News

This past November 29, BBC 6 Music announced the albums of the year for the different announcers that are part of the radio station. Each announcer mentioned one album and Mark Radcliffe chose “Overwintering” by LIGHTNING IN A TWILIGHT HOUR which will be included in the playlist created by BBC 6 along with the rest of the selected albums and will also be a featured album on December 26. This is a new landmark in Bobby Wratten’s extensive career, as he was a part of the beloved group THE FIELD MICE in the eighties, then NORTHERN PICTURE LIBRARY, and later founded TREMBLING BLUE STARS. In 2004, our greatest dream came true – he signed with Elefant Records to release his last albums as TREMBLING BLUE STARS for the world and begin his next adventure, LIGHTNING IN A TWILIGHT HOUR, under our wing. This is recognition for a sublime album that works within the diverse parameters that have characterized Wratten’s career: melancholy ambiance, a pop spirit and sonic experimentation. It is an album full of great songs, on the surface emotions and inspiration from a unique personality in the history of pop: Bobby Wratten. [ Read more ]

We are so excited to announce this new project. Where COLECTIVO DA SILVA is party and celebration, and CARABALLO, the new solo project by Carlos Caraballo is introspection and discovery. But with that pop spirit that soaks through everything this singer from Granada does. And “Déjame Vivir”, the first advance single from his imminent debut, proves it: techno-pop, hyperpop, dream-pop. Somewhere between ROJUU and HIDROGENESSE, between LA CASA AZUL and DEPRESIÓN SONORA. Creating choruses out of nothing. Addictive, danceable too, but above all, exciting.

What’s more, David Heofs – Bandiz Studio (who has directed music videos for COLECTIVO DA SILVA, Javiera Mena, AGORAZEIN and NOVEDADES CARMINHA, among many others; he has recorded and produced commercial campaigns for different brands, as well as creating editorial and artistic projects in the fields of painting, photography, and installations; his work has been exhibited in different editorial fairs and one of his art books has been included in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art collection) has developed the most interesting music video where we can see our star wandering through the streets, lost, when suddenly he realizes that someone who looks like him is following him, and it makes him uncomfortable. With a DIY esthetic, he develops a beautiful metaphor about the search for one’s identity. And to top things off, the incredible album cover fo [ Read more ]

After a few very busy months, with an intense performance schedule, we have discographic news from LISASINSON. In 2023, they will release a new album, “Un Año De Cambios”, and we have here a new advance, “Últimamente”. The song shows greater maturity in the guitars, in the way the dynamic works, but is just as furious and full of spite as always, speedy, aggressive, with lyrics that leave little room for metaphor:“Sería genial que mi gato no oliese a muerto como tú” (It would be great if my cat didn’t smell like death like you). Fury. Rage. Punk. The production is once again handled by the magical Carlos Hernández (CAROLINA DURANTE, AXOLOTES MEXICANOS, AIKO EL GRUPO, TRIÁNGULO DE AMOR BIZARRO).

And for the occasion, Miguel Yubero has prepared a video like a kind of visualizer, a loop with long shots in which a voyeur serves as a vehicle and a metaphor for all the negative emotions the song expresses. This advance predicts that our LISASINSON still have energy to keep on burning it up on the road.

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After eight albums, Maria Rodés’ talent has been made absolutely clear on numerous occasions. But “Fuimos Los Dos” is a special album, and not just because it’s her first solo album with Elefant Records (after that wonder she shared with LA ESTRELLA DE DAVID titled “Contigo”). We are probably looking at her most intimate work, where she combines singer-songwriting, Latin American folklore and sonic experimentation to express her vision of the end of romantic relationships. It is an absolute delight, and her marvelous voice dances between minute, delicate, exquisite arrangements.

“Fuimos Los Dos” is a bittersweet album. It tells a story that ends during the confinement, where the lockdown is an opportunity to look directly at the faults of a dying relationship: “este silencio lo tendremos que hablar” (we will have to talk about this silence) she sings in one of the songs. The thirteen tracks on the album give that silence a voice, untangling the past and the present, and taking us to other break-ups she hasn’t totally gotten over. All the songs were written during confinement, like a diary, all at once and without editing, to not think too much, and to let the time pass. Thanks to this personal challenge that started out as a kind of game – writing a song a day – the singer-songwriter was able to avoid getting caught up in perfectionism and give us the perfect freshness of the original [ Read more ]

We are still amazed with the reception that “There’s Nothing But Pleasure”, the debut album from BUBBLE TEA AND CIGARETTES, has had. The first edition in vinyl (1000 copies) sold out in just a few days, and the support it is receiving internationally on blogs and in magazines is really incredible. One of their songs, “5AM Empanada with You”, was included on the soundtrack for Netflix’s “Élite”. And we have the feeling that there are still many great things to come, that Andi and Kat still have so much to give us. And to celebrate all of this, we are releasing a video for one of the songs from that debut album, directed by Andi and Kat themselves.

