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After meeting all expectations with the first album, “Las Causas Perdidas”, which made them the next big promise of pop sung in Spanish, the powerful live show NELEONARD showed off on the tour for that album became one of the biggest keys to making “Un Lugar Imaginado” the culmination of such a thrilling proposition. Because “Un Lugar Imaginado” beats its predecessor in intensity and dynamics, and it makes an incredibly intelligent read of all things epic in pop, that roller coaster of emotions made out of melodies, arrangements, starts and stops. Nothing needs to be confirmed; it’s already done. Let yourselves go.

We open the doors with “El Mismo”, with its summery, lazy air, and that beginning that feels like an homage to DOBLE PLETINA (in fact, Laura Antolín is present here on the choruses). It’s a story about break-ups and disappointment, with an emotional crescendo based on really delicious, exquisite choruses and chords. “Sorpresa, Vacío” (the second advance single for the album) steps on the gas, with echoes of HOUSEMARTINS and early CARDIGANS, backing up a reflection on the idiosyncrasy of giving and not receiving. And we have an amazing example of a whole gallery of structural changes, stops, starts… A roller coaster, remembercategoría “Por No Hablar” is a huge slap in the face. Clear and evident traces of sadness that Nele Navío explic [ Read more ]

We are still enjoying the treasures from ALPACA SPORTS’ last album, and we are releasing this new Digital Single taken from “From Paris With Love”, an album full of precious songs that tells the story of Andreas’ time in the capital of France. One of the biggest gems on this album is the opening track, “I’ll Do Anything You Want”. The song has touches of soul and disco but with a jangly spirit working for a chorus that is equal parts danceable and exciting.

In fact, both Andreas and Lisle coincide in referencing ORANGE JUICE when they talk about the songwriting process for this song. Andreas tells it this way: “When I sent the first demo to Lisle remember I felt quite unhappy about it, because I wasn’t able to make it sound near as good as it sounded in my head. I wanted it to feel very dancy with jangly guitars and bouncy drums, and the Glasgow band ORANGE JUICE was a big inspiration. I mentioned this to Lisle and the next day I received an amazing demo which was better than I could ever imagine”. To which Lisle answered: “The timing was good for me, because I was listening a lot to ORANGE JUICE’s second record at the time, so I think it was subconscious to make the drums and guitar a bit like “Rip It Up”. I think because Andreas was so pleased with what I did with the first demo, he allowed me to indulge in makin [ Read more ]

With this new release, NOS MIRAN are taking over. With that name that is so mysterious, and those videos where they develop that universe all their own that navigates through the irrational, NOS MIRAN radically abandon their more pop spirit and leap into building on minor chords, developing a darker Digital EP, openly hazy, and that turns restraint into tension, turns the unknown into poetry. Meandering between Italo disco and the dream house sound, with electronic and minimalist bases, they develop that strange world around the dance floor.

The best proof is that “Mientras Bailo”, which defines a dreamlike world that is hard to describe, that searches for a connection with the listener through something other than logic. Or the more solid “El Planeta”, which moves them closer to KRAFTWERK and MORODER, with DEVO’s martial tones and the dreamy strength of YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA, stellar space travels through geometric dreams. “Contigo” marks a change compared to the others: less psychedelia, more direct, breathtaking, as if LIO and SAINT ETIENNE were in the midst of a deep melancholy for some impossible love. By the way, the video is once again directed by Antonio Máiquez, who is becoming an intrinsic part of the definition of the aura surrounding NOS MIRAN. “Algo Va A Ir Mal” is a difficult, pessimistic, sad, closing song that is not for dancing, almost closer to shoegazing. But like artists with something personal [ Read more ]

We are releasing the Digital EP for the soundtrack for Marc Ferrer’s movie, “Puta Y Amada”, with the songs “Telenovela” (a duet with PAPA TOPO and La Prohibida), “Ese Hombre” (a duet with PAPA TOPO and Yurena) and “Éxtasis Total” by BELINDA Y DELFINA.

The album opens with the duet between PAPA TOPO and Yurena, a danceable yet melancholic and dramatic version of “Ese Hombre”, the classic by Manuel Alejandro and Ana Magdalena that Rocío Jurado made famous in the early 80s. Right after that, we have “Telenovela”, an original and autobiographic song written together by Adrià and Marc about their relationship (a subject that is also one of the main plotlines of the movie). The songwriting, which drinks musically from melodic Spanish song as much as it does from the electronic pop of PET SHOP BOYS, has a complex structure, full of changes and suppressive modulations like soap opera-y twists, giving the song a kind of “progressive pop” feel. Like a television show, the songs builds tension as it develops, until the climactic final episode in which, to the tune of strident trumpets and  deafening cymbals and bells, love is pronounced dead.

