We are continuing with the re-releases for Elefant Records’ 25th anniversary collection. This time, we’re back with a small gem that turned out to be the only full-length from the group formed by Roberto Martín and Silvia Sanz, or as they were also known, NIZA. Their moment on the Spanish pop scene was as fast and bright as a shooting star, and with only one LP and two singles their music was heard in France, England, USA, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan… Their releases sold out at the speed of light, and the rarities, B-sides, and lesser-known work that were scattered by labels half the world over turned them into collector’s items. “Canciones de Temporada” (2002) was such a special album, marked by those two solstices – summer and winter – that closed each of the sides of the vinyl. In hindsight, we have the feeling it was an unpredictable incident, an exquisite earthquake, something inimitable.

Mark Radcliffe played them on the BBC; LAMPCHOP had them as special guests in three concerts in Spain; the first edition of their album sold out in less than a month; they were at the top of best-seller lists in FNAC after being named “Talento FNAC”; they participated in the Gira Soft Pop Tour in Madrid; they performed with Britain’s TREMBLING BLUE STARS, HARPER LEE, and LOVEJOY; their albums were licensed for sale in Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan… What they did worked so well it seemed simple, [ Read more ]

ELEFANT RECORDS: 25th Anniversary [1989-2014]"25 years with Elefant Records"  

We’re going to release 25 different albums to celebrate these 25 years of absolute craziness. New albums, vinyl rereleases, compilations and a few special products. Some of the things are already decided, like the homage we want to pay to LE MANS, “25 canciones de LE MANS” (25 Songs by LE MANS), covered by some of our favorite groups. There will also be a compilation of 25 favorite songs from recent months from groups on other labels; the new rerelease of FAMILY’s album; the compilation “Hong Kong” that was never released; and a rerelease of LA CASA AZUL or LOS FLECHAZOS, for example.

The first two items from our 25th anniversary special releases are: 

Available here!! 

Release date: 3rd march 2014

*ER-25-002 VV.AA.Homage to FAMILY "Un soplo En El Corazón De Elefant" [CD Digipak / LP / Digital Album (download)

*ER-25-001 FAMILY [SOLD OUT!!!]

"Un Soplo En El Corazón" [25th Anniversary Elefant Records Vinyl Re-Release]  

*ER-25-002 VV.AA.Homage to FAMILY "Un soplo En El Corazón De Elefant"

Homage to Family (Un Soplo En El Corazón from Elefant)

Groups participating on the compilation: Papa Topo, La Casa Azul, Band À Part, Modular, La Bien Querida, Cristina Quesada, Astrud, Linda Guilala, Los Bonsáis, [ Read more ]

In 2003, “Un Soplo En El Corazón”, the FAMILY album that definitively shifted the evolution of pop music made in Spain and that became a landmark of a cult group like few we will enjoy in this lifetime, had its 10-year release anniversary. To celebrate that sweet heart attack, Elefant Records, in collaboration with Rockdelux magazine, released an album in homage to the original, with diverse artists, both new and renowned, giving brave, daring, revered versions of the songs that made up such an inimitable album.

Now that the album has reached its twentieth anniversary, so that it is available to everyone, everywhere, especially to the new generations, Elefant Records is rereleasing it in digital format, where we will once again be able to enjoy these daring and curious versions. Like the arid poetry of ANA D, the immense sweetness of LA BUENA VIDA, FANGORIA’s double homage, or the dreamy melancholy of the versions by LOS PLANETAS, AMA, PARADE, APENINO, and CHUCHO. 

 ASTRUD, the most daring with their priceless live vocal revision of “El Bello Verano” adorned with the eternal melody of “The Pink Panther” soundtrack, and LA CASA AZUL’s powerful version with a fun, imaginative Shibuya-Kei rhythm, also participated on the album. The homage, made with all the love in the world, went beyond the concept of homage and became a part of the mood of the moment, with songs that are key to our way of understanding music toda [ Read more ]

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

This video shows some of our best moments in 2010. We hope you like it!

Click HERE to watch the video-clip of Elefant Moments 2010  [ Read more ]

“YO, TAMBIÉN” [ME TOO], triumphs in the San Sebastián Film Festival: The movie was awarded two Silver Conches, for best actor for Pablo Pineda and best actress for Lola Dueñas.

YO, TAMBIÉN [a new movie by Álvaro Pastor and Antonio Naharro, starring Lola Dueñas and Pablo Pineda]

GUILLE MILKYWAY [LA CASA AZUL]: original movie soundtrack composer.

ELEFANT MUSIC SUPERVISION: artistic musical director.

