News

While we are waiting for “JÁJÁ ÉQÚÍSDÉ (Distopía Aburrida)”, the get here, we continue to advance pieces of one of the most exciting puzzles to be published in a long time. Because Chenta Tsai’s new album challenges the world on so many levels, and with “Tamagotchi” it is definitively confirmed. Produced by Chenta, mixed and mastered by Ignacio Redard and with the stellar collaboration of GFOTY (Girlfriend Of The Year), it is a twisted exercise in digicore, with a nasty, addictive, catchy and danceable chorus. It is the story of the strange emotions of being “online”, the feeling that you are constantly being watched mixed with the pleasure of being connected. To capture this, Daniel Cuenca has prepared a space odyssey full of special effects, where Chenta and GFOTY dance and travel amidst galactic waves and green aliens.

It is a challenge to the limits of what has been established until now, the cry of a generation that sees a world that many can’t see. Or are afraid to. That is why we need artists like Chenta, who can see deeper, who can break down the symptoms of the times we live in and take them to a new level. Keep your eyes peeled, because “JÁJÁ ÉQÚÍSDÉ (Distopía Aburrida)” is going to be wild.

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After a debut that revealed them to be one of the most interesting groups on the Spanish music panorama, creating a personalized mix of shoegazing, trap and other current styles, NEVVER is back with new songs. And as soon as you hit play, you can tell – some of these new songs are much more clearly aimed for the dance floor. The lyrics are still distressed, sad, but this time that personalized hybridization that we get from Javier Aparicio is a combination of house, electronic pop, techno-pop and even

bedroom-pop. Part of this is explained by LEFTEE and RARE’s participation in the production, both of whom are members of the Valencia-based Toxic Pop collective, who have already produced and collaborated with other Elefant groups, like LABORDE and AMOR BUTANO.

On “Tiernos Maullidos Eléctricos” (co-produced by NEVVER and RARE), this first advance Digital Single for the upcoming album (that will be called “999” and which will be here in a few months), all of the above is made loud and clear. The lyrics about needing time and space, about redemption, are dressed up with a synth-pop base, cushioned by keyboards, ethereal guitars and arpeggiators. It’s a sort of cross between M83 and THE BLAZE, ODEZENNE and even CHICO BLANCO. This new mix, the new sound, creates a very special contrast with lyrics that have also evolved in their own way to show us the darkness. The title of the song is based on a verse from [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: 01 Piropos

“Nainonai” was the last trip we got from that special duo Fermí and Conxita. And “Piropos” is the last stop on a marvelous journey, a song that has all the best of TRONCO: a little kick in its step, lyrics that are full of life, affection and excitement. And to celebrate this goal, they made a video with someone who had already worked with them on the video for “La Procrastinadora”, to make the perfect tandem of music and image: Raquel Calvo aka DondeEstaMiPollo (who has already made videos for OS PEREGRINOS, Giorgio Tuma, THE HEPBURNS, Lia Pamina, LOS BONSÁIS, MARINITA PRECARIA, Soleá Morente …). The result is absolutely incredible: a trademark exercise in collage, textures, buttons, and fabrics, with our protagonists represented as images from what could be Jim Henson’s wildest dreams, and compliments (piropos, in Spanish), and magic, and fun, and laughter, and excitement. It’s wonderful. To call this piece a music video is to sell it short. We could even call it, if you will, a visual Popema. Enjoy it. We are anxiously awaiting new material from both artists.

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When we talk seriously about the release of “Architecture Of The Ages”, that exquisite album that THE HEPBURNS and Estella Rosa made during the confinement, we really highlight the two contrasting faces of “Seagulls On A Frozen Lake”: its delicious melodies, with touches of bossa and lounge that work in contrast to the profoundly sad lyrics. That is why we have chosen this single as the last digital release for this exquisite album – the song excites and moves in so many different directions, it can be enjoyed in so many different ways, and it creates a special feeling in the listener. In addition to the title track, this release also includes a previously unreleased song, “Bad Before”, which pushes that multi-directionality even further. As the bass and drums of Mike Thomas and Les Mun construct an amazing “partido alto”, and Estella Rosa‘s beautiful vocal imparts kaleidoscopic light and color to a song that is once again bathed in bossanova, Matt‘s lyrics talk bluntly about the hardships of growing old, and the existential plight of those who find that “old age does not come alone” and that “pieces of you disappear long before it all ends”. Like listening to a João Gilberto record while reading Jean-Paul Sartre, one does not know whether to dance or despair. But don’t despair. A song like this is for dancing to, and no matter how bleak the subject matter, THE HEPBURNS̵ [ Read more ]

