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The long awaited first album, “Humo y Espejos” will be released in April, filled with indirect messages to the world of science, literature, music and film. Both the title and the presentation of the album, a theatre illustrated in a pop-up digipak, make references to particular obsessions about appearance and reality, always concealed within the catchy melodies. Eleven songs and a cover of a Jonathan Richman song.

Tracklist: 01. Canción de amor nº 3  02. Trucos de salón  03. Café Kafka  04. Veinte preguntas 05. Nomeolvides  06. Ciencia cotidiana  07. Una vida normal  08. Barba Azul  09. El humano perfecto 10. Raccord  11. Héroes del pasado  12. I’m a little dinosaur

Text written by Belén of the group L KAN

WRITTEN BY ONE  “RARE MUSICIAN” ABOUT OTHER RARE FOLKS.

LA MONJA ENANA is not your typical group with a defined path. Throughout their long, and at times, slower than usual career, they have played in Sweden, Russia, Paris and they put out a compilation in France and Mexico. The band has also been Single of the Week in Melody Maker. All of this happened without much effort from the group. LA MONJA ENANA is relaxed because they know that every once in awhile, without having to move a finger, something un-heard of happens and changes their career. Perhaps its largely due to their scientific-literary-paranormal theme in their music or it could simply be th [ Read more ]

Tracklist: 01. All I wanna do 02. Valentine

It may be possible that you may have never heard of them, but this is totally understandable- they have only played four different concerts since signing to Elefant at the beginning of the summer of 2007. Since then, their live shows have increased in number and the group toured throughout the United Kingdom in October and November with THE LOVES. Skipping about on stages throughout Great Britain, from Scotland to the south of England and of course, London, this group has played on numerous occasions to their fans who come out in the plenty. Before the extensive tour, in September, they entered the studios with producer Ian Catt (SAINT ETIENNE, TREMBLING BLUE STARS, SHAMPOO, THE BOO RADLEYS, Kahimi Karie, THE FIELD MICE) to record two songs which will be a part of their debut single, “All I Wanna Do,” among other songs. This special edition pink vinyl single will be the waiting room for the second single and their posterior LP debut, which will be out at the end of 2008.

The fact is that this group of seven, led by the peppy Liz offers a well-rounded presentation (Amen to the delicious “Kiss You in the Snow” which came out on our holiday single!), where their handwriting marks are above and beyond excellent. More importantly, the pop tunes are filled with emotion. “All I Wanna Do” reminds us of CAMERA OBSCURA and embraces passion with the legacy of Phil Spector, with a chorus filled with moving ro [ Read more ]

Elefant Records will put out the second album of the Swedes SPEEDMARKET AVENUE titled "Way better now". With the amazing production of Jari Haapalainen (producer of ED HARCOURT, INTERNATIONAL NOISE CONSPIRACY, THE CONCRETES and CAMERA OBSCURA, among others), the band from Norrkoping, who self-describes themselves as "a pop music collective led by a little guy who looks like a cross between Charles Manson and Marc Bolan,”  have created an album filled with emotional and precious pop melodies decorated in a non-conventional way, with imaginative arrangements where pop leaves room for intense shoegaze sceneries, breaths of punk-pop riffs, melodies of echoes from the sixties and jangle-pop with beautiful string arrangements; All of this performed with freshness and emotion creating a collection of songs with multiple and varying connections: MY BLOODY VALENTINE, THE ESSEX GREEN, THE SMITHS, SLOWDIVE, THE CURE, THE RAW HERBS, THE RAZORCUTS, THE LUCKSMITHS, THE RONETTES, BELLE & SEBASTIAN, THE TRASH CAN SINATRAS, CAMERA OBSCURA… “Way better now,” the song which is also the title of the album, will be out in April in a stunning white Vinyl Single which will feature the advanced release of this title song and the second album of SPEEDMARKET AVENUE will be out on May 5th. [ Read more ]

Next Saturday the 16th of February, we will celebrate the new year in the venue El Sol in Madrid, as 2008 will be filled with succulent treats with new artists and various releases. This first Elefant party of the year will feature two exceptional groups and a surprise guest DJ and we will dance our socks off as this surely will be a magical night. If all of this is not enough to entice you to come, everyone at the concert will receive their own copy of "Happy New Year 2008", a CD-Single with exclusive songs by HELEN LOVE, CORAZÓN, MY LITTLE AIRPORT and THE SCHOOL.

