The new EP of SINGLE deepens even more the unexplored grounds which we caught glimpses of in the first two EP’s and her fabulous debut album. The song which opens up the new EP is a strong statement of intent which inspired the name of the album "Pío Pío." A sampling symphony with Bollywood styles floating about, forming a multicolored collage from reshaping and mixing together a little bit of reggae, country, easy listening, including a brief reference of KRAFTWERK, creating impossible melodies and completely new rhythms. Along with the chirping of the piano of the star song, there are another three songs on this splendid CD-Single. "Té chino" is practically a lyrical tour de force and is a playful waltz between Teresa and her habitual collaborator on the piano, Rafael Guillermo (POP TOPS), "Cantiga para pedir dos tostoes," a cover of a song of the 70’s by the Portuguese singer, José Mário Branco. The frenetic and psychedelic version counts on the collaboration of Rafael Guillermo, again on the piano, and ANTI on background vocals. Finally, “Los Muebles” is a poetic and an aggressive song, as well; experimental, showing the endless restlessness and curiosity of this one and only musical project: it shows a Teresa converted into an Iberian Yoko Ono whaling out poems of the Argentinean writer, Julio Cortazar, with the counterpart of the serene and warm voice of Jose Anitua (ex CANCER MOON)

It seemed impossible, but one of our dreams has come true: SINGLE are going to play live! We say it seems impossible because, as many of you already know, LE MANS (the former project by Teresa Iturrioz and Ibon Errazkin) quit playing live by the time of their album "Saudade", and no one expected to ever see them play live onstage again. It’s taken twelve years and a brand new musical project to let us have the chance to see SINGLE play live, and you can be sure it won’t deceive you.

With the help of two close friends of the Elefant family (Tito Pintado aka ANTI and Joan Vich, ex THE FRANKENBOOTIES AND PATRULLERO MANCUSO) they will delight us with live performances of songs we have learnt to love as "Tu perrito librepensador", "Pío Pío" or "Su recuerdo". The concerts by SINGLE will be sure of new stuff and lots of surprises, but above all they will perform amazing songs as the ones on their album "Pío Pío" and the B-sides to their singles.

SINGLE’s official debut will premiere on January 5th 2008 at the Actual music festival in Logroño (Spain), and from then on there will be an array of live dates we will be informing about very soon. Do not dare to miss them if they happen to play in a town near you!

Saturday, 5 JanuaryFestival Actual de LogroñoSingle+ Victor Coyote + Nebulosa + TarántulaLogroñotime: 12:30 (Sesión Matiné) price: Entrada Li [ Read more ]

SINGLE’s long player keeps fascinating all kinds of listeners, and its charm has just crossed the pond to the other side of the Atlantic. The first, excellent videoclip by SINGLE was directed in Spain by Gabe Ibanez from Collective UserT38, and the chosen track was "Su recuerdo" (title track from her second EP). The new song chosen to be put to images is "Tu perrito librepensador", one of the catchiest and more danceable tunes on the album. The video has been directed by photographer and film-maker Patrick Trefz, a renown surf and skate photographer whose work has been exhibited all over California, as well as New York and Biarritz (France). Trefz, who has collaborated among others with skater and musician Tommy Guerrero, has also published a photography book: "Santa Cruz – Visions of Surf City". Filmed in San Francisco, the clip follows the story line of the song with a retro aesthetic, inspired in movies from the 60’s and 70’s. A world of luxury and high business, where the starring doggie patiently waits for his busy owner ("Your freethinker doggie" is the translation of the Spanish title).

From California, the footage flew to New York City to be edited by Josh Diamond and his company, MBS Productions, who have done videos for UNSANE and work regularly with MTV, VH1, Disney Channel, Fox, MCA Records, Universal, Epitaph, Island/Def Jam and many others. A deluxe production and a magnificent videoclip for a song [ Read more ]

If there is an artist in Spain (and we dare say in the world) who is capable of reinventing pop music's language, that is SINGLE. And this is no easy exaggeration. Teresa Iturrioz, ex bassist and lyricist in cult avant-pop band LE MANS, has proved in her two first EP's as a solo artist ("Honey" and "Su recuerdo") her ability to create, with the help of her producer Ibon Errazkin, an original sound of her own, absolutely modern and yet with huge commercial appeal, based on an exceptional flair to choose the best from the most diverse origins: reggae and country-pop, R&B, synth-pop and hip-hop, following the path (and going much farther beyond) from where LE MANS left it with their fabulous farewell trilogy.