The new Digital Single from the Valencian trio AMOR BUTANO confirms what we’ve been thinking since those solid hits, “Tifón Salinas” and “Esta Era”, their first releases on Elefant Records, came out. The band formed by Raquel, Sara and Diego has a real knack for melodies and arrangements, taking New Wave to new heights in the context of Spanish electro-pop, hitting incontestable bull’s eyes and blowing up the dance floor. Their open, carefree attitude contrasts perfectly with the psychedelic vitriol of their lyrics. And “Alicia” is the perfect example. A sequencer keeping the beat, a perfect melody, amazing lyrics, references to Lewis Carroll’s “Alice In Wonderland” (Sara’s favorite book). Connecting memories of breakups and past relationships with events that happen in the book, creating an imagined world, a kind of parallel reality where you can hide when painful situations arise. That “¡Cruza!” (Cross) that is a statement of intent, an ode to escapism, to a split from reality, to refusing responsibilities and impositions associated with being a grown up.

And to visualize all of this, there is nothing better than the outrageous video by Javier Artigas. The protagonist, our “Alicia”, is a vampire who misses her previous life as a regular person with her partner. But once she gets it back, she accidentally loses it all over again, realizing t [ Read more ]

Six years after his last release for Elefant Records, Bobby Wratten(THE FIELD MICE, TREMBLING BLUE STARS), returns under his LIGHTNING IN A TWILIGHT HOUR moniker. Having released a Double-LP, a 10″, and a 12″ for Elefant, plus a cassette for Touch subsidiary The Tapeworm, this release marks the first ever LIGHTNING IN A TWILIGHT HOUR 7″ Single.

Produced in association with long term collaborator Ian Catt, these two songs trailer but do not feature on, the forthcoming second LIGHTNING IN A TWILIGHT HOUR album. Bobby and Ian have worked together since the first ever recordings of the increasingly influential THE FIELD MICE. Other long-term fellow travellers are also present: Anne Mari Davies (THE FIELD MICE, NORTHERN PICTURE LIBRARY, TREMBLING BLUE STARS), Beth Arzy(TREMBLING BLUE STARS, JETSTREAM PONY, THE LUXEMBOURG SIGNAL) and Michael Hiscock (bassist and co-founder of THE FIELD MICE).

The open tuned guitars and layered harmonies of the A-side, “The Circling Of The Seasons”, belong to the more pop influenced end of the musical spectrum. The B-side, “Neuchâtel”, on the other hand, ventures into darker waters. A distorted single chord and a broken up wordless vocal creating a mood piece. Here we have the two sides of LIGHTNING IN A TWILIGHT HOUR on a single record.

This stand-alone white vinyl 7″ sets the scene for the forthcoming sophomore LIGHTNING IN A TWILIGHT HOUR album due in the next few weeks.

TRACKLIST: 01. [ Read more ]

“New Adventures In Pop” collection [Issue 054]

TRACKLIST: 01 Celosa  02 Al Campo  03 Una Montaña  04 Tú Pa Qué  05 Espatifilo 06 Siento Todavía  07 Breve Momento De Voluntad  08 Todos Tristes  09 Letra De Niña

Oh, how we have been waiting for this moment. This is why the “New Adventures In Pop” collection was created. So that it could become a selection of delicious albums and, above all, to support the first steps of unique, special musicians and artists who sometimes even then became references in the music scene. PAPA TOPO, TRONCO, LISASINSON, CARIÑO, AXOLOTES MEXICANOS and AIKO EL GRUPO are just a few clear examples of this. And we are sure that MARINITA PRECARIA will be another example of this soon. Because Marina Gómez Marín has made one of those unique albums, where the musical calligraphy of our star stands out from the very first second – in the way she produces, in her voice, in her melodies and in her lyrics. “No Me Miréis” takes us to so many places, but in the end it reaches a clear, pristine goal: the most exciting pop possible, or sadness served in the shape of a sugar cube.

Wouldn’t Javier Aramburu and Iñaki Gametxogoikoetxea have just chosen “Tú Pa Qué” to lead a longed-for return of FAMILYcategoría &ld [ Read more ]

Ana Fernández-Villaverde continues to grow her repertoire outside of her albums, with collaborations, special orders, television and marketing campaigns. After that incredible cover of “Llorando Por Ti” she did for the HBOmax show, “Todo Lo Otro”, now she is giving us a song of her own that will play at the end of the episodes of “Express”, the first Spanish show on the Starzplay platform. Starring Maggie Civantos and created by Iván Escobar (“Vis A Vis”), “Express” has an explosive plot line about express kidnapping. And LA BIEN QUERIDA wraps up every episode with this incredible hit, “Río De Enero”, with one of those choruses that gets branded into your brain and that gives you chills – epic and exciting in equal measure. It is a hundred percent inspiration, versatility, creativity. LA BIEN QUERIDA is having a tremendous moment. But then again, she always has been, hasn’t shecategoría

