The band consists of Farbod Kokabi, Farzad Moghaddam, Lee Tesche, and TJ Blake.
Tesche is a founding member of the band Algiers, while Kokabi and Moghaddam run the Geographic North record label.
Blake is a member of Lotus Plaza's touring band, the solo project of Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt.
[1] Lyonnais formed in 2008 after Kokabi and Moghaddam watched a Rhys Chatham performance together and set about trying to fill a void in the experimental Atlanta music scene".
The band spent their first three years performing dates with Deerhunter, Windy & Carl, Lightning Bolt, Zach Hill, Grouper, and members of Animal Collective[3][4] while being named to Creative Loafing's Best of Atlanta list each year from 2009 to 2011.