Biota are a United States avant-prog musical collective. They have released several albums and are known for having a very distinctive sound. David Newgarden wrote, "Biota is not even remotely like any other group I can think of" in a review of their 1995 album, Object Holder. Musical career The band formed in 1979 in Fort Collins, Colorado as Mnemonist Orchestra (later Mnemonists) lead by Mark Derbyshire and William Sharp and recorded five albums on their own self-produced label, Dys. In the mid 1980s they split into a visual arts group retaining the Mnemonists name and a musical group called Biota. Almost Never (1992) features three long compositions. The band's line-up was James Gardner, Tom Katsimpalis, Steve Scholbe, William Sharp, Gordon Whitlow, Larry Wilson and Randy Yeates. On Object Holder (Recommended Records, 1995),