Elefant Traks was a record label based in Sydney, Australia, founded by Kenny Sabir (p.k.a.Traksewt) in 1998. The label predominantly released Australian hip hop music, and founded its own hip-hop collective, The Herd, as well as managing acts like Horrorshow and Hermitude. The label was distributed in Australia by Inertia Distribution.[1]
1998–2008: Formation, The Herd, Urthboy, Horrorshow
Elefant Traks started in 1998 by Kenny Sabir (Traksewt).[2][3] Under Sabir's management, the label released their first compilation album, Cursive Writing, which was created for "a close friend moving overseas".[4] Sabir briefly explained the process in 2011: "For the first compilation, some of the people on there I had never actually even met at the time of release. It was sliding a CD under the door type of stuff. I think that was Richie (Tamplenizza), I didn't meet him."
Sabir eventually enlisted the help of Tim Levinson (Urthboy) to run the administration arm of the label, as the nature of the work was not compatible with his aspirations.[3]
Sabir, Tamplenizza and Levinson became founding members of the Australian hip-hop group The Herd,[2] which is also signed to Elefant Traks. Over the first decade of the label's existence, The Herd released four studio albums on the label. Singer Jane Tyrrell joined the band during the recording of the band's third album.[5] Also during this period, Levinson, under the solo moniker "Urthboy", released three albums with the label.
2009–2011: 10th Anniversary, Joelistics
In November 2008, Elefant Traks celebrated its 10th anniversary with an event held at The Forum venue in Moore Park, Sydney.[6]
TZU frontman Joelistics joined the label's roster in early 2011, prior to the release of his first solo album, Voyager.[7] After the announcement, Ozi Batla stated:
"We’ve been mates for ages—we’ve shared a lot of creative, outrageous and funny times—it feels like Joelistics is already part of the fam[ily], he’s a natural fit for Elefant Traks and the album is sick".
2012–2013: Jimblah, Sky'High, Dr Seuss tribute, 15th Anniversary
As of 2012, the label had signed six musical acts and released over 50 albums since its inception.[8] In September 2012, the label announced a new signing.[9][non-primary source needed][10]Jimblah, an Aboriginal Australian producer, MC and singer, was revealed as the new Elefant Traks artist. Levinson explained being introduced to Jimblah's music in an October 2013 blog post:
"The moment Jimblah stopped me in my tracks was with his debut album Face the Fire ... I clearly remember ... tears welling up in my eyes as I played the title track—and its heartbreaking outro ... That moment set off a chain of events that included Jimblah enthusiastically agreeing to join up with Elefant Traks."[11]
On 11 November 2012, the label performed a tribute to children's author Dr. Seuss. Featuring over 25 musical performers, the event occurred at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia.[12][13]
The "15: A Celebration of 15 Years of Elefant Traks" anniversary event was announced in early September 2013 and a two-night format is scheduled for only two Australian capital cities—Sydney and Melbourne. The event featured the label's 2013 roster, in addition to the solo debut of singer Jane Tyrrell.[14] In relation to the survival of the label after fifteen years, Kennedy stated that the event is like "a castle in the sky", as it should not have occurred.[15]
2014–2017: One Day, Jane Tyrrell, L-FRESH The LION, B Wise, OKENYO, Joyride
The Astronomy Class album Mekong Delta Sunrise was released in late April 2014. When asked about what the group wanted to achieve with the album, Kennedy replied:
"What we wanted to cover was our experiences of modern Cambodia and the history of the music that we were referencing. We wanted to try and tell some of the story of the Cambodia of the '60s and '70s. We had been excited by the songs that we were hearing and it didn’t feel right to rap just anything over it. We wanted for new listeners to understand something about Cambodia and the music."[16]
The One Day hip hop collective—consisting of Horrorshow, Jackie Onassis, Spit Syndicate and Joyride—released its debut album Mainline through the Elefant Traks label on 1 August 2014. Mainline ranked in second place on the ARIA albums chart during the first week of its release.[17][18]
