Elnuh
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Elnuh

San Antonio, Texas, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | SELF

San Antonio, Texas, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2016
Band Alternative Indie

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"Hot Topics: Elnuh Releases Full-Length Debut Record"

Echoing the dreamy, melancholy-pop tones of her previous work, Elena Lopez returns with her first full-length effort, Topics. Holy shit, it has been worth the wait.

If you’re unfamiliar with Lopez and her role in the San Antonio music scene, let’s catch you up:

Lopez loved to sing as a kid, and her parents enrolled her in classical piano lessons at only 4 years old. She liked piano so much she continued taking lessons for nine years.

At 12, the pianist – who also sings and plays several other instruments – took her skills to Bandera Road City Church, where she grew as a musician and developed communication skills by working with other artists. Eventually, she left the church band to focus on her own musical endeavors. Lopez’s band Octahedron (who have been on hiatus since 2016) saw regional success, along with her side project Baby Bangs – a fuzzier, grunge/punk turn from the straight-forward indie rock sound of Octahedron.

Today, Lopez’s focus is Elnuh, a surf-y, dream-garage outfit whose tracks sometimes have melancholy vibes despite the poppy vocal melodies that punctuate her songs. “Like, in the middle of night, what kind of music am I writing when I can’t fall asleep? That’s Elnuh,” Lopez said.

Lopez’s lush vocals float over her fuzzy guitar progressions: a recipe for the perfect afternoon nap in a park, a THC-fueled bike ride around Southtown or a 3 a.m. painting or coloring book session.
Elnuh is releasing Topics on Saturday, May 19 and launching a tour out west that same weekend.

Lopez was kind enough to send an unmixed version of Topics since it’s still in production, and we’ll just say, if it’s sounding this good already, we’re pretty stoked to hear the final version.

The latest effort from Elnuh isn’t a drastic step away from her general sleepy vibes. In fact, Lopez sounds like she’s swimming deeper into the ethereal space where her slow-breathing guitar progressions live. On “City of Oz,” for instance, the singer-songwriter layers vocal harmonies with soft, spiraling keyboard pads, pulling listeners through a crystal cavern of echoes as a steady bass line jumps around, giving the track shape and definition.

Lopez said most of the songs are well over a year old, and that each track is about going through change in different seasons of her life and what she’s learned in her relationship with people.

“Relationships with bandmates, family, and even with myself – a lot of these songs are even odes to myself, and also reflecting a lot on my life growing up and realizing certain things and reflecting on things that have brought me from point a to point b,” Lopez said. These songs are about “very specific things [that] were happening, and I’d write these songs [as a] way to get through what was going on [at that time]. That’s where the idea of Topics all came from, they were all about very specific ... topics.”

On one of the tracks, there’s a clip of her and her brother Ruben talking when they were children.

“[My music] is very personal,” Lopez said. “Something I hear all the time is, ‘Oh, I’m gonna go to an Elnuh show and cry a lot.’” She laughed. “People tell me that, or, ‘Your music makes me cry but it feels so good,’ and me, too – sometimes I’ll cry too. So my music is very personal. I don’t know how not to be personal.”

Topics feels like an inside look at an artist processing her pain and joy through a collection of songs that’s unabashedly personal and introspective.

Lopez and her band will be joined by indie rockers Booty Feet, who released a split EP with Elnuh last year aptly titled The Split, along with Slomobile and Baldemar for the Topics release show, which is also serving as a tour kick off show for Elnuh and Booty Feet. The bands will head west for a week and play shows along the way to California before returning to SA. - San Antonio Current


"Indie Pop Bands Sales, No Vacation Join San Antonio's Elnuh at Paper Tiger"

After a strong couple of years of dropping singles and producing a tight debut LP, Sales’ latest endeavor Forever & Ever, released earlier this month, offers pretty and precise percussive indie pop songs that don’t stray from the butterfly-in-your-stomach atmosphere that the band built its foundations on. The Orlando-based duo’s commitment to creating songs without cracks and Lauren Morgan’s textured and raspy voice separates the band from the rest of the woozy, reverb-heavy, post-Mac Demarco ilk.

