Elephant Castle is a retro inspired indie rock project from Los Angeles based singer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Danyew. Their debut single ‘Cool To Be Unhappy’ is a wondrously dreamy track presenting a fresh take on a break-up ballad.
Danyew was a touring member of the band Foster the People, he has recently quit to pursue his own music and has taken those heavy 50s and 60s influences with him. Elephant Castle has infused all these influences with a love for analog synthesizers and created this mesmeric record that drifts you away to a different dimension.
‘Cool To Be Unhappy’ has a nostalgic feel, yet still in-keeping with current sounds like Tame Impala and encapsulates that iconic American west-coast sound. You can already feel this song being played at festivals in glorious sunshine and will be a real marker for Elephant Castle.
Danyew says that “‘Cool To Be Unhappy’ is about a girl I once loved who thought it was cool the be unhappy. Needless to say it didn’t work out”. Elephant Castle has played on this idea of a break-up song and turned it into something you could see being the sound of the summer, a complete contrast to the usual mundane break-up songs which dominate the charts. ‘Cool To Be Unhappy’ is a breath of fresh air around something that’s quite a distressing process and brightens up a somber feeling.
Written by: Stuart Daley