Tyrrell's debut solo album, Echoes in the Aviary, was released on Elefant Traks on 17 October 2014. Recorded over a six-month period, the album was co-produced by Tyrrell and features collaborations with Australian band PVT, Dustin McLean (Axolotl, Diafrix), Paul Kelly and Count Bounce.[19] Tyrrell explained after the album was released:
"I get really annoyed when people are like, "So what kind of singer are you?” That just seems so limiting to you as an artist—I like to sing operatic, in jazz, soul, blues, I’m up for everything. I wanted to try and showcase that across the album and be a different character for each song and have different instruments ... I just wanted to show that dynamic approach."[19]
A new Elefant Traks signing, L-Fresh The LION, was announced in January 2015. In the promotional video, images of the Sydney suburb of Liverpool are shown, while Levinson recalls his first meeting with the artist, at which he detected a "wisdom" that reminded him of Sabir.[20]
In 2016 Elefant Traks signed OKENYO (Zindzi Okenyo) who released her debut EP THE WAVE on 18 May 2018 featuring 'Woman's World'.[21]
2018—2023: Homeward Bound, 20th Anniversary
In 2018 Elefant Traks announced their newest signing, Homeward Bound, a new project by Jimblah and Georgia B. Their debut single 'Island' was released in September; a song that showed a different side of both Jimblah and Georgia, who had previously been associated with the former's hip hop releases.[22] Of their new music, Homeward Bound described:
"Ultimately, we want the audience to know that we are open to explore music as a whole, to not be boxed in when it comes down to genres. We are both huge fans of music in general, so we want that to be evident in the music we play with. As more of this first record comes to light, it will become more and more evident of where we gravitate sonically, and that’s quite a big spectrum".[23]
In October, OKENYO debuted a new single in 'Hang Your Hat' as a follow-up to THE WAVE EP, working with longtime collaborator Lionel Towers.[24]
Elefant Traks' 20th-anniversary celebrations were announced for November, with an east coast roll out of parties and conversation sessions highlighting the history and legacy of the Elefant Traks label. Artists including Horrorshow, B Wise, The Herd, OKENYO, Jayteehazard, L-FRESH The LION, Homeward Bound and Astronomy Class performed at the ET20 parties held at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne, The Valley Drive-In in Brisbane and at Sydney's Factory Theatre.
The 'ET20' events also incorporated special live shows from Horrorshow, Urthboy and Hermitude. In Sydney and Melbourne, Horrorshow performed with The Metropolitan Orchestra, Hermitude recreated their catalogue with a live band in an intimate environment at Melbourne's 24 Moons and Sydney's Marrickville Bowling Club, while Urthboy celebrated 11 years of his acclaimed record, The Signal, with two exclusive live shows.[25]
Along with the live shows, Elefant Traks also hosted one-off in Conversation sessions in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane – 'The Elefant in the Room'. The sessions, hosted by Coda Conduct, saw Elefant Traks artists including OKENYO, Joyride, L-FRESH The LION, Jane Tyrrell and Ozi Batla, as well as label founder Kenny Sabir, sharing their stories and memories of their time with Elefant Traks.
2024: 25th Anniversary, Defunction
On the 7th of March, 2024, a video was posted on the Elefant Traks social media accounts, featuring Urthboy announcing that the label would be "officially calling it a day".[26] The video shows him revisiting some of Elefant Traks's old offices; the second one, located on Faversham Street in Marrickville, had been demolished by developers.
Shortly after this announcement, on the 24th of May, Traksewt and Urthboy were interviewed by The Guardian to discuss this decision further.[27] Urthboy, over the phone, stated:
“You can look at streaming numbers and ticket sales and see things aren’t working like they once were. And [it’s] the unforgiving environment that new and emerging artists are walking out into. [...] Our industry has always been gamblers and thieves and crooks, and wholesome, good-hearted people trying to make a difference, we were not affiliated with any majors and have never been a subsidiary of anyone. When things dry up, we can’t just kind of call on daddy or some sort of [venture capitalist] to step in. It’s a lot more real."