“He Asked Me to Quit Smoking” maintains that mysterious, lazy, hazy, lysergic spirit that characterizes the album and that is accentuated in the video which emphasizes their nocturnal spirit (if not, what would they be doing looking for empanadas and fried chicken at 5 in the morningcategoría) that is both decadent and poetic at the same time, playing with cinematic textures. Hypnotic. And the way they make the moonlight dance. To repeat again and again.

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It’s a dream come true. A song straight from the minds of Soleá Morente and Guille Milkyway working together. Two of our brightest stars. And it also means getting into unexplored territory for both of them. Because what if we told you that they dove head first into writing an absolutely irresistible cumbiacategoría And that the song begins like a heartbreaking melodic Italian song with Spanish roots, like a duet between Raphael and Rocío Jurado at the height of the sixtiescategoría And that the chorus takes you to a rumba from LOS AMAYAcategoría And, of course, that it has some flamenco in it too (Soleá’s touch). And sure, it has a certain electronic dance spirit (Guille’s touch). And that the arrangements are just prodigious. And that each second is more surprising and exciting.

Soleá and Guille meet. They look into each other’s eyes. Yes, they have both just been the victims of their separate heartbreaks, and they find in each other the echo of their need to sing their sorrows at the top of their lungs. LAS NEGRIS get the party started with their palmas (traditional flamenco clapping) to this great production and composition from Guille. And the sorrows are blown away; you forgive and forgive yourself. The feeling of excitement about things to come returns. It is a fascinating song that embraces you and makes you dance.

“Vamos A Olvidar” opens infinite p [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: 01 Le Midi (JULIE ET JOE)  02 Viniste A Por Mí (SOLEÁ MORENTE)  03 Tutti Frutti (SOLEÁ MORENTE) – feat. La Estrella de David, Las Negris, José Bonaparte & Checopolaco  04 La Fuerza (LA BIEN QUERIDA) – feat. Los Planetas  05 Ducati (SOLEÁ MORENTE) – feat. Cariño 06 Arcade (JULIE ET JOE)  07 Contigo (NOS MIRAN)  08 Bäckerei Digital (DIE KATAPULT)  09 Baby Love (FITNESS FOREVER)

This coming October 20th, the film festival Mostra de Valencia will open with the Valencian film “El Que Sabem”, produced by Pegatum Transmedia and directed by Jordi Núñez, author of the shorts “Píxeles” (with more than 11 million views on streaming), “Amor De Dios” and “Cachitos”. It is a daring generational portrait about a story of first love, acceptance, and forgiveness, dressed up as a hymn to friendship, desire and the youth that slips through our hands. It is a movie in which, according to the people who made it, “music plays a fundamental role in building emotions and feelings, whether it’s to intensify them or to fill them with irony”. A large part of the movie’s soundtrack consists of songs by groups from Elefant Records.

From the sticky sweet, eighties style techno-pop of JULIE ET JOE, to the fun and rumba-style cheekiness that Soleá Morente brings, the hazy myste [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: 01 Per Te E Per Me  02 Una Notte Intera  03 Escúchame  04 Hold On To Love

We are still extracting gems from the last collaboration between Joe Moore and Cristina Quesada, which gave us that ultra-enjoyable album “Dentro Al Tuo Sogno”. And this time we have chosen “Per Te E Per Me” as the star of a new Digital Single that comes packed with extras. And why “Per Te E Per Me”, you askcategoría Because it perfectly embodies the spirit of an album dedicated to Italo Disco, with its innocent cunning, its rhythmical danceability and the velvety voice of Cristina in Italian. And to complete this package, we have a video by Daniel Cuenca who puts into images the profoundly eighties quality of this exercise, which falls somewhere between evocation, melancholy, and celebration, with those choreographies and duplicated images.

