Dj Polar [Luis Elefant]

Jordi Puy of Sound Diplomacy–who you may remember for our Spain edition of Best & Brightest–is back to take us through a history of the labels (and masterminds) that shaped the punk rock classics, indie pop mainstays, and more recent electronic offerings of the country’s homegrown scene.

Puy, a long-time cultural promoter with roots in Barcelona’s underground  scene, is formerly of the Catalan! Arts satellite in the UK, and is also an arts management guest lecturer in numerous universities, such as la Universidad de Antioquia (Colombia) and ITESO (Mexico). Read on for his top 13 selections, contextualizing the labels that have paved the way and those continuing to push scene the forward.

Before moving onto more recent arrivals to the scene, this is my last tribute to another classic pillar of the independent music scene in Spain for the last quarter of a century: Elefant Records.

Founded and run by music journalist Luis Calvo, Elefant has been the absolute King of the country’s twee pop, mod and indie-pop scene for the last 25 years. The list of bands and releases over these years is longer than Robert Smith’s daily cosmetics order, and includes classics such as Los Flechazos, Family, Nosotrash or two of Camera Obscura’s first albums (Underachievers Please Try Harder and Let’s Get Out Of This Country).

In 2014 we enjoyed three 12” maxi singles releases from La Bien Querida (“Premeditación,” “Nocturnidad,” and “Alevosía”), Cooper’s UHF, and Neleonard’s EP Agosto; already looking forward to what this year will bring.