Elan Sara DeFan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Elan | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Elan Sara Defan | |
| Born | March 1, 1983 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico |
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| Genre(s) | Singer-songwriter, indie pop | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Piano | |
| Years active | 1999–present | |
| Label(s) | Arista Records (2000-2002) Silverlight Records (2003-2005) Abbywho Records (2005-present) |
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| Website | Official Elan Online | |
Elan (born Elan Sara DeFan on March 1, 1983 in Guadalajara, Mexico) is a Mexican singer-songwriter, known for being one of the most successful independent Latin artists of the moment. She landed a few years ago in the fertile musical landscape of Southern California and quickly made a name for herself by being the first internationally successful Latin American independent artist as well as the first female Latina to begin her career with an English language album written completely on her own.
Elan reveals an assortment of music that has been said by many to be a kind of semblance of Bob Dylan,Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt, Martina McBride, Cat Stevens and a few other notable influences. Elan had an immense success with her albums Street Child and the sophomore London Express.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early days
Elan was born the 1st of March 1983 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Her talent was noticed by her mother at a very young age. "One day, she just climbed up on the bench and started to play; that was the moment where it all began. She was three..." recalls her mother. At age 4, Elan starts writing her first songs and her father starts to record her songs in their makeshift-home studio. "She was always very determined in her writing even at such young age." Jan Carlo recalls. At age 10 Elan starts to perform at private parties and theatres. At age 13 Elan started recordings with a major record label, Warner Music in Mexico.
[edit] The Arista Years (2000-2002)
BMG International, Vice President of A&R, Richard Sweret (Sarah McLachlan) flies Elan and Jan Carlo to meet then, Arista Records President & CEO Antonio L.A. Reid. After a private showcase in which Elan played "Perfect Life", L.A. Reid stated that the song was "the story of my life" and offered her a record deal. (After signing with Arista Records, Elan is assigned numerous A&R executives). Richard Sweret, (Elan’s A&R executive who brought her to Arista) leaves Arista Records, leaving Elan without representation in the company. Jan Carlo then hires former Aerosmith manager Wendy Leister to manage Elan through the turbulent Arista waters. Elan’s second A&R representative at Arista Records, Pete Ganbarg (Santana, Run DMC), leaves the company, again leaving Elan without representation. Josh Sarubin comes in as Elan’s third A&R at Arista. He suggests that Elan find a producer to work with other than her brother. Elan is sent on a search for a producer. Over a period of several months, Elan meets with producers in Los Angeles, New York and Virginia.
Elan records with producer Mark Howard (U2, REM, Bob Dylan), at his studio in Los Angeles, CA. Legendary drummer Jim Keltner (John Lennon, Eric Clapton) plays the drums in those sessions. After that, Elan records with programmer/producer Olle Romo (Elton John, Mick Jagger), at his studio in Los Angeles, CA. Then, Elan flies to New York and records with singer/songwriter and producer Fionn O’Lochlainn. None of the tracks have ever been released.
Elan along with her brother travels to Sound of Music Studios in Richmond, Virginia, to begin recording what was going to be Street Child. Recording was interrupted by the events of September 11. That fateful day, Elan was recording a song named "Crash". The song contains the lines: "And out my window I can see it all start to crash/So if we fall, we fall together, if we don’t survive." It was written almost a year earlier. The song has never been released. As soon as air traffic resumed over the United States, Elan flies to New York to play a show in aid of the American Red Cross for victims of the catastrophe of September, 11th. Elan returns to Virginia to continue with the recording sessions. The sessions never concluded.
[edit] The Making Of Street Child (2002-2003)
After two years, three A&Rs, ten producers, eighteen engineers, six programmers, fourteen studios, thirty one musicians on three continents, with over 150,000 miles traveled by car, train and airplane, Elan leaves Arista Records. The Arista days are finally over. Soon after, Elan parts ways with her then manager, Wendy Laister. Elan and Jan Carlo head back home and begin to salvage an album from the numerous sessions they have recorded in different parts of the world. They find themselves back where they began... recording in their parents' spare bedroom. They re-track most of the album and are eventually joined by Elan’s long time engineer Jeff "The Pirate" Poe. They mix the album over the next nine months. Originally slated to be titled "Some Kind Of Daydream" (after Elan’s favorite Billie Holliday song "The Very Thought Of You" ), "Street Child" (a name that was thought of by Elan’s mother reflecting Elan’s state of mind after departing Arista) had come to life. Velvet Revolver and ex-Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash hears the song Street Child from a mutual friend and makes known his desire to participate on the title track of Elan’s album. The session was recorded at Capitol Records Studios in Los Angeles, CA. in August of 2002. While at the studio, they also shot parts of the "Street Child" video. Three years after arriving to the U.S.A. Elan’s album is finally finished and mastered at Capitol Records by Mark Chalecki.
Besides Slash, Street Child featured guest appearances by Grammy Award Winner and Beck producer Brian Paulson, David Immerglück of Counting Crows, legendary Mexican composer/arranger and former Herb Alpert, Paul Anka musical director and Latin Grammy Nominee Eugenio Toussaint, Alan Weatherhead of Sparklehorse and mixed by Grammy Award Winning engineer Jeff "The Pirate" Poe (Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Santana).
