Scrabbel

Scrabbel originated as a San Francisco-based project devoted to knotty-yet-breezy, wry-yet-whimsical indie pop tunes. Moodier passages recall Mates of State and American Analog Set, whereas the spun-sugariest passages conjure Tiger Trap and Heavenly. Dan Lee and Becky Barron of #poundsign# joined forces to establish the project in 1999; the following year the duo made their live debut with the Aislers Set at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. Kittridge Records issued the self-titled debut full-length in 2001. Barron departed the next year and later joined Dressy Bessy, after which Scrabbel functioned essentially as Lee’s endeavor. Between outside commitments, such as substituting on keyboards for the Aislers Set’s 2003 tour, Lee continued developing the band. Three Ring Records released the sophomore album 1909 in 2004, which introduced a new lineup featuring cellist Helen Jo, the Aislers Set’s Alicia Vanden Heuval, and Ladybug Transistor’s Gary Olson. By 2005 that configuration had stabilized as a six-piece ensemble of Lee, Jo, Stanley Lam, Chris Cline, Aya Nakamura, and Atsushi Murase. The following year the group issued the limited-edition EP Hijacked Tunes on its own imprint. In 2008 Three Ring made the single “Emily, I” available online.