Elán (musician)
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Elán DeFan (born 1 March 1983) is a Mexican singer. known for being one of the first
Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...
female songwriters to begin her career with an English language album written completely on her own and the first
independent artist Independent music (also commonly known as indie music, or simply indie) is a broad style of music characterized by creative freedoms, low-budgets, and a do-it-yourself approach to music creation, which originated from the liberties afforded by i ...
from Latin America to have sold more than 1.7 million copies of her music with her band which is also named ELAN, made up of Elán, lead vocalist and keyboard player, Jan Carlo DeFan, lead
guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...
, co-producer and Elán's brother and younger cousin and drummer Michel "Cheech" Bitar DeFan and Mauricio "The Duck" Lopez. Elán reveals an assortment of music that has been influenced by many artists like
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
,
Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...
,
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
,
Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...
, and a few other notable influences. Elán had a notable success with albums like '' Street Child'' and '' London Express''. she has released six albums - five in English and one in Spanish. In 2017, she switched to Shy Porter as professional name, and began releasing music as such.


Career


Early days

Elán was born on 1 March 1983 in
Tlaquepaque Tlaquepaque (), officially San Pedro Tlaquepaque, is a city and the surrounding municipality in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Geography During the 20th century, it was absorbed by the outward spread of the state capital, and is now a fully i ...
,
Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...
. Her love for music 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, she began 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, she starts to perform at private parties and theatres. She started recordings with a major record label,
Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp., commonly abbreviated as WMG, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment and record label Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the "Record label#M ...
in Mexico.


The Arista years through the recording of ''Street Child'' (2000–2003)

BMG International, Vice President of A&R, Richard Sweret flew Elán and Jan Carlo to meet
Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
President & CEO Antonio
L.A. Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Mus ...
. After a private showcase in which Elán played "Perfect Life", Reid stated that the song was "the story of my life" and offered her a record deal. Jan Carlo hired former Aerosmith manager Wendy Leister to manage Elán. Her second A&R representative at Arista Records, Pete Ganbarg, leaves the company, again leaving her without representation. Josh Sarubin comes in as Elán's third A&R at Arista. He suggests that Elán find another producer ''"to work with other than her brother"''. She met with producers in Los Angeles, New York and Virginia. Elán recorded with producer Mark Howard, at his studio in Los Angeles. Drummer
Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Do ...
played the drums in those sessions. She later recorded with Olle Romo, at his studio in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, the flew to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and records with singer/songwriter and producer Fionn O'Lochlainn. Elán and her brother traveled to
Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, to begin recording what was going to be the album ''Street Child''. Recording was interrupted by the events of
September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
. On that day, she was recording a song named "Crash". The sessions never concluded. Eventually, Elán left Arista Records. Soon after, Elán parted ways with Laister. Elán 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 re-track most of the album and are eventually joined by Elán's long time engineer Jeff Poe. They mix the album over the next nine months. Originally slated to be titled ''"Some Kind Of Daydream"'', ''Street Child'' finally came to life.
Velvet Revolver Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of pu ...
and ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist
Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...
hears the song Street Child from a mutual friend and makes known his desire to participate on the title track of Elán's album. The session was recorded at
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
Studios in Los Angeles in August 2002. While at the studio, they also shot parts of the "Street Child" video. Three years after arriving to the U.S.A. Elán's album is finally finished and mastered at
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
by Mark Chalecki. Besides Slash, ''Street Child'' featured guest appearances by
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
Award Winner and
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
producer Brian Paulson, David Immerglück of
Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglà ...
, composer/arranger Eugenio Toussaint, Alan Weatherhead of
Sparklehorse Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. It was active from 1995 until Linkous's 2010 death. Before forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands Johnson Fa ...
and mixed by
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
Award Winning engineer Jeff Poe.


''Street Child'' (2003–2004)

On June 13, 2003, Elán's first single "Midnight" is released in Mexico on their own label, Silverlight Records (licensed through Sony Music Mexico) to an unprecedented response. Her single from her album reaches #1 in airplay in some Mexican territories. ''Midnight'' climbed the "Pepsi Chart" to #12. On
MTV Latin America MTV is a Latin American pay television network that was launched on 1 October 1993 as the Hispanic American version of MTV. It is owned by Paramount Networks Americas, a subsidiary of Paramount Global. The channel broadcasts music videos as ...
, Elán's video goes to the Top 10 Most Wanted and goes Top 10 on the Top 20 Countdown. It was a surprise hit in Australia. It became the second most added song in its first week (second only to
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
). The song reached number 28 on the ARIA charts. ''Midnight'' went top ten across the boards (all radio formats) in airplay in the country. Elán 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's 15 Year Anniversary Celebration, and the Sanborn's 100th Anniversary Celebration. She traveled throughout Mexico with her band, performing in
San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí, officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí, is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 59 municipalities and is named after its capital city, San Luis Potosí. It ...
,
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
,
Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
,
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
,
Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...
and
Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Coahuila. The city's population is 720,848 inhabitants, making it the second largest city in the state of Coahuila. Also Torreón is par ...
on what became known as the ''Street Child Tour''. She traveled to Mexico, to play at schools and promote music education. The tour was sponsored by Fermatta Music Academy. She performed in the preshow of the
MTV Video Music Awards Latin America MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
2003 in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. In Australia, Elán performed on The Panel,
MTV Australia MTV was a 24-hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. Paramount Networks UK & Australia headquartered in London with a local office at Network 10's headquarte ...
, Channel V to name a few. Elán also performs two exclusive shows at "Boutique" in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and "The Basement" in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
.


