The loose collective of lo-fi
bands known as the Elephant 6 Recording Company rose to prominence in the mid-
and late 1990s, greatly shaping the sound and approach of indie rock to come
along the way. On January 8, The Elephant 6 Recording Co., a new documentary
on this Southern-born underground scene, will be shown at Upstate Films’ Orpheum Theater in Saugerties.
Originating in Ruston, Louisiana,
in the late 1980s, the Elephant 6 Recording Company milieu spread to Athens, Georgia,
and Denver, Colorado, and included such influential acts as Neutral Milk Hotel, the
Apples in Stereo, Oliva Tremor Control, Of Montreal, Elf Power, and others. The
Elephant 6 bands shared members as well as a fascination with DIY recording and
the artful 1960s psychedelic pop of the Beatles, the Kinks, the Beach Boys, and
the Zombies. Among the most prominent and prolific Elephant 6 musicians are cofounders
Jeff Mangum, Bill Doss, Robert Schneider, and Will Cullen Hart. In the
Aeroplane Over the Sea, the 1998 sophomore release by Neutral Milk Hotel,
is regarded as a landmark recording and one of the top albums of the decade.
The Elephant 6 Recording Co. will screen at Upstate Films’s Orpheum Theater in Saugerties on
January 8 at 7pm. A Q&A with director Daniel Efram (Call It Democracy)
and Ben Crum of the band Great Lakes will follow the film.
This article appears in December 2023.
