Elephant Castle's cosmic love story "Life In Outerspace" is unabashedly dreamy and psychedelically drawn

"she puts me on a train, she's dancing in the dining car"

Elephant Castle aka Phil Danyew says that the track Life In Outerspace "is a cosmic love story that starts in a park and ends in outer space" and as succinct as that descriptor is, it is the way that he takes us on that journey from point A to point B that is so goddamn wonderful. You see, Danyew as Elephant Castle has a way of making his indie anti-pop sound, feel so exquisitely dreamy in a sort of intoxicated way. The combination of  alien 1950 sci-fi synths, his beautiful and unabashedly pop forward vocal aesthetic, the psyche rock tropical punk slow hugging dance bass and dirty lead guitar tones, and the chorus that floats in a slowly toked ascending way feels like a multicolored smile. 

Elephant Castles sound feels like his trippy synths in half pitch bend frozen in time, like that excitement and high when you feel that step off a curb without expecting it. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Elephant Castle​ - the retro-inspired indie rock project from Los Angeles-based singer and multi-instrumentalist ​Phil Danyew​, formed in late 2019. The first single, “Cool To Be Unhappy,” was released on March 27, 2020 with warm welcome. A fresh take on the break-up ballad, Rolling Stone called the track a "roll-around-in-your-underwear-while-the-sun-seeps-through-the-window song."

Elephant Castle released its second single, “​I’m A Loser​,” on May 8, 2020. Infusing warm distorted guitar sounds reminiscent of 60’s/70’s rock with soaring vocal harmonies and sarcastic lyrics, “I’m A Loser” is a tongue-in-cheek anthem for the underdog.

Raised in Oceanside, CA, Danyew has been writing and recording music since age 12 after stealing his father’s tape recorder. Growing up listening to 50s and 60s oldies, Elephant Castle is a response to these early influences combined with a love for vintage synths, layered vocals, the dreamy sounds of tape saturation and analog gear.

For the last six years, Danyew was a touring member of the band Foster the People. He recently left to pursue his own music.