To celebrate the label's legacy (and its 25th anniversary), many of the artists on the label held three live performances together, known as the 'ET25 Finale Party'; performing at the Sydney Opera House on the 26th of May (with special guest SKY'HIGH), The Tivoli in Brisbane on the 8th of June and at the Melbourne Recital Centre on the 15th of June (with special guest Monkey Marc and an extra Matinee show added as well.)[28] A garage sale was also hosted, selling rare Elefant Traks paraphernalia.[29]
Activism
In response to the proposed dumping of around 3 million cubic metres of dredged seabed onto the Great Barrier Reef,[30] a legal fighting team was formed by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Australia and the Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) in late 2013/early 2014.[31] The legal team received further support in April 2014, following the release of the "Sounds for the Reef" musical fundraising project. Produced by Straightup, the digital album features Elefant Traks artists The Herd and Sietta, in addition to artists such as John Butler, Missy Higgins, The Cat Empire, Fat Freddys Drop, The Bamboos (featuring Kylie Auldist) and Resin Dogs. Released on 7 April, the album's 21 songs were sold on the Bandcamp website.[32][33]
Awards
The label was nominated for 'Best Independent Label' at the 2006 Australian Dance Music Awards.[34]
The Herd won both the Best Independent Artist and Best Urban/Hip Hop Album for 2008 AIR Awards.[38]
The Last Kinection won the "Band of the Year" category at the 2012 Deadly awards.[39]
Both Hermitude ("Best Dance/Electronic" and "Best Video") and The Herd ("Best Urban") were nominated in the 2012 ARIA Awards.[40]
The "Dr Seuss meets Elefant Traks" musical performance was nominated in the "Best Music Event" category of the 2012 SMACS (Sydney Music, Arts and Culture Awards), run by Sydney community radio station FBi.[41]
In 2012, Urthboy and Hermitude were nominated for the 8th Australian Music Prize (AMP) for their respective Smokey's Haunt and HyperParadise albums – it represented the first time that two Elefant Traks nominees were nominated as part of the awards event, while it was the third occasion that Urthboy has been nominated for the AMP. In response to the AMP nomination, Hermitude stated, "We're totally stoked as a predominantly instrumental duo to be short listed for The Amp!”[42][43][44]Hyperparadise was the eventual winner of the 8th AMP.[45]
King Amongst Many was also nominated, alongside Urthboy's Smokey's Haunt, at the 2013 ARIA Awards for "Best Urban Album".[46]
Two Elefant Traks releases appeared in the Full Shortlist for the 9th AMP, which was unveiled at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, Australia on 26 January 2014. Selected from a Longlist of 43 artists, Horrorshow was nominated for King Amongst Many and Jimblah was nominated for Phoenix. Other artists in the Full Shortlist included Beaches and Big Scary and the judges were presented with an original list of 300 albums.[47]
In 2016, L-FRESH The Lion and Urthboy were nominated in the "Best Urban Album" ARIA Award for their respective records, Become and The Past Beats Inside Me Like a Second Heartbeat.[48]
B Wise's debut album Area Famous was nominated for "Record of The Year' at the 2018 FBi SMAC Awards, to be held in Sydney in February 2019.[49]
Nominated for Best Independent Urban/Hip Hop Album Australian Independent Record (AIR) Awards 2012. Peaked at 22 in the ARIA Album Charts.[51] Honourable mention finalist for 'A Thousand Lives' in the International Songwriting Competition 2011.[52]
ACE066
The Last Kinection
Next of Kin
28 October 2011
ACE069
Hermitude
Hyperparadise
3 February 2012
Winner of the 8th Australian Music Prize (AMP).
ACE076
Sky'High
Forever Sky'High
25 May 2012
ACE077
Urthboy
Smokey's Haunt
12 October 2012
Nominated for the 8th Australian Music Prize (AMP).
ACE088
Horrorshow
King Amongst Many
2 August 2013
ARIA Award nominated for Urban Album of the Year. Shortlisted for the 9th Australian Music Prize (AMP). Nominated for a J Award Album of the Year. Debuted at #2 in the ARIA charts.
ACE090
Jimblah
Phoenix
11 October 2013
Nominated for the 9th Australian Music Prize (AMP).
ACE094
Sietta
The Invisible River
21 February 2014
ACE098
Astronomy Class
Mekong Delta Sunrise
25 April 2014
ACE101
Joelistics
Blue Volume
20 June 2014
ACE102
Jane Tyrrell
Echoes in the Aviary
17 October 2014
ACE116
Jayteehazard
Red Shift
6 March 2015
ACE118
Hermitude
Dark Night Sweet Light
15 May 2015
ACE138
Urthboy
The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat
4 March 2016
ACE144
L-FRESH The LION
Become
13 May 2016
ARIA Award nominated for Urban Album of the Year. Feature album on FBi Radio, Radio Adelaide and 2SER-FM.
The Herd is an Australian hip hop group formed in Sydney. The group employs a "full band" format and is recognised for its live shows. The Herd is composed of Ozi Batla, Urthboy, Berzerkatron (MCs), Unkle Ho (beats), Traksewt, Sulo, Toe-Fu (guitar), Rok Poshtya (bass) and singer Jane Tyrrell. The band's songs often feature politically oriented lyrics. The group has been largely inactive since 2013, reuniting for select performances.
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music that is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as Onefour, Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Bliss n Eso and having achieved notable fame. Australian Hip-Hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip-hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style. Since the inception of the Australian hip-hop scene, Australian Aboriginals have played a prominent role.
