Axolotes Mexicanos

ELEFANT:"New Adventures In Pop" Double LP Compilation

TRACKLIST: 01 Oso Panda (PAPA TOPO)  02 Pez En Bicicleta (TRONCO)  03 A Mí Ya Me Iba Mal De Antes (AIKO EL GRUPO) 04 Barakaldo (LISASINSON)  05 Colegas (FRED FREDBURGUER)  06 Cucurucho (GUATAFÁN)  07 Canción De Pop De Amor (CARIÑO) 08 Infectados (AXOLOTES MEXICANOS)  09 Secret Secret (PUSHY PARENTS)  10 Cumpleañera (GOMET) 11 Gente De Mierda (PUTOCHINOMARICÓN)  12 Malos Hábitos (NEVVER)  13 Braun (DIE KATAPULT)  14 Las Plantas De La Terraza (CHAVALES)  15 No Sé Por Qué (BAND À PART)  16 Capital (NELEONARD)  17 Pineapple Princess (CRISTINA QUESADA) 18 The West Coast (EDINE AVEC LISLE MITNIK ET SON ORCHESTRE)  19 Rain On My Face (CARBON POPPIES) 20 Ultramarinos (LOS BONSÁIS)  21 Campamento De Verano (TEACHER TEACHER)  22 La Fuerza (KOKOSHCA) 23 My Baby’s Just A Baby (But I Love Him So) (KNICKERS)  24 (Out Of) The Neighborhood (BELLE GHOUL)  25 Eat Tacos (WILD BALBINA) 26 Enough Is Enough (NATURE SET)  27 The Panda Bear Song (FOXES!)  28 El Fin De La Era (SAGRADO CORAZÓN DE JESÚS) 29 Cómo Es (LIA PAMINA)  30 Humo (NOS MIRAN)  31 El Chico Más Guapo De La Galaxia (CAPITÁN SUNRISE) 32 Ada Hoy Se Va A Enamorar (SAN FRANCISCO)

“New Adventures In Pop” collection [Issue 050]

If there is a collection that represents the better part of Elefant Records’ philosophy, that collection is “New Adventures In Pop”. Betting on the unknown, on the new, on people who have something to say and who say it from the deepest honesty and most unexpected personalities… Because we believe that is where a good part of authenticity comes from in music - from the voices that are seeking out their own language without letting themselves be carried away by trends or waves, because we know that music is in constant motion and evolution, and that new artists need space to find it. With that in mind, commemorating the 50th release in this collection, we are releasing this compilation album – a precious double vinyl (magenta colour) that includes a first selection of some of the songs that have been a part of this collection. The title references the really rough situation groups who want to get started and make themselves heard on the music scene are facing. And this release is even more relevant than ever today. Because of this, and because looking back – especially this kind of looking back – is always comforting. Let’s go through it one by one:

We couldn’t start with any other song. “Oso Panda” meant so many things, back in February 2010, when it came out. It was the first song we released by PAPA TOPO and the first release for “New Adventures In Pop”. It is also an unforgettable song, infinitely catchy, dreamy and dazzling. Today, it is one of the great classics in the Elefant catalog, with a super addictive video that has more than a million and a half views on YouTube.

TRONCO is one of the label’s prettiest realities. They have a unique personality, and are an inimitable group. “Pez En Bicicleta”, from their Mini-LP “Abducida Por Formar Una Pareja” (2017) makes clear so many of the qualities that make them an absolutely adorable rara avis. “Nainonai”, their upcoming new album, confirms it all.

AIKO EL GRUPO are one of those young groups that represents one of the sounds we most like. That carefree, effervescent, furious and youthful punk-pop. Their first songs were released in 2020, and that closeness and freshness is clear in each and every note of “A Mí Ya Me Iba Mal De Antes”.

Along these same lines is LISASINSON, slightly more veteran (2019) but also representative of a more electric, spontaneous, unfiltered and unbiased way of understanding music, with all the impertinence of new talent. “Barakaldo” is one of our favorite anthems in recent years.

The name that closes the punk-pop group trio that represent the most furious current reality of Elefant Records is FRED FREDBURGUER. When we released “Colegas” in May 2020, we knew their melodies had an irresistible pop essence, which they combined perfectly with their sharp, biting sense of humor.

GUATAFÁN were the second release on “New Adventures In Pop”, in March 2010, and “Cucurucho”, written by María López and Suso Jamacuco, is a clear example of irresistible techno-pop. The following year we released the magnificent “Chicas De Oro”, their second single, but the group did not continue after that release. Everyone who works in music knows that so many really interesting projects don’t make it, for a million different reasons, from the most structural and expected to the most random and fatalistic. “No Future”, you know.

CARIÑO are just the opposite. “Canción De Pop De Amor” was a hit, and now, two years later, they are one of the groups that have played the most in Spain. Their career has skyrocketed and they have become representatives of a new wave of national rock made by girls, along with names like HINDS and our very own LISASINSON.