And at least the moment has arrived when we can make the bells toll and announce as loud as we can the release of SINGLE's long player debut: next November 14th Elefant Records will put out "Pío Pío", an album featuring fifteen songs of unusual, mysterious beauty, produced by Ibon Errazkin and written in its entirety (except for a cover version of 70's flamenco duo Lole y Manuel) by Teresa and Ibon.The cover is, as usual, a new hit by Spanish cult designer Javier Aramburu, which joins the short but stunningly beautiful collection of cover artworks, pictures and illustrations he has been designing for SINGLE since her debut. [ Read more ]

Juan Carlos Bracho is a young, upcoming artist from Andalusia. He’s won several prizes, and his work has been shown in ARCO 2006, the important art fair in Madrid. His relation with Elefant and LE MANS comes from the title of one of his most celebrated pieces: "Catástrofe nº17", inspired in the song which also gave title to the singles compilation by LE MANS. With this piece he won in 2005 the Purificación García photography contest. [ Read more ]

“Su recuerdo” is the title track on the second EP by SINGLE, the solo project by Teresa Iturrioz from LE MANS. This has also been the song chosen for her new, beautiful videoclip, which as it happened with the videos by LE MANS, has been directed by Gabe Ibáñez (from creative collective User T38).

The video has been filmed in Teatro Diéguez in Colmenar de la Oreja, one of the oldest and most beautiful theaters in the Madrid region. The nostalgic lyrics of the song are performed with elegance by young actress Maite Gete, in a perfect combination of music and image. Again, Gabe Ibáñez succeeds in illustrating with perfection the music written by the tandem formed by Teresa and producer/composer Ibon Errazkin. [ Read more ]

The Afyve top selling lists (the official lists of records sold in Spain) aren’t usually very attractive for the pop music lovers who share the taste for music we have here at Elefant Records. Too many marketing products there, bearing little resemblance with the music we all like and enjoy. But every now and then some good songs pop in and renew our hopes that one day things might change in the Spanish music biz: it is the recent case of “Su recuerdo"”, the new single by SINGLE, which has climbed directly to number 15 on the top singles list. That means the public have received with joy the release of this new single, which on its first week on sale features among the most asked for along with such bands as DEPECHE MODE or FRANZ FERDINAND (and many others we don’t dare to even mention). [ Read more ]

In February this year we released “Honey”, the debut single by SINGLE: three heart throbbing songs where Teresa Iturrioz started anew after her years fronting the magic pop of a cult band like LE MANS, opening a new adventure no less suggestive and mysterious. Now we proudly present “Su recuerdo”, the follow up to that fantastic debut single. Three new songs by SINGLE, where Teresa maintains the high standards reached by her lyrics, and a production work which balances again between the electronic and the acoustic, creating a slice of soft and elegant pop.

The beautiful cover artwork has been conceived once again by Spanish design star Javier Aramburu, and once again the graphic artist finds the perfect image to match the contents of the record – this time a mysterious picture of Teresa.

The record opens with “El amor en fuga”, a cover version of the theme tune written by Alain Souchon and Laurent Voulzy for François Truffaut‘s eponymous movie (“L’amour en fuite”, “Love on the run”, 1979): a cinematic track featuring baroque string arrangements and a nutty piano that stumbles upon the electronic beats. “Llévame a dormir” has a country-pop feel which is also present in “Su recuerdo”, the song that gives the record its title but paradoxically means its end.

Great news for the world’s soft-pop lovers, SINGLE is back with three new samples of her genius. We [ 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 ]

LE MANS recorded legacy keeps perfectly alive, enamouring music lovers around the world. Their song "Mi novela autobiógrafica" has been recently included in the fantastic compilation "Make the style drivin‚ slow", released by Sony Music Japan and compiled by Shinichi Osawa, aka MONDO GROSSO.

Osawa, operating under the name Mondo Grosso, has established himself as one of Japan’s most innovative and stylish creators of acid jazz, R&B, and house music. Drawing from various sources including R&B, jazz, samba, and bossa, he has helped to pioneer a new style of Japanese club music that has already become a standard. He has worked with acid jazz stalwart Monday Michiru as well as with N’Dea Davenport (BRAND NEW HEAVIES), and he has remixed Jamiroquai, amongst others.On the double CD "Make the style drivin‚ slow", LE MANS share space with other tasteful selections by Osawa, such renown, elegant, exquisite artists as EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL, ANTENA, TOM TOM CLUB, WEEKEND, Cal Tjader&Carmen McRae and even BASEMENT JAXX or LO FIDELITY ALLSTARS.

Le Mans [Cover, Japanese Compilation]picture: Archivo Elefant

[ Read more ]

This has to be one of the most significant recently news from the national scene, specially for those (like us) who think that LE MANS was one of the most significant, innovative and original Spanish pop bands.

Teresa Iturrioz was this Donosti band’s bass player and lyric writer, and now takes the lead with SINGLE, her personal Project which and managed by herself.

"Honey" will be the title of SINGLE first single, released on November 15th: three songs that pick up the thread left by LE MANS with "Aquí vivía yo" or with the distant "Zerbina". This project’s leadership falls on Teresa, but having the invaluable assistance with the musical production of Ibon Errazkin, her companion in LE MANS journey and also in her new solitaire career in Elefant Records.

Big wonders can be expected from this new project, judging by the unquestionable quality of its first three presentation songs. Released in Frebuary, the countdown has begun. [ Read more ]