Editing Elephant 6 (section)

==History==
===Background and formation===
Noel Murray and Marcus Gilmer of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' note the difficulty in defining the exact parameters of the collective due to the multitude of associated acts.{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}} Each act has their own unique sound, and musicians are often members of multiple bands.{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}} This problem is compounded by the fact that members will sometimes obfuscate the truth, such as misleading a ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' reporter into believing they lived in a communal compound in Athens.{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}} In 2012, the official Elephant 6 website read: "A collective, a label ... a cult? Elephant 6 may be all of these things or none of these depending on your point of view. And we're certainly not going to try to define what it is now!"{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}}

Elephant 6 originated in [[Ruston, Louisiana]], in the late 1980s.<ref>{{harvnb|Heater|2012}}; {{harvnb|Shook|2013}}</ref> The name was occasionally used to denote [[home recording]]s made by four high school friends: [[Bill Doss]], [[Will Cullen Hart]], [[Jeff Mangum]], and [[Robert Schneider]].{{sfn|Cooper|2005|p=16}} These recordings were circulated between the four of them, and they did not seek approval from [[record label]]s or [[fanzine]]s.{{sfn|Ballance|Cook|McCaughan|2009|p=94}} Musician [[Laura Carter (musician)|Laura Carter]] said: "They were just 13-year-old boys yelling, 'Fuck your mama,' and bashing on the drums as hard as they can. It was just kids having fun, and they would fill up a whole cassette tape with this."{{sfn|Heater|2006}} When the group decided to create an imaginary label for their music, Hart came up with the name Elephant 6.{{sfn|Heater|2006}}

When the four friends graduated high school, they dispersed to different cities in the United States, but continued to mail tapes to each other.{{sfn|Ballance|Cook|McCaughan|2009|p=94}} Schneider moved to [[Denver, Colorado]] and formed a band called the Apples in 1992 with [[Jim McIntyre (musician)|Jim McIntyre]], [[Hilarie Sidney]] and [[Chris Parfitt]].{{sfn|Heater|2006}} Doss, Hart, and Mangum moved to [[Athens, Georgia]].{{sfn|Cooper|2005|p=25}} The three were drawn to the city's [[Music of Athens, Georgia|burgeoning music scene]], and played in a band called the Synthetic Flying Machine.{{sfn|Cooper|2005|p=25}} While in Athens, the group began collaborating with New York musician [[Julian Koster]]. In 1993, the Synthetic Flying Machine evolved into a band called [[the Olivia Tremor Control]], and the band gained local attention for their psychedelic sound, which was in contrast to the prevalent [[grunge]] sound of the 1990s.<ref>{{harvnb|Heater|2006}}; {{harvnb|Cooper|2005|p=26}}</ref>

In the 1990s, bands joined Elephant 6 through invitation.{{sfn|Heater|2006}} Inspired by the [[Surrealist Manifesto]]s, members of the collective issued their own [[manifesto]] in small hand-drawn catalogs, found within early releases.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} According to Schneider: "We wanted [to find] these little pockets of people in different cities who listened to [[Pavement (band)|Pavement]] and [[the Beach Boys]] and were recording on 4-tracks."{{sfn|Shook|2013}} Schneider notes that another way a band may join is by simply having a similar sound. He uses Beulah as an example, and in reference to the band's sound, he said: "This is a kindred spirit. This is Elephant 6."{{sfn|Heater|2006}}

Schneider created a record label called the Elephant 6 Recording Company as a vehicle for the Apples music, and in 1993, the first recording released on the label was an [[extended play]] titled ''[[Tidal Wave (The Apples EP)|Tidal Wave]]''.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} Around this time, Mangum left the Olivia Tremor Control, and became a vagabond.{{sfn|Cooper|2005|p=29}} While living in [[Seattle]], Mangum released the song "[[Everything Is (EP)|Everything Is]]" on [[Cher Doll Records]] in 1994, and was the first member of the collective to have their music released on a mainstream label, although the release was not directly affiliated with the Elephant 6 collective and did not feature the Elephant 6 logo.{{sfn|Ballance|Cook|McCaughan|2009|p=96}} Mangum released the song under the name Neutral Milk Hotel.{{sfn|Ballance|Cook|McCaughan|2009|p=96}} The Apples were later known as [[the Apples in Stereo]].

===Peak years===
[[File:Elf Power with Jeff Mangum and Kevin Barnes at the Atomic Music Hall, Athens, GA, circa 1997 (1296805202).jpg|thumb|alt=Three people are standing on a stage, while one is sitting and playing the drums. One person is playing the guitar.|[[Jeff Mangum]] (''front''), [[Kevin Barnes]] (''right'') and [[The Late B.P. Helium]] (''left'') performing with [[Elf Power]] in 1997]]
The mid-to-late 1990s saw the greatest amount of activity for the collective.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} The three main bands associated with Elephant 6 at the time–the Apples in Stereo, the Olivia Tremor Control, and Neutral Milk Hotel–grew in popularity, and each respectively released a notable album: ''[[Fun Trick Noisemaker]]'', ''[[Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle]]'', and ''[[In the Aeroplane Over the Sea]]''.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} ''The A.V. Club'' wrote highly of ''In the Aereoplane Over the Sea'', saying it "is the culmination of everything the [Elephant 6] collective was about in the mid-'90s: distinctive, ragged, catchy records ripped straight from their makers' veins."{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}}