AXOLOTES MEXICANOS are a paradigm. Almost worthy of a book that has only been half written so far. From among their ranks, key groups for the national scene have emerged, like CAROLINA DURANTE, CONFETI DE ODIO and Stephen Please himself. As a seminal group, their story, which our beloved Olaya has given voice to, has become legend, to the beat of instant hits like this “Infectados” that came out in April 2013 on what was their debut single.

“New Adventures In Pop” has also seen the first steps of so many foreign bands, like PUSHY PARENTS. Originally coming about as a studio project, they didn’t continue after this single, but their idea of developing a detailed, beyond perfect sound was clear, carried out by people who had been working in music for a long time. Capable of simultaneously sounding like groups as different as THE SMITHS, SAMBASSADEUR, LUSH and SLOWDIVE and at the same time enchant fans of THE GO! TEAM and BROADCAST, “Secret Secret” is just wonderful.

You already know how much we love those boundless, inimitable, occasionally even bizarre projects. So much so that they could never be copied or even attempted. That’s why we just couldn’t resist GOMET. Their children’s songs for adults. Their incorrect and defiant, almost terrifying world, made to the rhythm of acid pop. “Cumpleañera” is a super hit. Here, and in the ball pit.

PUTOCHINOMARICÓN is another one of those stories that we are proud of. Chenta is currently a highly influential figure in the pop scene (and in many other scenes related to various arts and culture), and “Gente De Mierda” is a great example of why his fans are counted by the thousands. There’s no holding back, and with indisputable choruses.

Releasing NEVVER’s songs is like taking a leap of faith. They live in no man’s land. They mix music’s current motifs, trap and hip-hop, with misty landscapes that were embraced back in the eighties by people like THE DURRUTI COLUMN and COCTEAU TWINS. The local ambiance seeps through each of their bases. Their language is all their own, and songs like “Malos Hábitos” (included on the soundtracks for hit series like “The Mess You Leave Behind” and “La Muchacha Que Limpia”) make it clear from the very first moment.

DIE KATAPULT is another one of those special projects, something hard to find in the current music scene. “Braun” is a solid example of their martial concept, stained by KRAFTWERK but moved by a faithless and post-industrial inspiration. Anna and Elena and their Mediterranean kraut pop.

CHAVALES is another one of Elefant’s most current realities. “Tu Foto En El Techo” is still fresh out of the oven after coming out just a few months ago, and we are still burning the soles of our shoes from dancing so much (at home) to “Las Plantas De La Terraza”.  Daniel and Javier make a totally unbiased synth-pop that is straight forward, perfectly executed, and highly addictive.

BAND À PART also took their first steps with “New Adventures In Pop”, with this “No Sé Por Qué” that came out in October 2010. We have watched them change and evolve a million ways up through their latest release, “Templos Y Neones”. Coral and Javi are an inherent part of the label now.

NELEONARD, another of the very important groups on the national pop scene, wrap up the first vinyl. They are one of those groups that exude elegance and inspiration in equal parts, and have such exciting lyrics. And what’s more, they are the starting point around which so many other projects and collectives’ orbit. “Capital” was the first song of theirs we heard, and with it we fell completely in love with their crystalline pop.

Cristina Quesada has also changed a lot after charming us with that “Pineapple Princess”. Just like with “Oso Panda”, it is one of those songs that is a key release in the evolution of the label. Her current alliance with Joe Moorehas taken her to the dance floors, but back in 2013 she was touching our hearts with her ukulele and her adorable voice.

This collection has also occasionally served as a way of recording the minutes of some absolutely magical gatherings. That was the case with the single by EDINE AVEC LISLE MITNIK ET SON ORCHESTRE. The Hong Kongese artist Edine, who is responsible for the band THE MARSHMALLOW KISSES, and the composer Lisle Mitnik, who participates in projects like TINY FIREFLIES, SEASHELLS and even ALPACA SPORTS, got together to give us four songs, of which we have recovered this gem called “The West Coast”. That magic that comes from unexpected collaborations is one of the most surprising things there can be in music, and we couldn’t leave it out of this compilation.

CARBON POPPIES, all the way from Louisiana, haven’t shown any signs of activity since that “Rain On My Face”. Their power-pop spirit, their lo-fi production and their sixties leanings make their songs an absolute delight. Will there be more songs from them in the future? Who knows.

LOS BONSÁIS is another group that has found their niche in the catalog of our label. Their artistic punk-pop with oceanic airs has a considerable fan base, who started getting hooked back in 2012 with that “Ultramarinos”. In 2019, we enjoyed that marvelous “Hinoki”, their first LP (after two Mini-LP’s and several singles), made with tremendous care.

