Biographyby Jason LymangroverIn 2008, synth-driven indie pop group Gardens & Villa formed in Santa Barbara, California. With an album's worth of sugary, celebratory tunes under their belt, guitarist Chris Lynch, keyboardist Adam Rasmussen, bassist Shane McKillop, and drummer Levi Hayden traveled to Oregon to record their self-titled debut. Gardens & Villa was completed over the course of two weeks, under the supervision of Secretly Canadian labelmate Richard Swift, and released in the summer of 2011. Around this time, multi-instrumentalist Dusty Ineman was brought on board for live shows.