This party is the perfect way to welcome COLA JET SET to the label- one of the most admired and loved national groups of Spanish pop, known internationally as well by pop lovers from all over the globe. The quintet from Barcelona has already prepared their songs for the imminent album to be released and in no time, they will be in the studio recording. We are all very impatient to hear the new tunes but it will all be possible on February 16th- in Felipe’s own words, "half old stuff, half new stuff."  THE SCHOOL, from Wales, will open up the evening with their love for indie pop and the most brilliant sounds of the 60’s. THE SCHOOL  is much like a British version of sunshine pop – contagious and hyper-melodic- filled with lights and shadows to make you cry dancing. Sophisticated and happy songs with a melancholic twist with inspirations from THE BEACH BOYS, THE [ Read more ]

The new album of SERPENTINA, titled “Planeando en tu azotea”,  is an abridged version of bright and vibrant songs and, as of now, one of the most serious contenders of the best album of the year. Out of all the songs, we chose “Querido Miedo” for the premiere video of the group. As if the song were not summery enough, the images that make up the video are even more festive and upbeat. María Tamarit appears in the video as her slender, elegant self, along with the other half of the group, her brother, Paco a type of labyrinth which appears to be devised by the one and only Mondrian. While her elegant voice brings music to our ears, definitely one of the most exquisite voices in the national pop panorama, her unpredictable journey charms us as if she were Jean Seberg strolling through the Costa del Sol. Accompanying her at times, we also find the timid Paco Tamarit, who is joint at the hip with his guitar. With this amazing ensemble, the video is a clear tribute to the opening credits of movies from the sixties, where the influence of Saul Bass is indisputable. This not only demonstrates the fine taste and know-how of the team at art school, Trazos de Madrid, and the video directors Alonso Luján, Jose Luis Navas and Adrián Martínez, but clearly shows how to capture the most perfect and luminous mages of this magnificent song something that a Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Japanese, Indonesian or Pilipino group may often dre [ Read more ]

HELEN LOVEIt’s my club and I’ll play what I want toER-1129 CD Digipak / LP

Tracklist: 1. It’s my club 2. Debbie loves Joey 3. Dance on [Solid gold] 4. You better learn karate 5. The 1910 fruitgum company 6 . Transistor radio [Radio] 7. Jet 8. First boyfriend 09. Rodneys English disco 10. Honolulu superstar 11. Garageband 12. Queen of the discobeat 13. Staying in 14. A new squad attacking formation 15. Junkshop discotheque 16. Saturday … nite!!!!!

TEXT BY GUILLE MILKYWAY [LA CASA AZUL] “I will never forget the interstellar high I got when I first bought and played “Punk boy” by HELEN LOVE, their third single, on my record player. The first time the needle made contact with the single, it became my single of preference of all time. Although this was more than 10 years ago, it’s still my favourite. I finally discovered what it was like to not be alone in the world knowing that there were other people out there who understood punk, who “got”  the RAMONES, who appreciated bubblegum the same way that I did and would never want it to cease to exist. Better yet, for the time being, it continues to exist. Twenty singles and four LPs later, each and every HELEN LOVE album gives me another chance to experience this instant euphoria over and over because their albums still tend to be the best albums of the year.   HELEN LOVE, the undergroup group par excellence, a band which has fascinated people all over the [ Read more ]

This year has just begun and Elefant Records has the pleasure to release one of the most awaited albums of independent national pop. The new album of the Valencian group, SERPENTINA, is made up of two siblings, Paco and María Tamarit, with the title “Planeando en tu Azotea.” Both of them are members of the conservatory and Paco, who is in charge of composing and creating the beautiful arrangements of the songs, has collaborated in the past few years with numerous bands from this region and he also produced the debut album of CORAZÓN. In this album, we find 12 new hits of luminous and charming pop, with the advance of the video of “Querido Miedo,” which is notably the return of the band after a magnificent debut album “Blancamañana” (2004) released on the small independent label from Barcelona, Annika Records. If the first album was well received by the press, appearing on the “Best Of” lists of the prestigious magazine, Rockdelux, this new album is sure to bring about good vibes.

"Planeando en tu Azotea" is a cd, musically speaking, more luminous, direct and immediate, perhaps less Baroque than their last album, with the majority of songs hardly going over two minutes of duration, following the norms of classical pop. As always, in the proposal of the Tamarit siblings, we find references to popular music across the decades, from easy listening (Ennio Morricone, Henry Mancini, Antón Garc&iacu [ Read more ]

We finally see images of the title song of the cd that has meant the definite return of Teresa Iturrioz and Ibon Errazkin after making history in Spanish pop with LE MANS. "Pío Pío" is one of the best songs out lately and the UserT38 video gives it justice, wrapping it up with mysterious and very elegant images. The video transmits an unreal sensation from the beginning with recorded applauses which resonate in the empty space of the video set and a timeless sensation which impedes you in knowing if it’s set in the 40’s, 50’s, 70’s or directly in the imaginative future.

Teresa Iturrioz is beautiful, elegant and distant like an Iranian woman. Throughout the instrumental part (the surprising and hit sampling symphony idea of Ibon Errazkin) she maintains inscrutable like an Egyptian sphinx, up until she starts to sing the wonderful lyrics of the song. Without losing her serenity, of course! The scenery is austere and could be seen as a black and white video if it was not for the colourful crest of a parrot. The video "Pío Pío" is fabulous and hypnotic and you will need to watch it again and again. Despite the apparent scarcity, one can discover new and suggestive ideas in each and every viewing. [ Read more ]

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)