Three previously unreleased tracks, taken from the album’s recording sessions, are the cherry of top. “Una Notte Intera” is based on the version that Rita Pavone made of the James Last song “Games That Lovers Play”. “Escúchame” and “Hold On To Love” are compositions by Joe that have never been released before, and that abound in the idea of the album, the first with a lysergic production, dream-like and with lyrics by Cristina, and the second gets back to playing w [ Read more ]

After her recent album with LA ESTRELLA DE DAVID, Maria Rodés is soon going to release her first album with Elefant Records. “Recordarte” is a wonderful example of what you will find there: her soft, sweet, dreamy voice; whispering, but full of volume; her pleasant, intimate, everyday stories. Our Adrianne Lenker, always handy with the arrangements, an expert in creating intimate spaces with the listener, versatile in her capacity as a song writer. “Recordarte” begins with a rhythmic arpeggio, that slowly adds subtle arrangements, creating a universe of sound that could have been the work of Sufjan Stevens. This song, where Maria shows off her unique personality, comparable to great folk singers like Silvia Pérez Cruz, Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten, comes with a video by Aitor Urbaneja, with whom she has worked on several occasions. This video takes us to a teenager’s last days of August as she moves through her childhood summer home alone, showing us, as she does, the different stages of her solitude, her insecurities, her doubts and memories of a love. Every last note is perfectly measured, nothing is in excess, there is so much done with so little… Now get ready for “Fuimos Los Dos” album.

TRACKLIST: 01 Recordarte

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Este 2022 ha sido sin duda el año de SOLEÁ MORENTE. Y es que desde que publicase a finales de 2021 su álbum más personal, ‘Aurora y Enrique’, no han dejado de sucederle los éxitos.

Todo empezó precisamente con ese disco, un trabajo íntimo, dedicado a su familia, con referencias al shoegazing y al dreampop, con ecos de MAZZY STAR y BEACH HOUSE y en el que, por primera vez en su carrera, firmaba ella misma todas y cada una de las letras de las canciones y su música. Es SU DISCO, y ha sido aclamado por la prensa musical, estando presente en prácticamente todas las listas de lo mejor del año. 
 
Y a partir de ahí, un proyecto tras otro, sin descanso. La mediana de los Morente arrancaba el año participando en el emblemático especial de Nochevieja del programa de TVE Cachitos de hierro y cromo, donde estrenó su versión del tema de Raffaella Carrá “No Pensar En Ti” junto a Guille Milkyway (LA CASA AZUL). 

Una canción que comienza entre pasodobles y casiotones y acaba con house-disco entre vocoders, con una Soleá en modo diva y un Guille haciendo gala de su colección fascinante de arreglos, sonidos y efectos.

Poco después, una nueva alegría. Fue elegida pregonera del Carnaval de Madrid 2022, ofreciendo un memorable concierto en Matadero Madrid, precedido por un emotivo discurso en el que viaj&oa [ Read more ]

Her songs have always been a breath of fresh air for the ears, with her delicate, sweet, elegant voice. And now she’s back, along with one of her musical companions, Dario Persi, with whom she wrote the single, “So Far Tonight”, with two songs written by Lia Pamina and produced by Dario himself along with Marco Alberto Matti. The went into the Casemate studios in Piamonte (Italy) with Paco Orsi (drums), Carlo Matti (pianist, classical composer, and orchestra conductor) and Marco Alberto Matti (RADIO DAYS’ regular technician) with an arsenal of vintage material from the 60s and 70s to record “Encriptado” and “Fluorescent”. The first is an exercise in brilliant, addictive sixties pop, in Spanish, with a powerful chorus and pristine melodies, and echoes of Margo Guryan, Lynsey de Paul, Judee Sill and Françoise Hardy. It is about the transcendental reason we cross paths with certain people. There is always something we can learn from them, even if we can’t perceive it on the surface. A story, a lesson, an experience. The production has influences from the 60s, elegant pop melodies, clean guitars, and a touch of vibrant craziness. THE BEATLES, Phil Spector and BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD.

Then we have “Fluorescent”, this time in English, which has more of a folk-pop spirit, with touches of psychedelia, a twilight feel, in line with Bill [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: Volumen 1: 01 A Marchinha Psicótica De Dr. Soup  02 Tema De Jupiter Maçã  03 Base Primitiva Revisitada  04 Over The Universe 05 Menina Super Brasil  06 Act Not Surprised  07 Little Raver  08 Collectors Inside Collection  09 Tropical Permanent Holidays 10 Mademoiselle Marchand  11 Metropole  12 The Futuristica Waltz  13 Síndrome De Pânico  14 Plastic Soda 15 Carvão Sobre Tela  16 Um Sorvete Com Vocês  17 A Marchinha (Reprise)

Volumen 2: 01 Beatle George  02 Bridges Of Redemption Park  03 A Lad & A Maid In The Bloom  04 Welcome To The Shade 05 Please Don’t Disturb  06 The Homeless And The Jet Boots Boys