The passion we feel for music at Elefant is something logical and evident, but from the start we have also been involved in and collaborated on artistic projects that go beyond the musical realm but that also need music to complete and fill out the work and make it more personal. A few years ago, our passion for the movies brought about the creation of “Elefant Music Supervision”, a project that has taken shape over time, with the goal of helping and collaborating on audiovisual projects of all kinds, offering musical supervision that would help the creators find the perfect music for their work. Shorts, documentaries, movies, commercial spots, television theme songs… we have found ourselves involved, sometimes directly, other times more indirectly, in a ton of national and international audiovisual projects that have used music from our company or projects that we have created with our artists’ exclusive pieces. International television series like “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Desperate H [ Read more ]

The albums by NIZA and JUNIPER MOON, in spite of being so different, have run parallel paths: two unique albums that achieved international recognition outside the Spanish speaking market, that didn’t have a follow up due to both bands breaking up soon afterwards, but keep giving great moments and spectacular news years after they were released.Both records were released in 2002, both have been out of print for a long time and now, at least, both will be available again from next May 22nd on, due to the big demand we have received at Elefant Records to put them out on sale again."Canciones de temporada", debut album by NIZA, was released in November 2002. "El resto de mi vida", debut album by JUNIPER MOON, was released in October the same year. Both were recorded in Granada’s Refugio Antiaéreo studios, and both were engineered by Carlos Hernández. Both received critical acclaim and good sales in and outside Spain.

And here the parallel paths come to an end, because from here every record had a life of its own and got unique achievements. "Canciones de temporada", a perfect record for fans of Astrud Gilberto or Claudine Longet, produced by Ian Catt (ST ETIENNE, TREMBLING BLUE STARS), took NIZA to play in Japan (at the ExpoAichi 2005’s festivities) and to release the album in Japan, Taiwan and Korea. On the other hand, "El resto de mi vida", a punk-pop album full of teenage angst, got repeated BBC airplay ( [ Read more ]

As we informed last year, Taiwanese label Avant Garden Records has been releasing for some time now assorted records from the Elefant Records recent catalogue: Ana D, ENTRE RÍOS, NOSOTRÄSH, NIZA, CAMERA OBSCURA…

The label from Taiwan releases now a complete compilation of NIZA’s recordings under the title “Archivando mis recuerdos [1998-2004]” (“Filing my memories”), a compilation as wide as the complete career of the duo, featuring stops in all the band’s different periods: here we find their two singles, plus a series of rarities and hard-to-find recordings: new and different versions of songs appeared on the band’s only album; live recordings (acoustic radio sessions, or onstage featuring Guille Milkyway from LA CASA AZUL on the piano, as in their cover of the classic standard “Fly me to the moon”); rarities that only appeared in compilations before (such as “Radio Star”, the song they dedicated to Radio 3’s DJ Juan de Pablos, previously released on the compilation of his show “Flor de Pasión”; and also “Jamás te he olvidado”, a song we had previously released on Elefant’s “Modapop” compilation); cover versions of favourite songs by FAMILY (“Dame estrellas o limones”), spanish chanteuse and 60’s pop idol Jeanette (“El muchacho de los ojos tristes”) and even THE VELVET UNDERGROUND. A total of eighteen [ Read more ]

Japanese label Rambling Records, which released in Japan NIZA’s “Canciones de temporada”, is well known and respected by its excellent editions of soundtracks (of such geniuses as Ennio Morricone), as well as deluxe compilations in diverse styles as easy listening or international pop. In fact, Rambling has used plenty times many songs from the Elefant catalogue for its compilations.

Since last year, Elefant and Rambling have started a collaboration which reflects in a series of compilations based in songs taken from Elefant’s big catalogue, chosen by both Rambling Records and ourselves. In 2004 came out “Amapola”, a compilation of quiet, relaxed atmosphere, which was very well received in Japan. In july this year, making the most of our visit to Japan for the Elefant parties with NIZA and LA CASA AZUL, Rambling will release a new reference on this series of compilations: “Candy Box”, in a much poppier and melodic style.

The tracklists from both compilations are as follow:

CANDY BOX01. Si me alejaste [ENTRE RÍOS]02. I love my Jean [CAMERA OBSCURA]03. Ups to you [ANNA & THE SPECTORS]04. Parasol [NIZA]05. Una mañana [ME ENVENENO DE AZULES]06. Yo quiero ser ye yé [ERNESTO RONCHEL y ANA CAINA]07. Niza [NIZA]08. No me digas que me quieres [VACACIONES]09. Un rayo de sol [LE MANS]10. C’est fini [LA CASA AZUL]11. La fille la plus douce du monde [LES TRÈS BIEN ENSEMBLE]12. Gérôme [PUR&Ea [ Read more ]

