From the window of Elefant frontman Diego Garcia’s
New York apartment, which borders the exotically thin
line between Chinatown and SoHo, life is as complex
and bustling as his reading roster.
Garcia got his first break in 2003, an indie
darling on New York’s much adored
Kemado Records. An EP and the fulllength
“Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid” revealed
his elegant, lush glam-rock-inspired
pop compositions and solidified
his reputation as an expert songwriter
who had nailed his aesthetic.
The kids heard it and loved it. So did
Hollywood Records, which will release
(with Kemado) “The Black Magic
Show” on April 18.
While writing “The Black Magic
Show,” an intense electronic album spanning
temperatures from dance-floor-hot
to creepy-ballad-cool, Garcia was reading
his way through an impressive primer
of Russian literature. The experience
left an indelible mark on the record.
“I would consider myself an expressionist,
and at the end of the day, whatever
I’m reading and breathing hopefully
comes out in my music,” Garcia said
last week while prepping for an outing
with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, a
tour that opens in Colorado with a
Gothic Theatre gig on Sunday.
“I was always daunted by these big
Russian authors, these scary and intimidating
books, and so one day I just
picked up (Mikhail) Bulgakov’s The
Master and Margarita,’ which is a fun story
about the devil visiting Moscow and
(messing) with everybody’s heads.”
It’s a vivid movie of the mind Satan
let loose in the Russian capital, merrily
spreading mayhem, destruction
and lunacy and the title track of Elefant’s
new record is exactly that. A
threatening story told through postpunk
guitars and staccato synths, the
overarching mood combines the early
Cure and the magic of musical theater
only done right, for hipster music
snobs and indie rock elitists.
It’s obviously a special relationship,
Garcia and the Russian literature that
has long taunted him from afar.
“After reading ( The Master and Margarita’),
I couldn’t help but get into
(Vladimir Nabokov’s) Lolita,’ the
book, which I recommend to everybody,”
he said. “It’s hilarious, and it’s
really scary. I had to close the book a
few times.”
Garcia was born in the late ’70s in Detroit
to Argentinean parents. He started
writing songs as a teenager in Tampa,
Fla., where his family had migrated to
find work, and he left Brown University
to pursue music in New York City.
“Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid” made
it evident he was an artist with a keen
ear for melody tracks such as “Make
Up” and “Bokkie” are dance-floor killers
with their addictive dreamscapes
and outrageous angularity.
“The Black Magic Show” shows
some of the depths he’s unafraid to
plumb, plus the inspirations he’s willing
to mine. Beyond Garcia’s passion
for literature, he also loves the autobiographical,
the clash of his real life and
his music.
“When I was writing this record, I
found myself going through this constant
struggle: Can I give myself 100
percent over to this girl, the love of my
life, and still be true to my art?” Garcia
said. “And you’re constantly being
tempted, so in a way, The Black Magic
Show’ is an introduction to the world I
was living in, and this record helped
me capture all the different characters
you come across and the different
temptations you encounter.
“I gave in to music and to this world.
I can’t look back now. It’s time to hit
the road, to escape even further.”
Garcia gave in to music. But that
meant saying goodbye to his greatest
romantic triumph to date, the woman
who was the inspiration for “Why,”
“My Apology” and “my muse for the
first record and, ultimately, for this
one, too,” he said.
He left her last February and packed
his bags for a nearly year-long stay in
Los Angeles.
“I couldn’t fathom running into her,”
he said. “I know there are certain artists
who make beautiful music that
have families, but that’s just not me,
not now.”
Pop music critic Ricardo Baca can be
reached at 303-820-1394 or
rbaca@denverpost.com.
Elefant
DREAMY POST-PUNK | Gothic Theatre,
3263 S. Broadway, Englewood; 8 p.m. Sunday
with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and
the Morning After Girls | $15 | TicketWeb,
ticketweb.com, 866-468-7621