Here at Elefant we are fervent believers in poetic justice. It couldn’t be any other way. We have the clear example of Nick Garrie and the well-deserved second youth his incredible “The Nightmare Of J.B. Stanislas” experienced. We believe that “Uma Tarde Na Fruteira” deserves the same thing, and we are going to celebrate the 15th anniversary of its release to reclaim it with a new Deluxe Edition that includes 6 additional tracks. Because the figure of the songwriter and creator, Flávio Basso (aka Júpiter Maça, or Woody Apple, or as he signed his first international album with Elefant Records, Jupiter Apple), requires revisiting [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: 01 El Poder De 3  02 Entropía (2022)  03 La Plaza (Feat. Laborde)  04 Crisis (Efecto 2000) 05 Alicia  06 Esta Era (Feat. valverdina & Ciberchico)  07 Olimpiadas  08 Butano Y Amor 

“New Adventures In Pop” collection [Issue 055]

The talent pool in Valencia lately is overflowing and one of the names being promoted in the big mascletá (a traditional firecracker show in Valencia) is AMOR BUTANO. The trio formed by Diego Ferrando, Raquel Goterris and Sara Alegre has made critics’ and audiences’ keyboards burn with the various eighties-style techno-pop singles full of new wave and great melodies and relentless rhythm. And now it is time for their first release, “Ultravioleta”, a Mini-LP on 10” clear vinyl as part of our collection “New Adventures In Pop”, where bands like PAPA TOPO, LISASINSON, TRONCO, KOKOSHCA, Cristina Quesada, AIKO EL GRUPO and many more got their starts. And few groups can say that they started their discography out with a greatest hits. Because between the new songs and the old songs that have been revised and renovated, “Ultravioleta” is impeccable. Come take a closer look.

“El Poder De 3” opens with nothing less than a declaration of content. Yes, “Blue Monday”, that explosion of percussion, and then the arpeggiator comes in, the latent bass, and the song shoots up ou [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: 01 There’s Nothing But Pleasure  02 Go Downstairs To The Blue Moon, Buy Some Fried Chicken  03 Santa Monica  04 Cigarette Butt 05 Liz  06 He Asked Me To Quit Smoking  07 Leap  08 5AM Empanada With You 

In a world of immediacy, speed, and the here and now, we seem to have lost the trail of those music groups that caress you, that cradle you, that feel like they accompany our sadness and turn it into something beautiful. What groups like GALAXIE 500, RED HOUSE PAINTERS, LOW, COCTEAU TWINS, MAZZY STAR, or more recently CIGARETTES AFTER SEX, WARAHENEGE and Joni do. That’s why we listen to each new song from BUBBLE TEA AND CIGARETTES like a gift, an opportunity, a narcotic journey to the deepest part of our feelings. That’s how we have experienced each of their five singles that have been released over the past year or so, and now it’s time to really celebrate, because the time has come for Andiand Kat’s first album, “There’s Nothing But Pleasure”.

This is a very special release, both on vinyl, CD formats and digital, which includes those five singles and three marvelous previously unreleased tracks. The album delves deeper into the preciousness that can be found in silence, of the magic of slow tempos, that seem to beat at the same pace as our heart. Where Andi and Kat’s voices, the reverb, the delays, the crystalline guitars all create a false sense of fragility [ Read more ]

TRACKLIST: 01 Club de los 27  02 Domingo raro (Feat. Bego)  03 Narciso  04 Un poco triste 🙁

“New Adventures In Pop” collection [Issue 056]

Those of you who are regular followers probably figured this was coming. A vinyl was imminent. And here it is – the debut from PIPIOLAS in 10” Maxi-Single format, as part of our “New Adventures In Pop” collection, which includes a list of names to date that makes your head spin, like PAPA TOPO, TRONCO, LISASINSON, CARIÑO, AXOLOTES MEXICANOS, PUTOCHINOMARICÓN, MARINITA PRECARIA or AIKO EL GRUPO. Because everything that Paula and Adriana have been giving us these last few months just had to go on a vinyl like this, with that cover that shows an incredible photo by Neelam Khan Vela, that logo designed by Aritz García, on a speckled, transparent vinyl with black swaths, with all the care in the world and those four indisputable hits. Because they have something special, that edgy pop, full of fantasy, where it is impossible to be bored, with great melodies and arrangements, and above all overflowing with imagination and creativity. Yes, of course, they met in the RESAD (the Royal College of the Performing Arts), where they both studied acting, and took choral and lyric singing classes. But really what defines them is their tremendous personality, charisma, and magic.

The A-side opens with “Club de los 27”. It is a complex [ Read more ]