[edit] Street Child (2003-2004)
On June 13, 2003, Elan’s first single Midnight is released in Mexico on their own label, Silverlight Records (licensed through Sony Music Mexico) to unexpected and overwhelming response. Elan fans brought 3 national servers down in Mexico with email requests for the song Midnight. Some radio stations had actually asked fans to please stop emailing all together. One radio station went as far as closing down their email accounts. “The phone lines have been jammed in most radio stations for days... with recorded messages saying that the phones were out of order or off the hook" said Rafael Villareal, a radio host.
Elan's single from her album reaches #1 in airplay in most Mexican territories for ten weeks without relinquishing its position. Midnight climbed the "Pepsi Chart" to #1. On MTV Latin America, Elan's video goes to the Top 10 Most Wanted and goes Top 10 on the Top 20 Countdown. In Australian radio, is the second most added song in its first week (second only to Eminem). The song reached number seven on the charts. Midnight goes top ten across the boards (all radio formats) at airplay in the country. In MTV Australia goes to the Top Ten most requested and also went to #10 on the "Top 30 Countdown". Elan releases her album in the first of only two territories, Mexico and Australia. The album is released to critical acclaim and commercial success.
Elan gave interviews and performs on many Mexican TV programs. She performed at award shows and special events such as Mexico’s National Academy of Music’s Oye Awards, the Eres Magazine 15 Year Anniversary Celebration and the Sanborn’s 100th Anniversary Celebration. Elan travels throughout Mexico with her band, performing in San Luis Potosi, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mexico City, Cuernavaca and Torreon on what became known as the Street Child Tour. Along with friend and collaborator Juan Carlos Paz y Puente, Elan travels to Mexico, to play for free, at schools, to promote music education. The tour was sponsored by Fermatta College of Music (Berklee College of Music in Mexico). It was the first of its kind in Mexico. Grammy Award Winning singer/songwriter, Alejandro Sanz invites Elan to open two shows for him in Mexico City on two sold out nights at the National Auditorium in Mexico City. Elan also performed in the preshow of the MTV Video Music Awards Latin America 2003 in Miami, Florida.
On Australia, she performd on The Panel, MTV Australia, Channel V to name a few. She also performs two exclusive shows at "Boutique" in Melbourne and "The Basement" in Sydney.
[edit] London Express (2005-present)
Elan decides to take a break before returning to the studio to record her second album. "After returning from a promo tour in Australia and several in Mexico... filming 5 videos and playing award shows, and touring and touring and playing everywhere we realized that life really is ‘what happens when you're busy making other plans’. We had been going nonstop since I was 16 and it was time for a break. We needed some rest and not only to be best friends but brother and sister, son and daughter too." Together with her band, Elan takes a year to record the long awaited follow up to her successful Street Child. The line-up consists of drummer Michel Bitar, rhythm guitarist Jonathan Fraeulin, bass player Carlos Padilla, and Jan Carlo on guitar. Elan plays piano and keyboards on the record. Titled London Express, the album contains thirteen new tracks.
London Express finds its roots in the music of The Beatles, which Elan has described as "the only band that really changed everything." Elan has adopted rhythmic patterns and textures and recording techniques from the British Invasion of the 1960s and crafted her own tribute to British rock, yet stamped with her own unique signature and poetry.
Be Free was the first single from Elan's "London Express" album. The video for the "Be Free" single was directed by renowned director, animator and painter Chris Roth and was in high rotation in Latin America's largest Music Video Networks. The single itself did very well in Latin American radio stations, being at the top of the radio charts for several months.
"This Fool's Life" was the second single released from Elan's latest album "London Express". "This Fool's Life" was for several months the single in English with the highest rotation on the radio in many Latin American countries. Being one of the most listened to songs in English in countries like Mexico. The video for "This Fool's Life" was also an outstanding success. It broke several records in Music Video Networks like Telehit which is one of the largest music television networks in the world, broadcasting throughout Mexico, Central & South America, Europe and the United States, with a hisotric record breaking 12 weeks in the #1 position on the charts. In the entirety of Telehit's 13 year history no other video has come even close to Elan's 3 month #1 position on the chart by popular vote.
In Australia, Elan's "This Fool's Life" video debuted in the number one position in video streaming with over 100,000 streams for its first week in Australias' "Undercover", the most important music site in Australia. "This Fool's Life" had almost twice the amount of views in its debut week than all other videos.
[edit] Discography
- Street Child (2003)
- London Express (2005)
[edit] Fermatta Universities
Elan in conjunction with Abbywho, Inc (The name of Elan’s entertainment company which was co-founded by Elan and her brother Jan Carlo) and Fermatta has opened a new franchise in Guadalajara, Mexico of the chain of universities by the name of Fermatta (Berklee College of Music in Mexico).
This opening is part of an ambitious project which has taken years of planning and preparation and is being undertaken by Elan in conjunction with Abbywho, Inc. and Fermatta Academy of Music, and includes opening schools throughout the country. It blends the creative and educational experience of institutions like Fermatta & Berklee with the backing and support of an international entertainment conglomerate such as Abbywho, Inc.
As part of the support given by Elan to make this possible, a scholarship program has been established which bears Elan's name to reward the most outstanding students in need of financial support of which the first complete scholarship has already been awarded in Mexico City's campus.
Elan is the official spokesperson for the prestigious university chain.
