In 1991, after the end of Galaxie 500's US tour supporting the Cocteau Twins, Dean Wareham told his bandmates Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang that he was quitting the band. Wareham then signed a demo deal with Elektra Records and recorded a number of tracks with Mercury Rev drummer Jimmy Chambers. Some of these recordings were later released on the "Anesthesia" single on No.6 Records in the US and Mint Tea in the UK under the name "Dean Wareham." The same year, Krukowski and Yang released an album as Pierre Etiole, later renaming their new project Damon & Naomi.