The Elephant 6 Recording Company is a loosely defined musical collective from the United States. Notable bands associated with the collective include the Apples in Stereo, Beulah, Circulatory System, Elf Power, the Minders, Neutral Milk Hotel, of Montreal, and the Olivia Tremor Control. Although bands in Elephant 6 explore many different genres, they have a shared interest in psychedelic pop of the 1960s, with particular influence from bands such as the Beach Boys, the Beatles, and the Zombies. Their music sometimes features intentionally low fidelity production and experimental recording techniques.
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum wrote surreal and opaque lyrics that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness. He and the other band members played a variety of instruments, including non-traditional instruments like the singing saw and uilleann pipes.
Jeffrey Nye Mangum is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. Mangum is characterized for his complex, lyrically dense songwriting, exemplified on the critically lauded album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, as well as for his public image as a recluse associated with his extended periods of musical inactivity and minimal press interaction. An article published in Slate described Mangum as the "Salinger of Indie Rock." In 2023 Jeff Mangum received a Grammy award nomination for "Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package".
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is the second and final studio album by American band Neutral Milk Hotel, released on February 10, 1998, by Merge Records. The album is predominantly indie rock and psychedelic folk and is characterized by an intentionally low-quality sound. Traditional indie rock instruments like the guitar and drums are paired with less conventional instruments like the singing saw and uilleann pipes. The lyrics are surrealistic and opaque, exploring themes that range from nostalgia to love. An important influence for the album was The Diary of a Young Girl, a book of writings from the diary of Anne Frank.
The Apples in Stereo are an American indie rock band associated with Elephant 6 Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel, the Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory System. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist/producer Robert Schneider, who writes the majority of the band's music and lyrics. Currently, The Apples in Stereo also includes longstanding members John Hill and Eric Allen (bass), as well as more recent members John Dufilho (drums), John Ferguson (keyboards), and Ben Phelan (keyboards/guitar/trumpet).
The Olivia Tremor Control is an American psychedelic band from Athens, Georgia. The band's main line-up consists of Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, Eric Harris, John Fernandes, and Peter Erchick. The Olivia Tremor Control's music combines indie rock and neo-psychedelia, taking influence from psychedelic pop bands of the 1960s, such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles.
On Avery Island is the debut studio album by American rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, released on March 26, 1996, by Merge Records. At the time, Neutral Milk Hotel was a solo project of American musician Jeff Mangum, who recorded the album with producer Robert Schneider from February to May 1995. On Avery Island is an indie rock and psychedelic folk album, with a lo-fi sound.
Fun Trick Noisemaker is the debut studio album by The Apples in Stereo. It was recorded in a house in Los Angeles, in Robert Schneider's portable Pet Sounds Studio. It was released in 1995 via SpinART.
William Cullen Hart is an American pop musician. He was a co-founder of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, as well as the rock band The Olivia Tremor Control. Following that band's breakup, Hart and several other former members regrouped to create Circulatory System.
Bill Doss was an American rock musician. He co-founded The Elephant 6 Recording Company in Athens, Georgia and was a key member of The Olivia Tremor Control. Following the band's breakup, he led The Sunshine Fix and later became a member of The Apples in Stereo. Doss was married to freelance photographer Amy Hairston Doss, whom he met while both were attending Louisiana Tech University.
Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle is the debut studio album by the American band the Olivia Tremor Control, released on August 6, 1996, by Flydaddy Records. It is an eclectic album that encompasses a variety of genres, including indie pop, neo-psychedelia, and psychedelic pop. The first half of the album features songs that are influenced by bands of 1960s and 1970s, such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles. The second half features more experimental songs, including two long instrumental songs influenced by drone music and musique concrète. Dusk at Cubist Castle purports to be the soundtrack to an unfinished film, and the lyrics focus on surrealist imagery.
Marbles is the solo recording project of The Apples in Stereo singer and chief songwriter Robert Schneider. The project started out in 1993 when Schneider would record his various musical endeavors on cassette for various people he knew, but was somewhat abandoned as the Apples got off the ground. He would later compile some of the songs, many of which featuring backing vocals from Will Cullen Hart of The Olivia Tremor Control, and release them officially in 1997 as an album named Pyramid Landing .
New Magnetic Wonder is the sixth studio album from The Apples in Stereo. The album was produced by Robert Schneider with additional production and mixing by Bryce Goggin and was recorded in four separate states. The album was released on February 6, 2007 via a co-venture between the actor Elijah Wood's Simian Records, Yep Roc Records and Elephant 6.
Jim McIntyre is a musician best known as the man behind the Elephant 6 band Von Hemmling. He was also the original bassist for The Apples in Stereo before leaving in 1993. He has written or co-written many early songs for the band, including "Stop Along the Way", "Touch The Water", "To Love The Vibration Of The Bulb" and "Dots 1-2-3". He also plays bass on several tracks that appear on the debut album Fun Trick Noisemaker, as well as engineering and performing on other Apples in Stereo albums. An incarnation of Robert Schneider's Pet Sounds Studio was located at McIntyre's residence, where influential albums such as In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel were recorded.
The Ideal Free Distribution (IFD) were an indie rock band formed in Benton, Kentucky in 1997 and based in both Benton and Lexington, Kentucky. Heavily influenced by 1960s pop music and promoted by Robert Schneider, the band is indirectly associated with Elephant 6 Recording Company groups such as The Minders, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, and The Apples in Stereo.
The Pet Sounds Recording Studio was a recording studio located in Denver, Colorado, founded by Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo and Jim McIntyre of Von Hemmling. Many Elephant 6 albums have been recorded in the studio, including the critically acclaimed Neutral Milk Hotel album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. It was demolished in 1999; a high-rise condominium was subsequently erected on the site.
The discography of Neutral Milk Hotel, a Ruston, Louisiana-based indie rock group, consists of two studio albums, two singles, two extended plays, two compilation albums, and three demos.
Travellers in Space and Time is the seventh studio album by The Apples in Stereo released in 2010. It was the first album by the band to feature new drummer John Dufilho, as well as the first to cite Bill Doss and John Ferguson as permanent band members. It is heavily influenced by the Electric Light Orchestra, especially their science-fiction concept album Time.
You've Passed/Where You'll Find Me Now is the third single by American psychedelic folk band Neutral Milk Hotel, released as part of their Walking Wall of Words vinyl box set on December 12, 2011. The single contains alternative versions of the songs "You've Passed" and "Where You'll Find Me Now", from the band's 1996 album On Avery Island. Both songs were written and performed solely by Jeff Mangum. He recorded both tracks at his father's house in Ruston, Louisiana in December 1994 on cassette tape using a portable four-track recorder. Both tracks, in comparison to their On Avery Island counterparts, are longer and more distorted. The record was engineered by Craig Morris, mixing and mastering was done by friend and long-time collaborator Robert Schneider. The single was made available for sale as a digital download from the band's official website in 2019.
Spaceflyte is an experimental pop band from The Apples in Stereo's Robert Schneider and John Ferguson and published by The Elephant 6 Recording Company