Many bands associated with the collective were formed during this period, and Athens became a major hub city.{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}} [[Elf Power]], [[of Montreal]], and Doss' solo project [[the Sunshine Fix]] were among the more notable Athens based groups.{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}} of Montreal frontperson [[Kevin Barnes]] said: "The heyday, most of the late 1990s, everyone was involved in each others lives, and we would collaborate more, have dinners where everyone would make something."{{sfn|Heater|2006}} Schneider compares this period to the [[Summer of Love]], and said the driving force for many of the bands was "out-weirding [their] neighbor" with their music.{{sfn|Heater|2006}} Elephant 6 bands would tour with each other, the larger bands allowed the smaller bands to [[Opening act|open]] for them.{{sfn|Heater|2006}}

Denver was the smaller of the two hub cities.{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}} In addition to the Apples in Stereo, the major bands from Denver were [[the Minders]], [[Dressy Bessy]], and McIntyre's solo project [[Von Hemmling]].{{sfn|Gilmer|Murray|2012}} The main draw for Elephant 6 bands in Denver was [[Pet Sounds Studio]], a recording studio Schneider built in McIntyre's house.{{sfn|Cooper|2005|p=32}} Many Elephant 6 albums were recorded at Pet Sounds, and were produced by Schneider.{{sfn|Cooper|2005|p=32}} In addition to the two main hub cities, Elephant 6 bands began forming in various cities in the United States, such as [[the Essex Green]] and [[the Ladybug Transistor]] in [[Brooklyn]], and Beulah in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{harvnb|Shook|2013}}; {{harvnb|Gilmer|Murray|2012}}</ref>

===Inactivity===
In the early 2000s, Elephant 6 stagnated in activity.<ref>{{harnvb|Heater|2012}}; {{harvnb|Shook|2013}}</ref> Neutral Milk Hotel member and [[the Gerbils]] frontman [[Scott Spillane]] identifies the sudden uptick of bands across the country as an important factor to this period.{{sfn|Heater|2006}} "At the time the Elephant 6 thing was getting out of hand, and we started seeing all of these bands that had little Elephant 6 logos on them all over the place" said Spillane.{{sfn|Heater|2006}} Bands began to tour more often, and the members had less time to interact with each other.{{sfn|Heater|2006}} Additionally, Neutral Milk Hotel and the Olivia Tremor Control went on hiatus.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} Mangum became reclusive as he struggled to cope with his newfound stardom, while the members of the Olivia Tremor Control wanted to record their own solo music.<ref name="Heater and Shook">{{harvnb|Heater|2006}}; {{harvnb|Shook|2013}}</ref>

Beulah member Pat Noel said many bands were dismayed at how journalists would "[[Pigeonholing|pigeonhole]]" them to the collective.{{sfn|Heater|2012}} "We kind of made a conscious decision to distance ourselves a little bit from the whole thing." Schneider took a break from producing albums, and the final album to be affixed with the Elephant 6 Recording Company logo was ''[[Cul-De-Sacs and Dead Ends]]'' by the Minders in 1999.<ref name="Heater and Shook"/> The collective slowly dissipated, although bands like the Apples in Stereo, Elf Power, and of Montreal continued making music throughout the 2000s.{{sfn|Shook|2013}}

===Brief reemergence===
The collective was relatively dormant until the release of ''[[New Magnetic Wonder]]'', a 2007 album by the Apples in Stereo.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} ''New Magnetic Wonder'' featured all four of the collective's originating members. While recording the album, they discussed new ideas, which in turn facilitated a need to make more music.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} The following year, Koster and [[Nesey Gallons]] organized the "Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour," a short concert tour that featured fifteen artists and ten Elephant 6 bands.{{sfn|Hilton|2008}} Koster said "Elephant 6 is back," and added: "Somehow, everything's happening for us now. I don't know why we were ever interrupted, and why all this is happening now. But we're all just so happy."{{sfn|Hilton|2008}} The Olivia Tremor Control reunited in 2009, and Mangum returned to the public eye with solo concerts over the next few years.<ref>{{harvnb|Thiessen|2009}}; {{harvnb|Shook|2013}}</ref>

On July 30, 2012, Doss died from a reported [[aneurysm]].<ref>{{harvnb|Shook|2013}}; {{harvnb|Peisner|2018}}</ref> His death came as a shock to the collective, and stalled nearly all recordings at the time.{{sfn|Shook|2013}} Schneider said: "I can't say what it means for the Elephant 6 or the Apples ... On a musical level it's too soon to say. I mean, I don't want to say definitively that I don't want to make music again, but on a musical level there's no way to come to terms with the loss."{{sfn|Shook|2013}} The Olivia Tremor Control continued making music, and in 2017 Schneider confirmed he was producing unfinished recordings.{{sfn|Claymore|2017}} Today, the Elephant 6 collective still exists, albeit on a much smaller scale. Bands like Elf Power and of Montreal continue to record music, and many bands have moved onto Elephant 6 offshoot labels such as [[Orange Twin Records]] and [[Cloud Recordings]].{{sfn|Shook|2013}}