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The first physical format release from MARINITA PRECARIA, “No Me Miréis”, is finally here as part of our “New Adventures In Pop” collection. We believe that Marina Gómez Marín’s songs make her one of the biggest promises in pop in Spain, because of her personality and her melodies, along the lines of LA BIEN QUERIDA, VAINICA DOBLE or LE MANS. And we want to celebrate all of this with a new advance Digital Single taken from this vinyl that will come out in a few short days. “Al Campo” is a tribute to the love of nature and the rejection of the city, its stress, its noise and its contamination. For the occasion, David Vega has recorded another video on 16mm that shows our protagonist and her friends looking through the trash in Madrid trying to find old, bucolic paintings, trying to teleport themselves to a world full of trees and grass. Enjoy this marvelous song, because soon “No Me Miréis” will be here and nothing will ever be the same again.

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TRACKLIST: 01 Niños Furbito Y Niñas Lo Que Sea  02 La Seli

If we are talking about punk spirit and immediacy, it won’t be a surprise that we have a new song from AIKO EL GRUPO. But if we tell you that we are probably looking at the greatest hit from the group to date, an irresistible and unforgettable anthem, well, you probably still won’t be surprised. Because the Madrid-based quartet surpasses themselves with each new release, and this time they’re bringing high school stereotypes to the arena with them (using as a starting point a sentence a phys ed teacher really said), and all the frustration that goes with that, and writing it into an irresistible, furious chorus full of rage. Vengeance against all pigeonholing and prejudice. A crappy day, and to top it off, a teacher makes you feel worthless. And that’s that. Like the song says, carrera lateral (sideways running drills).

And what better than to illustrate this in a video directed by Gema Polanco (multidisciplinary artist, in charge of Navaja Automática publishing), which alternates between chaos in a phys ed class (of course), with nineties-style collages and illustrations, making us think of the esthetic of the great high school shows like the legendary “Freaks and Geeks” and indie movies like “Juno”.

But that’s not all there is. The B-side of this Digital Single includes one more surprise: “La Seli”, a song [ Read more ]

The end of the year is drawing near and with it, one of those events that is a part of the great collective expectations on these special dates: the Christmas Special of the “Cachitos De Hierro Y Cromo” show. As always, it will be full of surprises, this time with a tribute to the unforgettable Raffaella Carrà. One of the surprises this year will be an out-of-this-world collaboration between Soleá Morente and Guille Milkyway (LA CASA AZUL), who have an interpretation of “No Pensar En Ti”. The song was written by Nacho Canut and Carlos Berlanga in the eighties for Raffaella herself. The result, in addition to being aired on the “Cachitos” Christmas Special, will be released in digital format on December 31 at midnight by Elefant. And it is incredible.

The song is a tour de force that begins between pasodoble stylings and casiotones, and winds up with house-disco and vocoders, with Soleá in full-force diva-mode, and Guille playing up his horror-vacui with an absolutely fascinating collection of arrangements, sounds and effects. Pure fantasy. New proof of Soleá’s chameleon-like interpretative capacity and of Guille Milkyway’s infinite imagination as one of the most special and inimitable producers around in recent decades. Enjoy it and… Happy new year, everyone!

TRACKLIST: 01 No Pensar En Ti (Feat. La Casa Azul)

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JANUARY 2021

ER-D214 AIKO EL GRUPO “Amigos Para Nunca (Confía Y Te La Lían)” Single Digital [12-1-2021]

ER-D215 AXOLOTES MEXICANOS “Que Te Pires” Single Digital [15-1-2021]

ER-D216 STILL DREAMS “Live With Excuse” Single Digital [22-1-2021]

FEBRUARY 2021

ER-358 LIA PAMINA E OS PEREGRINOS “Lúa Descolorida: Tributo a Rosalía de Castro” Single 7″ [12-2-2021]

ER-D217 LABORDE “Estoy Por Ti, No Te Vayas Aún” Single Digital [19-2-2021]

ER-1260 VARIOS “No Future: A New Adventures In Pop compilation • Unit 1” Doble-LP [26-2-2021]

MARCH 2021

ER-D218 MARIA RODÉS Y LA ESTRELLA DE DAVID “Zombi” Single Digital [5-3-2021]

ER-D219 TRONCO “Volveré” Single Digital [9-3-2021]

