The Trunk: Let’s get started with the question on everyone’s lips. Where does the name "Bad Elephant Music" come from?
David Elephant: Well, back in the 1930s, when I was in the military in India... er, no. It’s actually quite a mundane reason. So, when I first had the idea for the label back in 2012, I didn’t really have an idea as to what sort of label it was going to be – at the time, it was just about one artist. Coming up with the name was something I was really struggling with. I wanted something a bit quirky, and, although we were looking at a lot of progressive rock bands at the time, I didn’t want anything that would identify us too closely with progressive rock.
I actually had the idea from a film we had out of the library, which was a film of Ivor the Engine, Oliver Postgate’s animated series. The film featured an Indian elephant which had escaped from the circus, and was rescued by Ivor the Engine and his hangers-on. There’s a scene in the film in which, in a very broad Welsh accent, Jones the Steam says "Oh, you’re a bad elephant!" I forget what it had done. But that’s where the name came from.
TT: You mention that one artist, so can you tell me a little more about that first collaboration that led to the creation of Bad Elephant?
DE: Like so many people, meeting Simon Godfrey has been my downfall. I met Simon through my podcast, The European Perspective, and I interviewed him and Rob Ramsay, another BEM artist, around 2009 or 2010. Tinyfish [Godfrey and Ramsay’s previous band] ran its course, and Simon wanted to release an album under his own steam, and came up with the project name of Shineback.
He played me some demos, and it was some of the most remarkable music I’d ever heard. And I said to him “I’d love to release this under my fledgling record label”, and Simon said, “yeah, that’s great”. So, yes, Shineback was the first release, we started planning it in late 2012, and released it in July 2013. That was where it all started.
TT: So, since 2013, how would you say that the process of running the label has changed?
DE: There’s a volume element to it. We released two albums in 2013, five in 2014, and then the whole thing just exploded. We’re up now to doing around fifteen releases a year. I couldn’t have done this without more people coming on board. The key guy in the operation these days, apart from myself, is Martin Hutchinson, who’s our sales director, and who basically looks after the BEM store and handles relationships with wholesalers. That was an element of the business which I just never expected – the idea that there would be interest from record shops outside our own store and people we already knew.
Also, as the label has become better known, we don’t feel that we’re the underdogs as much any more. We’ve got a core of fans who buy absolutely everything, which I find remarkable, since there’s such a wide variety of music. There’s one guy called Andy Langridge who’s just fantastic, and every time I see Andy, I tell him I live in mortal fear of releasing something he doesn’t enjoy. Fortunately, it hasn’t happened yet.
The Elephant himself, in his natural habitat.
TT: The label’s become better known, but you yourself has also become quite well known in some music circles, as Mr Elephant. What’s been your experience of that?
DE: It’s very pleasant, having people coming up to you at gigs or on social media and wanting to have a chat about the music or the label. If I was going to give advice to anyone setting up a record label, I think the most important thing is to be nice. You are essentially selling a brand, and it’s in nobody’s interest if you treat people in an offhand or unpleasant way. Fortunately, almost everyone we deal with is absolutely lovely. The musicians, the fans, our partners, everyone’s great.
Tom Slatter coined the "David Elephant" phrase. Elephant is not my real surname, folks! But yes, becoming known as an individual is actually quite fun. We don’t get paid for this, none of us make any money out of it, so it’s nice to get a bit of recognition.
TT: What would your biggest piece of advice be, then, to anyone who would like to work with Bad Elephant?
DE: A lot of it is about expectations. We are a small label. We haven’t got the clout of Sony or Universal, or even some of the bigger independent labels like Inside Out or Kscope. We’re never going to be able to have the same sort of reach as those guys have got. Having said that, it’s a very different proposition. I think we give you more artistic freedom, and the ability to express yourselves the way you want to, musically. We’ll do our absolute best, and I think the offering we’ve got now is better than it’s ever been, but it’s important to be realistic.
I also think you’ve got to be realistic about the way that the industry has changed. Even over the four years that we’ve been releasing records, we’ve seen huge changes in the way that music is distributed. Although things like streaming existed in 2013, and had been there for a while, the growth of that has really made a huge difference. An album that would have sold a couple of thousand CDs in 2013, you’d be lucky to reach a thousand now.
The third thing, I suppose, is that we can’t do it all. We really need bands to help us to help them. We’ll push your stuff as hard as we can, but, for best results, you need to be doing the same.
TT: They say elephants never forget. Do you forget, Mr Elephant?
DE: Sorry, what were we talking about?
Status Update
It's been a quiet week for the label, but everything's ticking over just as planned.
My Tricksy Spirit's debut album, My Tricksy Spirit, is out now! If you've not picked up a copy yet - maybe you were waiting on reviews (and there are a couple below) - then now's the time. Whitewater's Universal Medium also drops in less than two weeks, and preorders are open here.
Review Roundup
Hot off the presses, My Tricksy Spirit has been met with acclaim from both Progradar's Emma Roebuck and The Progressive Aspect's Roger Trenwith! Roger describes it as "a record for the sultry summer evening, star gazing or soul gazing, glass of Pimms in hand" - and, while I'm not a big Pimms drinker, I can't help but agree.
That wraps it up for this week. Until next time, happy listening!
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