Elephant Micah
Encyclopedia
Elephant Micah is a musical band or stage name
of southern Indiana
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joseph O'Connell. Recording mostly at home, O’Connell has produced an eclectic body of work since beginning the project in 2000. Elephant Micah’s inconsistently available music has become a cult favorite among some lo-fi
/indie
and folk rock
audiences.
O'Connell has released recordings with BlueSanct Records
, the experimental-leaning Time-Lag Records
, and a number of other very small labels
. In addition, he has issued several short-run CDs on his own LRRC (Luddite Rural Recording Cooperative)
imprint, also home to music by collaborator Jason Henn.
In 2005, Elephant Micah shared bills with Jason Molina's Magnolia Electric Company during a string of shows in the United Kingdom.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
of southern Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Joseph O'Connell. Recording mostly at home, O’Connell has produced an eclectic body of work since beginning the project in 2000. Elephant Micah’s inconsistently available music has become a cult favorite among some lo-fi
Lo-fi music
Lo-fi is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an...
/indie
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
and folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
audiences.
O'Connell has released recordings with BlueSanct Records
BlueSanct Records
Bluesanct Records is a record label located in Bloomington, Indiana and run by Michael Anderson, who records experimental music for the label under the Drekka moniker. Other artists include Elephant Micah, Vollmar, and Caethua. Alumni include Low, Rivulets, Static Films, and The...
, the experimental-leaning Time-Lag Records
Time-Lag Records
Time-Lag Records is an independent record label based in Portland, Maine.It has released albums by artists such as Phantom Buffalo, Elephant Micah, Fursaxa, MV+EE and the Bummer Road, Death Chants, Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand, Charalambides, Espers, The Tower Recordings, Drona Parva, GHQ,...
, and a number of other very small labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. In addition, he has issued several short-run CDs on his own LRRC (Luddite Rural Recording Cooperative)
LRRC (Luddite Rural Recording Cooperative)
LRRC was an online music mail-order and CDR/vinyl-focused independent record label run by Indiana lo-fi musician Joseph O'Connell, best known for his band Elephant Micah. In addition to some of O'Connell's own work, the label released music by Elephant Micah collaborator Jason Henn...
imprint, also home to music by collaborator Jason Henn.
In 2005, Elephant Micah shared bills with Jason Molina's Magnolia Electric Company during a string of shows in the United Kingdom.
LPs
- Low Energy Dance MusicLow Energy Dance MusicLow Energy Dance Music is the debut album of Indiana lo-fi musician Joe O'Connell, better known as Elephant Micah. The album was released in February, 2002 on Landmark Records.-Track listing:#~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~#"You Take My Sense With Longing"...
(2002, Landmark RecordsLandmark RecordsLandmark Records was an American jazz record label founded in 1985 by Orrin Keepnews as a successor to Milestone Records. Landmark Records published albums recorded by the Kronos Quartet of music by Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, as well as straight jazz albums...
) - The Untied States of Elephant MicahThe Untied States of Elephant MicahThe Untied States of Elephant Micah is the second album by Indiana lo-fi/indie musician Joe O'Connell, a.k.a. Elephant Micah. Originally released on CD-R by Orphanology in September 2002, it was officially released on BlueSanct Records in February, 2004...
(CD-R) (Original release) (2002, Orphanology) - Elephant Micah, Your Dreams Are Feeding BackElephant Micah, Your Dreams Are Feeding Back"Elephant Micah, Your Dreams Are Feeding Back" is an album by Indiana lo-fi/indie Joe O'Connell, better known as Elephant Micah. It was released in June, 2003 on BlueSanct Records.-Track listing:#"zzzzzzz..."#"Turned Up to Stardom"#"Rhode Island Reds"...
(2003, BlueSanct RecordsBlueSanct RecordsBluesanct Records is a record label located in Bloomington, Indiana and run by Michael Anderson, who records experimental music for the label under the Drekka moniker. Other artists include Elephant Micah, Vollmar, and Caethua. Alumni include Low, Rivulets, Static Films, and The...
) - The Untied States of Elephant MicahThe Untied States of Elephant MicahThe Untied States of Elephant Micah is the second album by Indiana lo-fi/indie musician Joe O'Connell, a.k.a. Elephant Micah. Originally released on CD-R by Orphanology in September 2002, it was officially released on BlueSanct Records in February, 2004...
(Reissue) (2004, BlueSanct Records) - Elephant Micah and the Palmyra PalmElephant Micah and the Palmyra PalmElephant MIcah and the Palmyra Palm is CD-R released by Elephant Micah. It contains material from the same sessions that would produce Elephant Micah and the Loud Guitars and Elephant Micah and the Agrarian Malaise...
(CD-R) (2004, Time-Lag RecordsTime-Lag RecordsTime-Lag Records is an independent record label based in Portland, Maine.It has released albums by artists such as Phantom Buffalo, Elephant Micah, Fursaxa, MV+EE and the Bummer Road, Death Chants, Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand, Charalambides, Espers, The Tower Recordings, Drona Parva, GHQ,...