Françoise Cactus and Brezel Göring [STEREO TOTAL], make their comeback in 2007 with the new album (the fantastic “Paris-Berlin”) which brings them back to their lo-fi roots. The best group in the world, according to MOMUS and “…the best pop group in the world” as noted in The Guardian, has shown that their formula stands stronger than ever with this album. Rough edged, romantic, vulgar, warm and in your face as always are the key components which bequeath us with the 14 shots launched against boredom and apathy. One of them being “Plastic” which Françoise and Brezel chose to open up their first Single for Elefant, this time in a fun Spanish version. As their followers know, this French-German duo has always toyed singing in other languages on their albums. They have sang in Japonese, Turkish, Italian, English and also in Spanish. It’s the first time they have released an album entirely in our language and furthermore, with the peculiarity of the remaining songs being covers of classic songs from the Elefant catalogue chosen by the artists themselves. The first pleasing song is one of the most popular hits of LA CASA AZUL, "C’est fini" (which is off the album "Tan simple como el amor") a sparkling mix of rock, jumping sensations and rawness all in one. Continuing to mesmerize us, the next cover is from the group LE MANS, “Un Rayo de Sol” from the album of the same title. T [ Read more ]

We all miss Dan Treacy and TV PERSONALITIES. After all the years of amazing songs and magnificent albums, we have waited almost a decade to hear the unmistakable voice of Dan again. Luckily they have put out two new albums: “My Dark Places” (2006) and “Are we Nearly There Yetí” (2007) which were supposedly the beginning of a new era, after the experience Dan had crossing the desert.

On behalf of Elefant Records, we are proud and excited to put out the world exclusive new single of TV PERSONALITIES “The Good Anarchist.” One truly cries out in jubilation when listening to this song! Only true alchemists of pop can achieve to produce sounds of such sensibility in just a little over two minutes. Echoes of bands such as VELVET UNDERGROUND, SHOP ASSISTANTS and CAROUSEL ring about on this single, as well as the voice of Swede Johanna Lundström for the first time and Dan playing the guitar. The B-Side sparkles with the fabulous “She’s Always Been There for Me” with the classic TV PERSONALITIES (basically Dan and Ed Ball) although it includes an irresistible touch of Northern Soul and a catchy rhythm that makes you put on your dancing shoes and leave your Ben Sherman shirt soaking in sweat! It’s all a big surprise wrapped up in a 7” single and a definite must for long-time fans of the group, as well as newbies which became fans with their last few albums!

Two new gigs in London

Wed 9 Jan – Alan McGee’

To celebrate the holidays, we have finally made our long-awaited wish come true by creating a festive holiday single to give away to our mates!

With this single we would like to give thanks to everyone who has helped us througout the years, especially fans of the label, without their help none of this would be imposible. A special single with songs which will make us forget all the hard times and help us ring in the New Year with bells and whistles.

Four songs from the latest signed Elefant artists. The most recent one, THE SCHOOL, a project of 8 restless musicians from Cardiff which put out their first song precisely on this single. Last September, they packed their bags and moved off to London to record, under the guidance of Ian Catt, seven delicious songs which will be put out in two singles at the beginning of the year, a sweet and exquisite carol with a very 50’s holiday pop feel to it. Caitlin and Sauna [they are only 6 years old!], our kids HELEN LOVE show their adoration of Joey Ramone is more alive than ever and continues throughout the generations, they create a snowman out of Joey Ramone and this way, Santa Claus won’t have any problems finding them!! Absolutely adorable! CORAZÓN inspires us with their brilliant, sad and melancholic carol highlighted with rural folk strokes, providing an authentic flavour of Christmas. Carlos and Nando are placing the final touches to their new and highly anticipated album, an album  which includes the prod [ Read more ]

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 ]

Everything about the new LA CASA AZUL album is exciting and shocking. A long awaited CD full of emotional and stimulating songs which submerge us even more into a futuristic world of fiction in which the reality of the five protagonists of LA CASA AZUL is discovered, five programmed humanoids and directed by Guille Milkyway, the true brain of LA CASA AZUL and the most prominent futuristic musician-scientist of our time.

The new LA CASA AZUL video shows the new technological twist of the second phase the group is wrapped up in. Domingo González, director of the three previous LA CASA AZUL videos, has left us absolutely astonished; More inspired than ever, he intelligently achieved mixing two opposing worlds into the video -futuristic coldness and technology- skillfully displaying the new phase of LA CASA AZUL, the synthetic aspect of the group and the human and sentimental side which Guille releases with himself and his music. An explosive  mix of the musical influences which saunters about LA CASA AZUL, in a virtual reality format; a refreshing world to dance in, have fun, enjoy oneself, feel the love, loneliness…and of course insisting on our greatly admired Japanese country (with a tribute included to the dance “para para”). The perfect video for truly digging deep into the true sexual revolution.

New LA CASA AZUL video “La Revolución Sexual”picture: Nuevo vídeo de La Casa Azul: La revolución sexual22/12/2007 [ Read more ]

The release of the cd was highly anticipated and long awaited for and we knew what was coming, but good news always makes for a nice surprise: LA CASA AZUL hits the top of the charts in Spain. Throughout the first week on sale, the new album completely sold out in every store, as well as tickets to scheduled concerts, LA CASA AZUL landed directly to number 25 on the charts! Finally a bit of indie color among the top of the charts! With the help of fans, we hope this lasts for awhile and continues to climb the list in the next few weeks. [ Read more ]