The video for “Telenovela” is a trash horror thriller telling the painful four-part love story, starring Adrià Arbona, La Prohibida, Berner May [ Read more ]

On October 5, two COOPER albums are being simultaneously re-released, two albums that were originally separated by nearly 14 years. Is this further confirmation that Alex Diez is a legendary musician who is timeless in the national pop scene, even beyond his career with LOS FLECHAZOScategoría Here, first of all, and due to how quickly the vinyl release of the last album, “Tiempo, Temperatura, Agitación”, sold out, and because of the tour that will soon begin in national territory, Elefant is going to put out a special re-release of that album, as a limited edition black vinyl.  It’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity for those who didn’t get a vinyl copy of the first edition, and at the same time it lets us celebrate a new opportunity to enjoy the band’s stunning live show. On October 5, we will also release COOPER’s new video, starring the song “Dos Grados Bajo Cero” – the most danceable and hallucinogenic song from “Tiempo, Temperatura, Agitación” – directed by Juan Marigorta (Estudios Tripolares) and in which we find the ecstatic dances of Lady Secuela and Alex’s acting, bathed with psychedelic brushstrokes from the group’s universe and from the album’s graphic design. 

On the other hand, and with the excuse of a series of re-releases we announced in 2014 for Elefant’s 25th anniversary, a new vinyl version of what was COOPER’s second album, “Retrovi [ Read more ]

To make the wait a bit lighter until “Movidas” (their anxiously awaited 10” pink vinyl debut Mini-LP, coming out in November) comes out, and after the pop appetite that “Canción De Pop De Amor” created, CARIÑO give us this great little gift. After how well-received their live version of C. Tangana’s “Llorando En La Limo” was, they have decided to give it to us in Digital Single format. As they themselves say: “There is so much debate between pop, trap and the limit between the two. What is “Llorando En La Limo”categoría The truth is that we don’t really know. For us it’s a little bit of everything, and we like this song, a lot. With our version, we have tried to build a bridge to new urban sounds that, to some extent, are ours too. We have slightly adapted the lyrics to our own experiences, meaning crying from feeling down, but not in limos – in friends’ houses, and maybe even on small scooters, because we don’t have a car, but we do have a lot of love. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do”.

This is a statement of intent, a juicy appetizer that is betting on breaking down boundaries and biases, on building bridges in music and on the ability to appropriate a song to bring it into totally unexpected territory, where the connotations and readings of the song, even of the emotions it gives off, change radically. Because there is no doubt that these are our CARI&N [ Read more ]

The Herrero siblings gave us a good look at their particular universe with that fantastic Mini-LP called “Abducida Por Formar Una Pareja”. Very soon we will have “Tralará”, their first full-length. Some people would talk about maturity, but they are allergic to that word. Others would talk about a step forward, but they are not moving in any definite direction. Conxita and Fermí let themselves be carried away by their overflowing imagination, and go wherever that takes them. Without restrictions. Without prejudice. And sometimes, without reservation. No matter what happens. 

Because their thing is to make the naive seem mature, and the grown-up seem innocent. It’s pure magic. What’s more, it’s a healthy exercise. How to laugh at yourself and reinvent yourself in an impossible way, all at the same time. And as proof, this taste of what will be that anticipated album: “Animales” is a perfect introduction. Dreamy and fragile, yet exultant. The most exact way they can be defined. It’s a kind of confession. Because that’s how they are. They don’t see themselves like other people. They don’t want to be like everyone else. And that’s why they have built their own world. The one they put together around a small yellow wooden chair in a video that goes with this advance Digital Single. Like fish and turtles, snails and other kinds of animals. They feel closer to them than to humans. [ Read more ]

Alex and Clara met during a study program in Japan. When they got back home, they ended up on opposite coasts of the United States (one in Connecticut and the other in California), but they decided to start writing songs long-distance. It sounds like a tale, a story made up for the beginning of a novel, but it is true. This is the origin of GALAXY FINGERS, a group influenced by doowop, shoegaze, post-punk, folk music, and slowcore. They were captivated in equal parts by the COCTEAU TWINS, PRETEND, Laura Marling and THE MAGNETIC FIELDS, and the chemistry was so strong that over time they realized they needed to record the songs. Clara recorded the vocals from the east coast, and the rest was recorded on the west coast. And behind the control panel of these songs was Brad Lee, member of THE ALBUM LEAF. The result is their first EP, “Let In Elijah EP”.

“I Need Therapy”, with its vocal plays, places us close to SLOWDIVE and MOJAVE 3, though those lazy drums and rhythms evoke our beloved GALAXIE 500, with touches of the fifties in the melodies and arrangements that make the North American duo’s openness to influences clear. “Clap For Them” slows the tempo down, diving head first into the most precious, delicate folk, where the connection between the two voices that seem like one shines, and where playful guitar arrangements surprise us, increasing the lysergic effect and adding intensity to a piece born to be crystal.

