User:Emilyherberholz/Nat (Yekeno) Lee

Nat (Yekeno) Lee:

Nat Lee, born Yekeno Lee, is a Vietnamese American synth instrumentalist and writer. She is a member of No Vacation, an indie band built around dreamy bedroom-pop music. Beyond making music, Nat Lee primarily works as a hospital nurse in her hometown of Davis, California.

Early Life:

Nat Lee's parents grew up in Vietnam, before immigrating to the United States during the Vietnam War. They then met in Davis, California, giving birth to Nat’s older sister Catherine in ____ and Nat in _____. Nat Lee was born in Sacramento, California, but raised in Davis, California, where she found her inspiration in music at a very young age. She began playing piano at the age of five, before learning violin once she turned ten. When she entered secondary school at the Davis Senior High School (DHS), she joined the DHS Symphony as a violist. During this time, she also picked up playing the acoustic guitar. Upon her high school graduation in 2013, she began singing, which she continued throughout college at the University of San Francisco (USF). Nat Lee majored in Nursing at USF, which she attended from 2013 through 2017. At university, she continued her involvement with music as a part of USF ensembles as a violinist and violist. Aside from her interest in music, Nat Lee has worked at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers as well as at a local bubble tea shop. During her sophomore year of college, she joined the band No Vacation.

No Vacation:

2014 - 2016:

No Vacation, an indie pop band of which Nat Lee is a part of, was founded over winter break in December 2014 - January 2015. The band began on the campus of the University of San Francisco, by lead singer Sabrina (Sab) Mai and a former bandmate. The name “No Vacation” stems from the winter break experience the two members had, during which they were overloaded with schoolwork, and thus felt that they had “no vacation.” Later that year, the band decided they wanted to transition from recording music on SoundCloud, an audio platform, and switch to live music. In February of 2015, Nat Lee joined in, as the keyboardist. Not long after her merging, Harrison Spencer became the group’s drummer. After coming together, the group produced the songs “Draem Girl” and “Sad Valentine”, a part of the extended play record (EP) “Summer Break Mixtape”. Not long after its release, the group disbanded on an indefinite hiatus. During this brief interlude, Nat Lee created solo future bass and dubstep music under the title “YEKENO”. Sab Mai made solo music under the name “Afternoon Anorak.” The group continued to play shows together, and even performed a few No Vacation songs under Sab Mai’s solo title.

2017:

Right before they disbanded, they received an offer from TopShelf Records, a label to which they signed upon reconnecting. After coming back together in 2017, they formally named themselves “No Vacation”, a title initially coined by Sab and the second founder at the start of their career. A few other adjustments occurred, as Harrison Spencer switched off playing the drums and became the group’s lead guitarist, completing their sound. In May of 2017, they released “Yam Yam”, a song that spun them further into the public eye, and now has over 37,000,000 streams on the Spotify listening platform. The song is initially named after Sab Mai’s dog, Yam Yam. Following the success of this song, the group relocated to Brooklyn, New York together to focus on their music.

2018 - Present:

In 2018, the group received their first sense of “official” media attention, as they performed on Audiotree, an American music record label. They also began to garner public relations notice, as in 2019, they were questioned for an article for i-d Vice by interviewer Nick Fulton. Since then, the group continues to make music, although in separate spaces. Nat Lee moved back to her hometown of Davis, California in 2019, as she found New York City too chaotic. At the time, she was also putting her nursing degree to use by working as a night shift nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center Emergency Department. Now, she continues to work as a nurse in California, as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. She is also co-director of the The Russell J. Efros Foundation, an organization built upon supporting local artists and sharing talent within her community. Her other current interests include rock climbing, playing chess, and creative projects such as sewing and painting. She also has three pet hedgehogs (Bruce, Ron-Allen, Yves) which she holds very dearly.

Discography:

Amo XO (2015)

Summer Break Mixtape (2015)

Intermission (2017)

Phasing (2019)

They required me to do this so, you already know that I peer reviewed.