''London Express'' (2005–2006)

The band took a break before returning to the studio to record their second album. The band takes a year to record the follow-up to the "Street Child" album. The line-up consists of drummer Michel Bitar, rhythm guitarist Jonathan Fraulin and Jan Carlo on guitar. She played 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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
, which Elán has described as "the only band that really changed everything". "Be Free" was the first single from the ''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 Elán'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 historic record breaking 12 weeks in the #1 position on the charts. 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 number of views in its debut week than all other videos. A third single "Whatever it Takes" was released in November 2006.


''What Can Be Done At This Point'' (2007) and ''Shine'' (2008)

On 8 May, Elán released her new album "What Can Be Done At This Point". The album consists of 10 new original tracks and includes the track "What Can Be Done At This Point", song that gives the name to the album and that offers a posthumous tribute to the crew of the space shuttle "Challenger". The track contains original audio of the transmission between the "Challenger" and mission control of the day of the unforgettable tragedy. The rights to this audio clip were granted by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
. The first single from the new album is titled "Don't Want You In". The video for "Don't Want You In" jumped straight to the Top 10 charts in videos networks like "Telehit". It was directed by Gulliver Parascandolo who also directed the videos for "This Fool's Life" and "Whatever It Takes". On 10 September 2007, she was awarded an Independent Diamond Record Award for the certified sale of 1.5 million copies of her music.


''Shine'' (2008)

On 10 March 2008 Elan released their fourth album titled "Shine". On 16 April the band launched their "Elan Shine Tour 2008" which kicked off in Mexico. The "Elan Shine Tour 2008" is one of the most successful and longest running tours ever featured in Mexico by an independent band. The tour in Mexico was originally programmed for 14 shows but the tour was so successful that it was extended an additional month into June.


''Lost and Found'' (2009)

The band's fifth release, ''Lost and Found'', experimented with new ideas while reviving one of Elán's oldest compositions, "You Forget."


''Recuerdos y Tequila'' (2009)

In 2009, Elán recorded her first album entirely sung in Spanish, called 'Recuerdos y Tequila' ('Memories and Tequila'). All of the songs are by artists like
Fito Páez Rodolfo Páez, popularly known as Fito Páez (; born 13 March 1963), is an Argentine rock and roll musician and filmmaker. He was member of the "Trova Rosarina" and is known as "The Troubadour of Argentine Rock", and is considered an important ...
and
Juan Gabriel Alberto Aguilera Valadez (; 7 January 1950 – 28 August 2016), known professionally as Juan Gabriel (), was a Mexican singer-songwriter and actor. Colloquially Honorific nicknames in popular music, nicknamed Juanga () and El Divo de Juárez, ...
. Elán said that "it was a personal necessity to sing in Spanish and offer songs that marked my life, some of them in a personal way and others like the ones of
José Alfredo Jiménez José Alfredo Jiménez Sandoval (; 19 January 1926 – 23 November 1973) was a Mexican singer-songwriter, whose songs are regarded as the basis of modern Regional Mexican music and Rancheras. Early life Jiménez was born in Dolores Hidalgo, ...
, which my father used to hear".-a-sus-origenes-musicales-con-el-cd-recuerdos-y-tequila.htm Profile
www2.informador.com.mx; accessed 5 March 2016. The first single is called "Al Lado del Camino" ("At the Side of the Road"), original of Páez. The video was shot in Mexico City.


Discography


LPs

* '' Street Child'' (2003) * '' London Express'' (2005) * '' What Can Be Done at This Point'' (2007) * '' Shine'' (2008) * ''
Lost and Found A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property, lost articles th ...
'' (2009) * '' Recuerdos y Tequila'' (2009) * '' Regular Weird People'' (2011)


Singles


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elan 1983 births Living people Mexican musicians Mexican women singer-songwriters Mexican singer-songwriters Singers from Jalisco English-language singers from Mexico 21st-century Mexican singers 21st-century Mexican women singers