&l [ Read more ]

It is clear that LA CASA AZUL’s new album, “La Gran Esfera”, is going to mark a before and an after in Guille Milkyway’s discography. It is a leap of faith in every sense. That puzzle that we were slowly putting together, and that has been revealing a composer who has taken a giant step forward, taken a suicidal turn. And nothing on this album is a better metaphor, to represent this new stage than this fourth advance, the fourth piece of the puzzle. “Nunca Nadie Pudo Volar” is a song about vital anxiety, about human stubbornness challenging scientific laws and even about our own stupidity. To this end, he uses the story of Franz Reichelt, an Austrian tailor who, in his obsession with overcoming the laws of gravity, jumped off of the Eiffel tower dressed in an impossible flying suit that he designed himself based on the drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci, to ultimately fall to his instant death, in a sadly famous moment that was filmed on February 4, 1912.

But this raw and heartbreaking story clashes with the dreamy spirit of the music, somewhere between Italian disco and dream, between Moroder and Rozalla, between style and hit, between the merciless four-four time signature and the unforgettable melody. Yes, Guille once again turns on the stylistic mixer and plays with that stylistically slippery effect again, making music that excites you and lifts you up, while the lyrics take you closer to hell or set you free. Nuances, readings, a wh [ Read more ]

We love to add to the number of bands and releases that form part of our “New Adventures In Pop” collection, which is dedicated to new groups, or groups with very few releases on the market. And we love to do this even more when it is, as is the case with this Single, for the US group CARBON POPPIES, a trio from Louisiana formed by Allison Bohl, Jonny Campos and Peter DeHart.

In addition to forming part of other musical projects (BRASS BED, LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS and KIND COUSIN), CARBON POPPIES self-released a 6-song, 12” vinyl EP in 2012 that was full of luminous pop leaning toward an sharp but precious sixties sound, with a touch of the garage of THE BATS or THE CLEAN, the taste for melodies of LOVIN’ SPOONFUL and the lysergic folk touch of WOODS. Indie-pop with class (and a Grammy, which was awarded to Jonny Campos, with his other group LOST BAYOU RAMBLERS) which is back on the current musical scene at the hand of Elefant Records with this “Rain On My Face” “Rain On My Face” is a special song, because it is a version of the British group SHAPE & SIZES, who released their only Single on July 1, 1966, the B side of which is the title track of this Single and the cover that opens the release. It’s a delicious example of psychedelic sixties pop with majestic choruses and evanescent reverb. Like THE CLIENTELE, but more agile and with brushstrokes of the sixties pop spirit of THE SCHOOL. “You And I”, adds a [ Read more ]

Erin Moran (A GIRL CALLED EDDY) and Mehdi Zannad (FUGU) have made an album together, which is going to be released on Elefant Records. The collaboration began to take shape when Zannad fell in love with Erin’s exquisite voice on her debut album “A Girl Called Eddy” – produced with Richard Hawley and critically acclaimed in the press from Uncut to Mojo to Rolling Stone and The New York Times, while Erin was a fan of FUGU from the very first album – which she bought as a ‘staff recommends’ at the old Kim’s Video on Bleecker St. in New York City.

Erin Moran was born in the same hospital as Frank Sinatra in Hoboken (New Jersey), raised on the “Jersey Shore”, but has called NYC her home for decades. When her debut album was released in 2004, it not only received critical acclaim from the press, but also acquired her some A-list fans: childhood hero’s like Burt Bacharach and Gilbert O’Sullivan, and artists as diverse as Robert Smith of THE CURE, to Tracey Thorn, Jane Birkin, and Nina Persson. She can be heard singing on records by Ron Sexsmith, SUPER FURRY ANIMALS and many more, but interestingly (as Mehdi first heard her) she is the voice of the girl in the duet with Philippe Katerine; indie hit “Parlez-Vous Anglais Mr. Katerinecategoría” which also just so happens to be the opening song on the Elefant compilation “Montecarlo” (released in 1997 for the inauguration of the &ldq [ Read more ]

FORMAT: LP [White Colour Vinyl] [Numbered Limited Edition of 500 copies] / CD DIGIPAK / DIGITAL ALBUM  

TRACKLIST: 01 I'll Do Anything You Want  02 Feel Like Going Home  03 Summer Days  04 Nobody Cares But Me  05 Eiffel Tower  06 Birds 07 Books I've Read  08 A New Boyfriend  09 Baby What Can I Saycategoría  10 Without You  11 Saddest Girl In The World  12 Luxembourg Gardens  

Saying that following the trajectory of Andreas Jonsson and ALPACA SPORTS is like travelling all around the world is no understatement, and in fact, sometimes it’s literal. Their videos, songs, and albums have repeatedly reflected the different cities they’ve traveled and lived in. Their melodies reflect their adventurous spirit, which has grown even bigger on their new album, “From Paris With Love”. In 2016, Andreas moved to Paris, and he and Lisle Mitnik began writing songs together about what the city transmitted, about what it means to start again in a new place, and about what you have to leave behind. All of these feelings are captured and expressed in this collection of twelve songs full of sincerity that will help you hold onto experiences that can be forgotten and get lost with the passing of time.