ER-D220 LA CASA AZUL “Entra En Mi Vida” Single Digital [10-3-2021]

ER-1264 AXOLOTES MEXICANOS “:3” LP/CD [12-3-2021]

ER-D221 TELECLUB “Xiki Yokse” Single Digital [16-3-2021]

ER-D222 LLORAR “Te Dejo En Paz” Single Digital [18-3-2021]

ER-D223 LISASINSON “Tú Y Yo” Single [23-3-2021]

ER-D224 STILL DREAMS “Last True Love” Single Digital [25-3-2021] 

ER-1261 TRONCO “Nainonai” LP [26-3-2021]

ABRIL 2021

ER-D225 COUR DE RÉCRÉ “Agathe, Agathe” Single Digital [7-4-2021]

ER-1263 LISASINSON “Perdona Mamá” Mini LP 10″ [ [ Read more ]

It was just a few days ago that we were talking about the Valencian trio AMOR BUTANO’s first single on Elefant Records, where they were accompanied by VALVERDINA and CIBERCHICO. We are closing the diptych with this song, with the participation of CIBERCHICO and this time of LEFTEE, another member of the Valencian Toxic Pop collective. This collaboration floated back and forth between the protagonists for a while, and finally came together in LEFTEE’s studio with this “Tifón Salinas”.

LEFTEE laid out the base with a post-punk synthwave sound, with emulations from the eighties synthesizer Juno 106, but brought it to AMOR BUTANO ground with those unmistakable claps and pop synthesizers that they always have with them. A little (or a lot) of chorus, delay and reverb, and both of their styles are perfectly combined. They decided they wanted to write a song about the sea, and guess where they found their inspiration… As the wonderful chorus says: “Estoy escuchando “Estrella de Mar” / ¿En qué estaba pensando Eva Amaralcategoría” (I’m listening to “Estrella de Mar” / What was Eva Amaral thinkingcategoría). Once again, the sense of humor shines in a song that takes love, heartbreak and loneliness as a point of entry.

And tying it in to their first single, “Esta Era”, the lyric video, directed by Javier Artigas and edited by Enrique Tarazona once again, places our p [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: 01 DM  02 Chique De Internet

We have been anxiously awaiting news from Chenta Tsai. Yes, there are a lot of expectations about what this limitless and unpredictable artist is capable of doing. At the beginning of 2022, their new album, “JÁJÁ ÉQÚÍSDÉ (DISTOPÍA ABURRIDA)” will finally arrive. Maybe this is the album of a generation, the definitive hyperpop reference, but either way it is definitely going to stir up the music scene in Spain and in so many other places. A release like this needs to be savored little by little, to enjoy it the way it deserves to be enjoyed. And we will explain this new universe that PUTOCHINOMARICÓN has created piece by piece. JÁJÁ ÉQÚÍSDÉ is a fictitious place projected by Chenta that came about as a result of not being able to find a place where they belonged, of feeling like they were “from neither here nor from there”, and the desire was born to build a space where they felt like they could be their true defragmented self. That’s why we are bringing you a Digital Single with two advance songs, “DM” and “Chique De Internet”, where we can see PUTOCHINOMARICÓN’s obsessions: the reality of virtual emotions, communication in the XXI century and relationships in a digital world.

“DM” makes it clear that this new album has been cared for and tended to, t [ Read more ]

Ana Fernández-Villaverde continues to give us a trail of gems in the form of collaborations, singles, and appearances on TV shows, movies and ads. Now she is going to be on “Todo Lo Otro”, the new show on the HBOmax platform, directed by and starring Abril Zamora. And as always, she does not cease to surprise us.

Abril Zamora asked Ana to make this very special cover (in the purest LA BIEN QUERIDA style), for one of the episodes of her new show, and Ana took that anthem that came from Minerva, (yes, that “Llorando Por Ti”), under the influence of Spain’s greatest clubbing movement – Ruta del Bakalao – and brought it into the range of the downtempo, of lyricism and the deepest sadness. Strings, deep bass, underlying rhythms, and that “Estoy llorando por ti / Estoy llorando por cosas de ayer” (I’m crying for you / I’m crying for yesterday) that transmits so many different feelings, so intense, playing along with the show’s imagery, which shows us stories of fallings out, of lies, of deceptions and regrets. In the heartbreaking video from HBOmax, we can see Ana interacting and getting into bed with the stars, almost literally putting herself in their shoes. Rain, tears, and emotions running wild.

We still have more surprises coming from LA BIEN QUERIDA, more special collaborations that we will let you know about in the coming weeks. But for now, it’s time to enjoy “Llorando Por Ti” a [ Read more ]