Last year, Taiwanese label Avant Garden Records released several selected record from Elefant’s recent catalogue: “Satélite 99” by Ana D (in a similar edition to that released by Argentinian label Índice Virgen some years ago, featuring extra songs from the live album Grimsey Records released in the States), “Idioma suave” by ENTRE RÍOS, “Popemas” by NOSOTRÄSH, “Canciones de temporada” by NIZA, “Underachievers please try harder” by CAMERA OBSCURA…

The results of this collaboration has proved very satisfactory for all the parties involved, and it’s going ahead now with new releases from our catalogue in Taiwan. Next july, Avant Garden will release there “Cierra la puerta al salir” by NOSOTRÄSH (with the addition of the videoclip for the song “Dando vueltas”) and “Onda” by ENTRE RÍOS, also with a video and two extra tracks: “Si fuimos” (song taken from the “This is my country” compilation, formerly released on the Jabalina label) and “Por ti”, one of the first songs ever composed by the Buenos Aires trio, previously released on the first vinyl single the band did on Elefant.

The exchange between Elefant and Avant Garden isn’t over yet. Later on in time, our Taiwanese friends plan to release a compilation by NIZA, which will include songs from their singles, unreleased tracks, live takes [ Read more ]

Mexican artist Ernesto Moncada has used the lyrics to “Amor cúbico” (a song by NIZA as featured in “Canciones de temporada”, the duo’s only album) for an installation exhibited as a part of the collective exhibition “Fake fur” in Monterey’s Arts Centre.“Fake fur” is an exhibition of installations where Moncada participated with a piece (Imaginary Films Studios 2002-2003 – Música para hacer burbujas / Música para chupar paletas): an exhibition featuring art which uses music as a motto. According to the exhibition’s curator, in these installations “graphic design, contemporary arts and banality walk together. Contemporary art is saturated with more and more ambitious, and in many cases completely absurd objects and projects. Here we play under the same rules”. [ Read more ]

Revista 69, a Peruvian magazine dedicated to independent music, will give Hawai its readers along with the June issue an exclusive CD, “Como un fan”, featuring twenty-four songs taken from the Elefant Records catalogue. An excellent introduction into our label for the Peruvian fans, given away inside a magazine which has dedicated its two alternative covers (they’ve got no back cover) to Beck and NEW ORDER, and which also includes on this issue other interviews, articles and reviews on such artists as LOS BELKING’S, Rufus Wainwright, THE ARCADE FIRE, Daniel Melero, KINGS OF CONVENIENCE or Juana Molina.The website of Perú’s Revista 69 is http://www.revista69.comThe tracklist for this CD is as follows:

01 El bello verano [FAMILY]02 Rimas [ENTRE RÍOS]03 Canción de si tú me quieres [LE MANS]04 Los amantes [ANA D]05 Amor cúbico [NIZA]06 Honey [SINGLE]07 Keep it clean [CAMERA OBSCURA]08 Cierra los ojos [COOPER]09 Poppy girl [VACACIONES]10 Lady Dilema [CARLOS BERLANGA]11 El sol no brillará nunca mas [LA CASA AZUL]12 The sea is so quiet [TREMBLING BLUE STARS]13 Sunday Sahara Spain [IBON ERRAZKIN]14 I love my Jean [CAMERA OBSCURA]15 Rabia [COOPER]16 À Hélène [LES TRES BIEN ENSEMBLE]17 Tantas cosas que arreglar [LA CASA AZUL]18 Volverás [JUNIPER MOON]19 Open Skies [TREMBLING BLUE STARS]20 Los días de Perky Pat [LA MONJA ENANA]21 Paradise lost [METRO]22 La balada de la primavera [L [ Read more ]

Elefant Records has always had an important presence and recognition in Japan. Bands like LE MANS or LOS FLECHAZOS saw their records licensed there, and were considered as true stars among the many European pop lovers in Japan.

Now, thousands of Elefant Records’ Japanese fans will have the chance to meet and enjoy their favourite pop music by attending the Elefant parties which will be happening this summer at different points of the Shibuya district in Tokyo.

As a part of the activities organized around ExpoAichi 2005, the international Expo taking place in Japan this year, club CAY (at Spiral Hall in Shibuya, Tokyo) will host on July 23rd and 24th two free entrance theme nights dedicated to Elefant Records: two twin parties featuring live shows by LA CASA AZUL and NIZA, plus DJ sessions by DJ Polar and screenings of videoclips from the label’s discography.

As many of you already know, NIZA had recently announced their split, but the enormous success their album has experienced in Japan (where it has been licensed to Rambling Records) has forced this one-off reunion of the couple, which will only do these two important dates in Tokyo. Roberto and Silvia will also attend interviews with the Japanese press in order to promote their record.

Apart from these dates included in the ExpoAichi activities, we will take advantage of our visit and will also organize other parties in the Japanese capital: the first one, already confirmed for July 17th at Shibuya’s clu [ Read more ]