The Ladybug Transistor story begins in Brooklyn, NY during the mid-1990s. Their debut album, Marlborough Farms (1995 – Sit N Spin), named after the band's fabled Victorian Flatbush headquarters and studio, was a recording project based around founding member Gary Olson's collaborations with friends. They soon caught the attention of Merge Records who released Beverley Atonale in 1997.