) - Elephant Micah and the Loud GuitarsElephant Micah and the Loud GuitarsElephant MIcah and the Loud Guitars is a CD-R by Elephant Micah. Released in September 2004, the album is the second in a series of three CD-Rs that he released on Time-Lag Records between May 2004 and January 2005.-Track listing:#"A Duo Sonic Spiritual"...
(CD-R) (2004, Time-Lag Records) - Elephant Micah and the Agrarian MalaiseElephant Micah and the Agrarian MalaiseA CD-R released by Elephant Micah in January 2005. The final in a series of three CD-Rs released on Time-Lag Records. Shaking Takes Its Toll had previously been released as "The Ambulance Song" on a Rowntree Records Christmas compilation.-Track listing:...
(CD-R) (2005, Time-Lag Records) - Futile SessionsFutile SessionsFutile Sessions is a half-live, half-studio CD-R by Elephant Micah. It was released on Micah's own LRRC label in 2005 for sale on Micah's fall tour.-Track listing:#Psychic Guitar Knowledge#Help Me Carry This Piano#Some Naive Hummingbirds...
(CD-R) (2005, LRRCLRRC (Luddite Rural Recording Cooperative)LRRC was an online music mail-order and CDR/vinyl-focused independent record label run by Indiana lo-fi musician Joseph O'Connell, best known for his band Elephant Micah. In addition to some of O'Connell's own work, the label released music by Elephant Micah collaborator Jason Henn...
) - Hindu WindmillsHindu WindmillsAn album by Elephant Micah, released after a long delay in December, 2006 on Time-Lag Records. Demos were circulating the internet as Elephant Micah and the Hindu Windmills. For unknown reasons, the album, originally due out in the spring, had been repeatedly delayed by the label...
(2006 [Vinyl], 2007 [CD], Time-Lag Records) - Exiled Magicians (2008, Third Uncle Records)
- Elephant Micah Plays the Songs of Bible Birds (2010, Time-Lag RecordsTime-Lag RecordsTime-Lag Records is an independent record label based in Portland, Maine.It has released albums by artists such as Phantom Buffalo, Elephant Micah, Fursaxa, MV+EE and the Bummer Road, Death Chants, Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand, Charalambides, Espers, The Tower Recordings, Drona Parva, GHQ,...
) - Echoer's Intent (2010, Time-Lag RecordsTime-Lag RecordsTime-Lag Records is an independent record label based in Portland, Maine.It has released albums by artists such as Phantom Buffalo, Elephant Micah, Fursaxa, MV+EE and the Bummer Road, Death Chants, Six Organs of Admittance, Wooden Wand, Charalambides, Espers, The Tower Recordings, Drona Parva, GHQ,...
)
EPs
- Lost Sense RecollectedLost Sense RecollectedLost Sense Recollected is lo-fi artist Elephant Micah's first official release. Released on LRRC, Micah's label, as a cassette-only release in August, 2001. The album is now available on Micah's for purchase as mp3s.-Side A:#"Recognize An Impending Danger"...
(Tape) (2001, LRRC) - Home of AstronautsHome of AstronautsA 7" vinyl-only covers EP released by Indiana lo-fi/indie songster Elephant Micah. It was released in October 2004 on Third Uncle Records. Early copies of the EP came with a burned CD of the record, along with eight live tracks, including versions of "Big Star", "Nobody Knows, Rosie", and...
7" EP (2004, Third Uncle Records) - Tropical DepressionTropical Depression (EP)A four-song EP released by Elephant Micah in February, 2006 for his spring mini-tour. The CD was a limited edition of 100 that came in a numbered, potato-stamped sleeve.-Track listing:#"Ways"#"Old Globe/Gentle Riders"#"Soberer"#"Passage"...
(2006, LRRC) - Embarrassment of RichesEmbarrassment of Riches (EP)Embarrassment of Riches is an 6-song "albumette" by Elephant Micah which was released September 29, 2006 on Micah's own LRRC label. The record was unveiled at a record release party at Micah's alma mater, Earlham College...
(2006, LRRC) - Alsatian SunlightAlsatian SunlightAlsatian Sunlight is an EP by Elephant Micah which was released in June, 2007 on Micah's own LRRC label.-Track listing:#"Wave Translation"#"Detailed Cathedral"#"More Exposures"#"Stay Lost"...
(2007, self-released) - Equine Emblem 7" (2008, The Great Pop Supplement)
- In Midnight / Ocean Floor 7" (2008, L'Animaux Tryst)
- The Mayor of Rocky Ripple (2011, Palmyra)
External links
- Official website
- Review of the album Exiled Magicians at PopMatters
- [ AllMusic Page]
- Interview with Elephant Micah at Awful Bliss Records
- Live downloads at Hoosier Handheld
- WNYC "Spinning on Air" in-studio concert and interview 5/16/2010