Q: What is Elephant 6?
A: Elephant 6 refers to a collective of musicians initially spawned from Ruston, Louisiana, but now primarily based around Athens, Georgia, inspired by the psychedelic creativity and spirit of music of the late 60’s (though bands from the 60’s hardly form the sole inspiration for this diverse collection of artists). Robert Schneider (The Apples in Stereo), Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart (The Olivia Tremor Control), and Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) are generally considered the founders of the movement, using a logo designed by Hart to stamp the backs of their self-released cassettes and records: The Elephant 6 Recording Company. As other musicians of a like mindset collaborated with them, a genuine movement was born. Surrounding the Apples, the Olivias, and Neutral Milk Hotel were bands such as Elf Power, the Gerbils, and Secret Square, and eventually Of Montreal, The Minders (now based in Portland), Beulah (San Francisco), and The Essex Green (Brooklyn).
While “Elephant 6″ is less concrete than it’s ever been, the term is still actively in use, and happily promoted by many of the musicians. Robert Schneider still copyrights his songs to this mythical recording company–although probably more for legal reasons than anything else–and critics and fans use it as an easy shorthand. Which it can be, provided one understands there’s a great range to the styles of music in the bands considered Elephant 6, and a wide berth between, say, Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, and The Minders‘ Hooray for Tuesday, both of which were recorded concurrently in Mr. Schneider’s old “Pet Sounds” studio in Denver…which is now in Lexington, KY…(or wherever he happens to be at any given moment). So don’t be reductive. Elephant 6 can be as big as your imagination.
For a more precise history of Elephant 6, please refer to the excellent website Elephant6.com, a valuable resource this site will not attempt to replace. Another superb source is Kim Cooper’s book In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, part of the 33 1/3 series that examines important rock albums. Cooper’s book, though focusing on Neutral Milk Hotel, also provides the most detailed history of Elephant 6’s origins yet.
Q: Is this the official Elephant 6 website?
No, that’s Elephant6.com. This is just a resource for friends of the Elephant 6 Recording Company.
Q: What is Optical Atlas?
A: We’re a fanzine devoted to Elephant 6. Optical Atlas was initially born in late February 2006 as a MySpace page so that this author could keep track of all the Elephant 6-related releases coming out that year. When the idea of running interviews became appealing, it quickly became a full-blown website, which continues to run almost-daily updates of E6 news.
The track “Optical Atlas” appears on the Olivia Tremor Control EP Jumping Fences. It’s also referenced in the song “A Peculiar Noise Called ‘Train Director’” on the band’s last album, Black Foliage.
Finally, an optical atlas, lowercase, is used in astronomy to map objects emitting radiation in the night sky.
Q: How come you don’t talk about Neutral Milk Hotel that much? It’s my favorite band!
A: Well, the band hasn’t released anything since 1998’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, and from all indication, fans are sick of reading essays about subjective meanings gleaned from listening to that record, so at Optical Atlas we tend to lay off. But if NMH gets back together, or old material is reissued, it will certainly be covered here and at our blog. Optical Atlas, in the meantime, would rather spotlight bands that are still active and perhaps have received less exposure.
Q: Can you recommend any bands that sound like Neutral Milk Hotel?
A: No. There aren’t any bands that sound like Neutral Milk Hotel, no matter what you’ve heard. That’s what made them unique. However, if you’re a Neutral Milk Hotel fan you owe it to yourself to explore other bands in Elephant 6 that have close ties. For example, Jeff Mangum once was a member of Olivia Tremor Control, and plays and sings on their California Demise EP (which is included on the CD Singles and Beyond); he also appears on both of their full-lengths. The other NMH members have their own bands, which are still active. Scott Spillane and Jeremy Barnes play in the Gerbils (a song of which, “Glue,” was famously covered by NMH), Jeremy’s personal project is A Hawk and a Hacksaw, and Julian Koster’s experimental project is called The Music Tapes. Robert Schneider, who played on both albums and produced ITAOTS, is in The Apples in Stereo, Marbles, and Ulysses. Jeff also appears on the Major Organ and the Adding Machine album, and has played on various other releases of bands such as Elf Power and The Instruments.
Q: How do I contact Elephant 6? Are they accepting submissions? Can I become an Elephant 6 band?
A: Elephant 6 was never a real record label, and all the Elephant 6 releases in that catalogue were self-released. While there was once a time when bands could befriend a member of Elephant 6 and become recruited into the fold, then get the logo stamped on their album, that time appears to have passed. But the E6 ethic is one of “DIY,” and nothing should stop you from creating and releasing your music any way you can.
Q: What were the titles released on the Elephant 6 catalogue?
A: They are as follows…
E6-001 The Apples In Stereo Tidal Wave 7″ 1993
EL6-901 Little Fyodor & Babushka Dance Of The Salted Slug CD 1994
E6-002 The Olivia Tremor Control California Demise 7″ 1994
E6-003 Secret Square Secret Square 7″ 1995
E6-004 The Minders Come On & Hear 7″ 1995
E6-005 Secret Square Secret Square 12″/CD 1996
E6-006 The Minders Paper Plane 7″ 1996
E6-007 The Apples In Stereo Science Faire LP/CD 1996
E6-008 Marbles Pyramid Landing (and other favourites) LP/CD 1997
E6-009 Marbles I Love The Summer Days 7″ 1998
E6-010 The Music Tapes Please Hear Mr. Flight Control 7″ 1997
E6-011 Von Hemmling 7″ 1997
E6-012 Beulah A Small Cattle Drive In A Snow Storm 7″ 1997
E6-013 Clay Bears DLP (never released)
E6-014 Beulah Handsome Western States LP/CD 1998
E6-014 Beulah Handsome Western States (re-release with different artwork) CD 1999
E6-015 The Music Tapes The Television Tells Us 7″ 1998
E6-016 Beulah When Your Heartstrings Break LP/CD 1999
E6-017 Admiral (never released)
E6-018 Vince Mole & His Calcium Orchestra (never released on E6; eventually released on HHBTM Records)
E6-019 The Essex Green 12″/CD 2000
E6-020 The Apples In Stereo Her Wallpaper Reverie CD 1999
E6-021 The Minders Cul-de-sacs And Dead Ends CD 1999
Q: I would like to contribute and/or share material with your website, how can I do this?
A: Just contact me (Jeff) using the form below. Submissions are encouraged.