TEACHER TEACHER was a punk-pop super group. Formed by María (CHARADES, LAS SEÑORAS, MITTENS), Cristina (LAS SEÑORAS, SHELLAC FAMILY) and Guillermo (WILD HONEY, MITTENS), their energy and electricity has never been better represented than with that “Campamento De Verano” from 2012.

KOKOSHCA have also become one of the most enjoyable Spanish projects. “La Fuerza”, is a song that continues to be key in their concerts. And we are looking at a composition that would be considered unique in any group’s career, for its passion and for having found its own space in the national song book.

KNICKERS is another foreign project that has not been very prolific since “My Baby’s Just A Baby”. Simon Love has released albums on Fortuna Pop! on Track & Field and on Tapete Records with THE LOVES or on his own, but in the midst of all that he meandered into this project in 2012 full of groove and garage with hits like this song that was the title track of that splendid single.

We have been so lucky to be able to include BELLE GHOUL in the label. To see how the project, made up of Christopher Tait (ELECTRIC SIX) and Jesse Smith (Patti Smith and Fred (Sonic) Smith’s daughter) has been an experience and an honor, ever since their very first songs, like this “(Out Of) The Neighborhood”, released in 2012.

WILD BALBINA released “Eat Tacos” in 2012 and the Mini-LP “Sisters Before Misters” in 2014. Their wild lo-fi and untamed teen-punk-surf, coming directly from Vigo, makes you shake your head (and your hips) to the point of madness.

NATURE SET are the stars of another story that stopped short. In 2011, they show up with a four-track single that includes this precious pop gem full of punch, energy, and touches of post-punk, “Enough Is Enough”. The following year they released another single, and we haven’t heard from them since.

FOXES! also has their official release as part of “New Adventures In Pop” in 2011. “The Panda Bear Song” showed us a group that moved between eighties indie-pop and harmonized punk-pop. This quartet from Oxford released an album the following year, but we don’t have any information about any releases after that.

SAGRADO CORAZÓN DE JESÚS was one of the biggest promises in Spanish pop for years (and probably still is for many). Their Mini-LP on “New Adventures In Pop” had the support of Genís Segarra (ASTRUD, HIDROGENESSE), and his work is noticeable on this new version of “El Fin De La Era”. The lyrics that hit deep and contrast with the irresistible pop spirit, foretold a new talent in the tradition of inimitable bands from our panorama, like HIDROGENESSE themselves or SINGLE.

Lia Pamina represents one of those figures that was so prolific in the seventies, and that is so uncommon nowadays. Like Françoise Hardy and Marianne Faithfull, Lia turns collaborations into gold, and forms allies with different composers to achieve the new milestones in her career. That’s what she has done with Dario Persi, Robbie Leff, Joe Moore and OS PEREGRINOS, among others. Her alliance with Roger Gunnarson (PUSHY PARENTS, NIXON, THE GARLANDS, etc) and Le Prix (Kylie Minogue, Sally Shapiro) were the protagonists of two of songs from her first single, “How Come I”, released in 2014. Her subsequent productions have gone in other directions, but on “Cómo Es” we can enjoy her among eurodisco rhythms and dreampop textures.

We are realizing that the rara avis projects abound in this text, but we just like those unclassifiable groups so much, and NOS MIRAN is also like that. None of their songs can be easily defined. Their unique lyrics, and their musical proposal changes on each song. “Humo” was inspired by TINDERSTICKS’ “Another Night In”, but it’s aimed toward the dancefloor, to talk about the mark left by the people who leave. Sergio and Marta released “Todo Se Repite” in 2019, making the philosophic, metaphoric and existential grounds of their songs clear.

CAPITÁN SUNRISE started their career in 2012 with “El Chico Más Guapo De La Galaxia”, when Coral and Javifrom BAND À PART were still part of the lineup. It is solid evidence of what would later be their mark: sunny, pumped up songs with a great sense of pop and humor, and deliciously arranged. After that, they went with Discos De Kirlian and in 2020 released their second full-length on Jabalina Música.

And to close this collection with SAN FRANCISCO is to close with Paco Tamarit. The eternal young talent. By wit and by spirit. That’s what he was with THE FLAUTERS, SEÑOR MOSTAZA, SERPENTINA and more recently with CÁPSULA DE SUEÑOS. Or accompanying Guille Milkyway as the guitarist for LA CASA AZUL live shows. But Pacois someone who likes to be understated, as if he didn’t think what he was saying was important. And when you listen to him, and something like “Ada Hoy Se Va A Enamorar” comes on, it is just devastating.

Interestingly enough, many of these singles and releases are collectors’ items today, sought out as cult releases or great discoveries, from special or impossible to find releases. That is why this compilation has a special significance above and beyond other song compilations. This is a small part of Elefant’s history, a story of projects that were looking for a space in the musical panorama. Some stories ended well; others quickly disappeared. But ultimately, they are an echo of a space in time that allows us to reflect, to discover and above all to get excited.