The Ladybug Transistor is a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

-based

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

group associated with

The Elephant Six Collective The Elephant 6 Recording Company is a loosely defined musical collective from the United States. Notable bands associated with the collective include the Apples in Stereo, Beulah, Circulatory System, Elf Power, the Minders, Neutral Milk Hotel, ...

History

Started in 1995 by Gary Olson, Edward Powers and Javier Villegas, The Ladybug Transistor released '' Marlborough Farms'' the same year on

Park N' Ride A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. ...

records, adding and subtracting a couple of members and going on an international tour. With Jeff Baron ( Guppyboy,

The Essex Green The Essex Green is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn that has released four albums to date. The band is primarily composed of songwriters Jeff Baron, Sasha Bell and Chris Ziter, and specializes in a classic sound inspired by 1960s–1970s ...

) and Jennifer Baron (

Saturnine Saturnine can refer to: *Relating to Saturn *Saturnine antshrike, species of bird *The Saturnine, music group *''Saturnine Martial & Lunatic'', a 1996 compilation album by Tears for Fears See also *Saturnin *Saturnina, Christian martyr *Saturni ...

) added to the line-up, they released '' Beverley Atonale'' in 1997, this time on

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded ...

. Powers left the band and the remaining members, with San Fadyl and Sasha Bell of

and the solo act

Finishing School A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wi ...

, embarked on a United States tour. With a more stable line-up, the band released ''

The Albemarle Sound ''The Albemarle Sound'' is the third album by the Brooklyn, New York, indie pop band The Ladybug Transistor. It was released on March 23, 1999. Critical reception ''The A.V. Club'' wrote: "Rich and instantly accessible, The Ladybug Transistor ...

'' in 1999, and added the violinist and bass guitarist

Julia Rydholm Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e. ...

(The Four Corners,

Jens Lekman Jens Martin Lekman (; born 6 February 1981) is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. His work is heavily influenced by Jonathan R ...

) to the line-up. In 2001, ''

Argyle Heir ''Argyle Heir'' is a studio album by the American indie pop band the Ladybug Transistor. It was released on May 22, 2001, via Merge Records. Critical reception The ''Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major dail ...

'' was released. In 2003, the band recorded a self-titled album at

WaveLab Studio WaveLab is a digital audio editor and recording computer software application for Windows and macOS, created by Steinberg. WaveLab was started in 1995 and it is mainly the work of one programmer, Philippe Goutier. Audio can be edited as a sin ...

with engineer

Craig Schumacher Craig Schumacher is an American producer and audio engineer based in Tucson, Arizona. He is known for recording and mixing albums by Calexico, Devotchka, Neko Case, Giant Sand, The Jayhawks, Friends of Dean Martinez, and Amos Lee Amos Lee ...

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

. In 2006, the band contributed heavily to the recording of

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely ass ...

' album ''

The Unfairground ''The Unfairground'' is a 2007 album by Kevin Ayers, recorded with members of Ladybug Transistor, Teenage Fanclub, Neutral Milk Hotel, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Roxy Music. It was his sixteenth studio LP and his first new set of recordings in f ...

'', which Gary Olson produced. In April 2006, Fadyl began fighting serious

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...

attacks. On April 26, 2007, he died from one such attack. The band released its sixth album, '' Can't Wait Another Day'', on June 5, 2007. This line-up included

Kyle Forester Kyle Forester is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and singer-songwriter best known as a member of the band Crystal Stilts. Biography Forester joined The Ladybug Transistor in 2006, participating in the recording of the Here Comes the Rain EP. ...

(

Crystal Stilts Crystal Stilts is an American post-punk band from Brooklyn, New York City, United States, though their founding members, Brad Hargett and JB Townsend, were originally from Florida. History Crystal Stilts was formed in 2003 by Brad Hargett and JB ...

) and Ben Crum of

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

. For their seventh album, '' Clutching Stems'', Olson, Forester and Rydholm gathered new recruits Mark Dzula (

The Magic Caravan ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

, Jukebox Radio), Eric Farber (

The Lisps The Lisps was an American, New York-based indie rock band. The group formed in The South Bronx in 2005 fronted by César Alvarez and Sammy Tunis. The band consists of four members playing guitars, melodicas, found percussion, drum set, and male/fe ...

), and Michael O'Neill (

MEN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

). The album, recorded at Marlborough Farms (studio) and Sunset Cottage, Poconos, was released on June 6, 2011, by Merge Records.''Clutching Stems''
''Dusted'' review.

Discography

Albums

*'' Marlborough Farms'' (1995) *'' Beverley Atonale'' (1997) *''

'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *''

The Ladybug Transistor The Ladybug Transistor is a Brooklyn-based indie pop group associated with The Elephant Six Collective. History Started in 1995 by Gary Olson, Edward Powers and Javier Villegas, The Ladybug Transistor released ''Marlborough Farms'' the sa ...

'' (2003) *'' Can't Wait Another Day'' (2007) *'' Clutching Stems'' (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladybug Transistors, The The Elephant 6 Recording Company artists Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical groups established in 1995 Merge Records artists Low Transit Industries artists