Kenneth Spencer Sabir, is an Australian musician, computer programmer, record label founder and event organiser. In 1998 Sabir co-founded an independent record label, Elefant Traks. In 2001, he founded the hip-hop collective The Herd along with fellow Elefant Traks manager Urthboy, Australian MCs Ozi Batla and Berzerkatron, fellow producers Sulo, Unkle Ho, guitarist Toe-Fu and bassist Rok Poshyta. As of August 2011, The Herd have released five studio albums including Summerland (2008) which peaked at No. 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart and Future Shade (2011) which reached the top 30.
Tim Levinson, better known by the stage name Urthboy, is an Australian hip hop MC and producer from New South Wales. He is widely known for his solo music under the moniker Urthboy, as a founding member of the hip-hop group The Herd, and for co-founding and managing the Elefant Traks record label. Levinson has released six solo albums: Distant Sense of Random Menace (2004), The Signal (2007), Spitshine (2009), Smokey's Haunt (2012), The Past Beats Inside Me Like a Second Heartbeat (2016) and Savour (2023); as well as five studio albums with The Herd.
Joelistics is an Australian MC, producer and multi-instrumentalist, who was a member of the Melbourne-based Australian hip hop group TZU and a solo artist on the Elefant Traks music label.
The Signal is the second album from The Herd member Urthboy and was released on 14 July 2007. The album features production from Australian artists El Gusto of Hermitude fame and Count Bounce from TZU. It also features collaborations from several prominent Australian MCs and Musicians. The album was released on CD and double vinyl.
Distant Sense of Random Menace is the debut album from Australian hip-hop artist Urthboy. It was released on 9 August 2004. The album was features the production of Elgusto (Hermitude), Count Bounce (TZU) and The Herd. An extended 12” vinyl was also released featuring an exclusive remix by Hermitude. The album was mastered in Los Angeles by Dave Cooley.
Astronomy Class are an Australian hip-hop / reggae group from Sydney. The group comprises Ozi Batla, Sir Robbo and Chasm.
Alleys to Valleys is the debut album from Australian hip-hop artists Hermitude. It was released on 25 August 2003.
Hermitude are an Australian electronic-hip hop duo, originating from the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
Tales of the Drift is the second album from Australian hip-hop artists Hermitude. It was released on 1 August 2005.
Trampled – The Elefant Traks Remix Album by various artists is the first compilation remix album via Australian hip hop label, Elefant Traks, and was released in August 2006. The label's artists remixed tracks by fellow label mates from the previous eight years.
Horrorshow is an Australian hip-hop music duo from the Inner West region of Sydney that consists of producer Adit and rapper MC Solo. Horrorshow, together with Spit Syndicate, Jackie Onassis and Joyride, are members of One Day collective. Horrorshow are recognised as pioneers of the sub genre known as "Aussie hip-hop," alongside Illy, Drapht, the Herd, Bliss n Eso, and Hilltop Hoods.
Spitshine is the third studio album by Australian hip hop artist and member of The Herd, Urthboy. It was released on 28 August 2009.
Xannon Shirley, better known by the stage name The Tongue, is an Australian rapper, DJ and high school teacher from Sydney. He released two EPs, four albums and three mixtapes. He also released "Bloodwork: The Best of The Tongue" in 2022.
Smokey's Haunt is the fourth studio album by Australian hip hop artist and member of The Herd, Urthboy. It was released on 12 October 2012.
Zindzi Okenyo is a television and theatre actress and musician from Sydney. A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), she is a presenter on Play School, and performs music professionally under the stage name Okenyo. She is best known for the song "Woman's World", from her debut EP album, The Wave.
Jimblah is an indigenous Australian hip hop artist from the Larrakia nation who lives in South Australia and tours nationally. He has released two solo albums and an album with his duo Homeward Bound. He is signed to the Elefant Traks label and has collaborated with many Australian artists including Coda Conduct, Horrorshow, The Tongue and Urthboy. Jimblah is also an advocate for indigenous music and indigenous rights.
The AIR Awards of 2012 is the seventh annual Australian Independent Record Labels Association Music Awards and was an award ceremony at Revolt Art Space, in Melbourne, Australia on 16 October 2012. The event was sponsored by German liquor brand, Jägermeister for the final time.
One Day are an Australian hip hop collective consisting of Horrorshow, Spit Syndicate, Jackie Onassis and Joyride. The collective have released one studio album which peaked at number 2 on the Australian charts.
↑ "Home". Fight for the Reef. Australian Marine Conservation Society. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
↑ "Smokey's Haunt". The Coopers Amp – The 8th Australian Music Prize. Coopers AMP. January 2013. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
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