Elan Releases Her New Album "London Express"

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Latin superstar rocker Elan, is releasing the follow-up to her breakthrough debut album "Street Child", which featured guest appearances by Grammy Award Winning guitarist Slash (Velvet Revolver & Guns N Roses), Grammy Award Winner and Beck producer Brian Paulson, David Immergluck of The Counting Crows, legendary Mexican composer/arranger and former Herb Alpert, Paul Anka musical director and Latin Grammy Nominee Eugenio Toussaint, Alan Weatherhead of Sparklehorse and mixed by Grammy Award Winning engineer Jeff "The Pirate" Poe (Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Santana).

"With the release of 'Street Child, Elan fans brought down 3 national servers in Central and South America with e-mail requests for her first single, 'Midnight', jamming phone lines in most radio stations for days on end..." as reported by Rafael Villareal. "Midnight" smashed English language radio play records, gaining the top spot on the charts and not relinquishing its position for up to twenty weeks in some Latin American territories.

Also awarded the Rolling Stone En Espa?ol "People's Choice Awards" in 2004, for "Best new Latin Artist" and "Best Latin Solo Artist" Elan had four top ten videos on MTV Latin America, Telehit, MTV Australia and Channel V. Upon its release to Australian radio (released through Festival Mushroom Records), "Midnight" was the second most added track, across the boards, all formats, nationwide (second only to Eminem).

The Mexican born singer/songwriter made a name for herself by being the first internationally successful Latin American independent artist as well as the first female Latina to begin her career with an English language album written completely on her own.

Hector Salazar, Editor in Chief of "Musica Q" says, "though artists are commonly credited as writers, it is rare these days to see all the tracks of an album written solely by one person. There is a clear distinction between an 'entertainer' and a musician, a real artist. Elan is a musician and an artist. As Latinos, it makes us proud. She is one of us... and she's one of you too... it's unifying instead of dividing. She carries a little of all of us in her and hasn't forgotten from where she came. And I think it's fitting that the first Latino to accomplish this be a woman."

What added even more to her success was the fact that "Street Child" was the first large scale independent hit in Latin America. Sony Music spokesperson Ricardo Burgos described "Street Child" as a "history making release in Latin America".

Elan is releasing her new album titled "London Express" through Silverlight Records, the label which was founded by both her and her brother Jan Carlo DeFan (who has produced both her debut and upcoming albums) to help independent artists like herself, be distributed.

On this, Elan comments "Why should I let a record company guy who doesn't play an instrument or even listen to the same music I like, tell me how to write a song, how to dress or how to act? NO! I tried it their way. I had enough of what they 'thought' I should be. I decided to make the music I wanted to, with or without their permission. And it worked. Look, it's not about being rebellious without reason."

When talking about the reason for starting their label, Jan Carlo says:
"We tried the other route... and had many horrible experiences. We had to make our own path." Jan Carlo is a former Warner Music Mexico A&R executive and has managed Elan's career from the beginning. "We've been inside the monster's belly, that's why we give ourselves the liberty to talk about it."

In 1999 Elan's family relocated to Southern California where they could help give her a better chance with her career. After getting into a bidding war over Elan, one of the major labels involved signed her. The experience turned sour and she was stuck there for over 2 years, which at at such a young age, was a bitter pill to swallow.

"They promised me I could make my music, my way. That was the deal. Then I had several A&R guys assigned to me and then leave the company one by one. It happens in these labels all the time. They started to tell me to make other kinds of music... let's just say it wasn't rock. I don't 'do' that. I don't do bubble-gum. I play, I write and I make rock and roll. I would tell them 'why can't you just let me make my music the way I always have?' They sent me all over the place and then complained that the tracks sounded 'nothing like the original demos'. So after two years, three A&Rs, ten producers, eighteen engineers, six programmers, fourteen studios, thirty one musicians on three continents, with over 150, 000 miles traveled by car, train and airplane and zero albums to show for it, I wanted out." says Elan.

After the ordeal, the two siblings went back to square one. They got right to work and pieced together most of "Street Child" in the spare bedroom of their parents' apartment. Then they opened the doors to Silverlight Records, their imprint. They have never looked back.

"There are few if any music lovers left in these companies... just number crunchers. It's not about music anymore. But that's yesterday's news. Sure the business is important, but it is the 'MUSIC' business after all. I grew listening to my parents vinyl collection. That's what I know... Beatles, Dylan, Joplin, Hendrix, Zep, Floyd. That's what communicates to me. Nowadays, this new breed of label guy has no clue where it all started. You learn by listening to records and making them." Says Elan.

After thinking for a moment Jan Carlo states, "No matter how hard these guys try pushing all this plastic garbage down people's throats, if the public doesn't like it, THE PUBLIC WON'T BUY IT. Record companies spend more money trying to 'make' artists. They don't seem to realize that it would be so much easier if they just signed real artists in the first place and then just LEFT THEM ALONE. They would make more money too. And that's what you have today.
Sure, they can blame the lack of sales on illegal downloading, but if you ask anyone out on the street what the problem with today's music is, they all answer unanimously."

Elan's "Street Child" and "London Express" will become available digitally on Tuesday, July 26th through most major internet music providers worldwide, including iTunes, Napster, MSN Music, Rhapsody, Big Pond, emusic, Koodoo, MusicMatch, Music Now, Sony Connect and T-Online to name a few.

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