There have been a lot of expectations about the arrival of this second full-length album from the Swedish group, considering that their previous album, “Sealed With A Kiss&rd [ Read more ]

A major event in pop is happening! Yurena, many years after her debut (which included the work of composers like Carlos Berlanga, Nacho Canut, Luis Miguélez, Tito Pintado, Teresa Iturrioz and Ibon Errazkin), is flirting with underground Spanish pop again, in a flaming collaboration with PAPA TOPO. The song, “Ese Hombre”, is a highly danceable disco-pop duet cover of the marvelous original written by Manuel Alejandro and Ana Magdalena in 1980 and made famous with the voice of Rocío Jurado.

This Single is the advance of the release of the soundtrack for “Puta Y Amada”, the new movie by Marc Ferrer, in which both Yurena and Adrià Arbona (the frontman for PAPA TOPO) have acting roles and show off their more interpretive sides. Yurena has always been an esthetic reference for Adrià from the beginning, and in many PAPA TOPO concerts they have performed a cover of the pop anthem “A Por Ti”. Their meeting in the filming of “Puta Y Amada” made it possible for this duet to become almost inevitable. The movie had its world premiere at the D’A FILM FEST in Barcelona, and has also been shown at the Atlántida Film Fest and on Filmin.

The “Puta Y Amada” soundtrack album is a three-song Digital Single, released by Elefant Records, which also includes the long-awaited duet with PAPA TOPO and another of the great divas of pop today, La Prohibida, who gives voice to the heartbreaking love s [ Read more ]

Just recently, we were talking about LINDA GUILALA’s new digital single, “Mucho Mejor” and about how excited we were about news about Eva, Iván and Mari. Well, it hasn’t taken long for these kids to “make some noise” (an expression that couldn’t be more appropriate). And, after the amount of traffic the single received from the islands, this coming Tuesday, July 24th, the trio from Galicia is going to do a session on Marc Riley’s program on BBC6. He who was a member of THE FALL, owner of the label In-Tape (ASPHALT RIBBONS, THE JUNE BRIDES, THE CREEPERS), and promoter of groups like MASSIVE ATTACK, PIXIES, COCTEAU TWINS and HAPPY MONDAYS is making LINDA GUILALA the first Spanish group on Elefant Records to record a session for the BBC. On a show that, recently, and to give just a few of the varied examples, has had guests like PARQUET COURTS, THE DAMNED and IRON & WINE. But there are also three important dates for their new British tour. This Wednesday, July 25th, starting at 7 p.m., they will take part in a special concert in the Rough Trade East store, as special selections of the brand in a campaign for the best emerging artists. Other bands like GRIMM GRIMM and ECHO LADIES will also be there.

The next stop is the following day, in CARDIFF, the hometown of many of our favorite groups, like SUPER FURRY ANIMALS, YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS and our beloved THE SCHOOL. The performance will take place at The Moon Cardiff, a [ Read more ]

We have a really special release in our hands. A 7” Single arising from the collaboration of two artists who make different sounds, but who have the same references and inclinations. Something like the two sides of the same coin, maybe in its most potent version. And on “So Far Tonight”, a numbered, limited-edition, orange-colored vinyl, Spain’s Lia Pamina and Italy’s Dario Persido an absolutely marvelous exercise in sixties sounds, with each of them contributing their own vision and qualities.

Dario Persiis the singer from RADIO DAYS, one of the most important power pop and sixties sound groups in Italy and all of Europe. They released 3 albums, 2 EP’s and 2 vinyl Singles shared with bands like THE RUBINOOS and PAUL COLLINS BEAT. They have given more than 300 concerts in Italy, Japan, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Belgium, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and the Czech Republic, with stops at international festivals like Purple Weekend in Leon (Spain), International Pop Overthrow in Cavern Club in Liverpool, Fuengirola Pop Weekend in Málaga (Spain) and Festival Beat in Salsomaggiore Terme (Italy). And our Lia Pamina is building her fan-base, spread out all over the world, even bigger, and is still accumulating a list of the most respected producers and collaborators, release after release.

On this Single, Dario, other members of RADIO DAYS like Mattia Baretta, the regular producer for RADIO DAYS, Marco Alberto Matti andL [ Read more ]