Bis

The Scottish trio bis wove together riot grrrl's drive, new wave's spring, anime's striking imagery, and the playful spirit of C-86 acts to forge a sound all their own. Raw yet charged, their initial releases stood out sharply enough that the group became the first unsigned act ever invited onto Top of the Pops in 1996. Their first album, The New Transistor Heroes from 1997, refined the homemade edge while later material wove in trip-hop, electro, disco punk—most notably on the standout single "Eurodisco"—and synth pop across subsequent outings. In 2005 the members adopted the name Data Panik, brought in fresh personnel, and eventually disbanded, though the tracks cut under that moniker remained unheard until 2014. By then the original lineup had resumed live dates, issuing their fourth album, the retro-leaning Slight Disconnects, in 2019.

Keyboardist and vocalist Manda Rin—born Amanda MacKinnon—guitarist and vocalist Sci-Fi Steven, whose given name is Steven Clark, and Steven's younger brother John Disco on bass formed bis in Giffnock, Scotland, toward the end of 1994. The three childhood friends waited until after secondary school before starting the project and also produced the fanzines Funky Spunk and Paper Bullets. Local gigs at venues such as Nice 'n' Sleazy drew the interest of Spain's Acuarela label, which issued the Transmissions on the Teen-C Tip EP. The band then shifted to Glasgow's Chemikal Underground via an informal arrangement and simultaneously inked a deal with PolyGram publishing. Following the August 1995 release of the "Disco Nation" single came The Secret Vampire Soundtrack early the next year, which circulated favorably in underground circles and earned favorable notices in the British music press until Top of the Pops producer Ric Blaxhill caught wind of the EP and extended the invitation. That appearance marked the first time in the program's 32-year run that an unsigned group performed live on air.

Bis quickly became a media fixture, receiving regular BBC Radio 1 airplay and widespread coverage. June saw the self-released Bis vs. the D.I.Y. Corps on their Teen-C imprint achieve both critical and commercial traction, prompting a bidding war that the band resolved by choosing Wiija for the U.K. and Grand Royal for the U.S. rather than a major. Grand Royal's early-1997 EP This Is Teen-C Power compiled earlier material, while the full-length The New Transistor Heroes arrived that spring. Intendo appeared in 1998, Social Dancing followed a year later, and the Music for a Stranger World EP surfaced in autumn 2000. Drawing on Talk Talk, Blur, Can, and New Order, bis delivered Return to Central in fall 2001 and also supplied music for Cartoon Network's Powerpuff Girls video game. Plastique Nouveau, issued the following year, marked the trio's most dance-focused release to that point.

After nearly nine years and three albums the members announced their breakup in February 2003. They soon regrouped, adding Stuart Memo of Multiplies and Graham Christie of Kenickie to operate as Data Panik. The new configuration retained bis's core identity yet produced a denser sound, issuing several singles and playing shows before the fresh identity failed to generate sustained momentum. The project ended in 2006, after which Rin launched a solo career with the 2008 album My DNA while Disco and Steven joined Dirty Hospital and the Amphetameanies. Around the start of the new decade the original three began performing again as bis, highlighted by a headline slot at 2013's Indietracks Festival, and started writing fresh material. Their first post-reunion album, 2014's data Panik etcetera, collected Data Panik recordings alongside unfinished tracks intended for a fourth record. Two years later they issued the holiday single "You Wrecked My Christmas/I Was Born on Christmas Day." Following a few live dates the trio returned to the studio in 2017 to shape their fourth proper album. Slight Disconnects, which folded prior sonic threads into a polished yet slightly more seasoned presentation, came out on Last Night from Glasgow in early 2019.