Vocalists Nicole Pinto and Satski Ohtake comprise the glossy new wave/synth-pop duo Crème Blush. The two came together in fall 1999 while studying in Japan, and there Crème Blush tested their lush, dance-pop sound by playing shows in and around Tokyo. The new millennium, though, would bring them back to New York City.

Pinto was born and raised in Connecticut and found a love for dance as a child. She mastered tap and ballet, later studying with the Wolcott Dance Academy and the Hartford Ballet. Time spent at the Watkinson School for Performing Arts shaped her talents as a dancer and as an actor, and Pinto's singing voice began to blossom. Pinto went on to earn a BFA in costume design from Boston's prestigious Emerson College in 1994. She also studied voice at the Berklee College of Music and found herself with a pop/rock band, Grace Budd. The band released one 7" for Plumb Records in 1995. Pinto played with various New York bands throughout the decade, most notably Hot Sugar. Hot Sugar opened for the likes of Ben Folds Five, Neil Young, Morphine, and Primus on the 1997 H.O.R.D.E. summer tour, but Pinto left for Japan in search of something creatively concrete. She met Satski Ohtake and Crème Blush was born.

Classically trained pianist Satski Ohtake studied at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. Like Pinto, Ohtake is quite accomplished. She is a professional henna artist and has worked with the likes of Cameron Diaz and Brooke Shields, as well as labels Diesel, Shiseido, Fiolucci, and MTV.

Crème Blush self-released the New York EP in early 2002. Their funky, stylish synth-revered pop sound became a major hit around the posh N.Y.C. music scene. The Basket of Bets EP followed two years later. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi