. While relatively unknown during their existence, the band is now seen as one of the most critically lauded bands of the late-1990s screamo scene. Their music has been called an "essential document" for fans of the genre.

Overview

Saetia initially formed in February 1997 when each of its members were attending New York University. The band had numerous members throughout its existence, with frequent changes in membership. The band's first bass player, Alex Madara, was affected by a severe allergic reaction which placed him into a coma for eight days, finally resulting in his death on December 14, 1998.
Their drummer, Greg Drudy, was the original drummer of the band Interpol prior to their current popularity. He operated the record label Level Plane, which was initially started so Saetia could release a 7-inch single to sell at shows. Other members of the band continued their musical careers in numerous outfits, some of them joining screamo bands such as Off Minor, Hot Cross and The Fiction, as well as the bands and Instruction.
The group would eventually break up in October 1999. Saetia's final, posthumous single, "Eronel" was released under the Witching Hour label in 2000. The single contains three songs recorded by Steve Roche and mixed by Pat Kenneally. In 2001, Level Plane issued A Retrospective, a discography album that compiles every recording the band has made, including recordings taken from one of the last shows the band played at ABC No Rio.
In 2016, Secret Voice, the label of Touché Amoré vocalist Jeremy Bolm, released Collected, a two-disc, 180 gram vinyl set that includes every studio recording by the group. The tracks from the ABC No Rio also saw their own release in the form of a cassette titled Live At ABC No Rio Spring 1999, which was also released in 2016 through Secret Voice.

Band members

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

Compilation albums