The band will be performing with No Vacation, who will be bringing more wavy, bedroom pop for you to sway to, and Elnuh, the always wistful local surf rock act. - San Antonio Current


"That New New: 10 Banging New Tracks From San Antonio Artists"

In typical Elnuh fashion, “Shame” is a poppy, sad indie track that pulls listeners through a dreamy soundscape of reverb and Elena Lopez’ whispering vocals. It’s perfect if you have a hard time getting tired at night. Put this on and get lulled to a shimmery sleep. - San Antonio Current


"Canadian Band Men I Trust Brings Indie Vibes to San Antonio"

Montreal’s indie music community continues to impress the hell out of us, and Men I Trust is one of the reasons. Combining foot-tappy rhythms with calm melodies and chilled-out vocals reminiscent of Sia’s in the early aughts, the three-piece might be your favorite new indie band that you’ve never heard of. Also on the bill is Elnuh, who’s dreamy surf-garage tunes will either lull you to sleep or force you to deal with feelings you’ve been avoiding. - San Antonio Current


"Putting In Work: Elena Lopez's Journey to Elnuh"

Without even realizing it, I think audiences forget the time and effort a lot of our local SA musicians invest into the honing of their craft – as if the songs coming out of the speakers at any show on the St. Mary’s Strip didn’t require work, beer money, structure arrangements, rearrangements, key changes, and thoughtful time spent scribing lyrics.

But take a glimpse into the background of a good number of these artists and you’ll find a work ethic and focus overlooked by many and appreciated by few.

Case in point: Elena Lopez.

At just 20 years old, the San Antonio musician already has an enviable resume and is carving out a space for herself in the Texas indie rock community — and her efforts aren't going unnoticed.

From an early age, Lopez loved to sing and her inclinations towards music inspired her parents to enroll her in classical piano lessons at only 4 years old. “I know that [my parents] wanted to put my brother and I through [at least] one music lesson,” Lopez told the Current, "and I just really, really liked it – so I kept taking lessons.” Lopez liked them so much that she continued to take lessons for a total of nine years.

At 12-years-old, the pianist (who also sings, and plays several other instruments) began tickling the ivories at Bandera Road City Church, a place she credits with much of her growth as a musician and the communication skills she learned through working with other artists.

Eventually, she left the church band to focus on her own musical endeavors, and Lopez’s band Octahedron (who have been on hiatus since last summer) saw regional success, along with her side project Baby Bangs – a fuzzier, grunge/punk turn from the straight-forward indie rock sound of Octahedron.

Today, Lopez’s focus is Elnuh, a surfy, dream-garage outfit whose tracks sometimes have melancholy vibes despite the poppy vocal melodies that punctuate her songs. “Like, in the middle of night, what kind of music am I writing when I can’t fall asleep? That’s Elnuh,” said Lopez.

Which sort of makes sense as Lopez’s lush vocals seem to effortlessly float over her fuzzy guitar progressions: a recipe for the perfect afternoon nap in a park or THC-fueled bike ride along the Riverwalk.

For instance, on “May 2 June” off of The Split, a split EP with fellow SA indie rockers Booty Feet, Lopez whispers, “my friends all woke up late / and I’m all alone / recently it’s hard / to feel anything at all” as echoing guitars ring over a bouncing drum beat giving listeners this feeling that they might actually be asleep and Lopez is leading them through a dream.

With a debut LP, she hopes to release in October followed by a three-week tour through the northeastern U.S., Lopez is proving that every project she invests herself into turns to aural gold. Something that comes naturally after 16 years of hard work, focus and a drive to create her art. - San Antonio Current


"YOSA To Host San Antonio Bands And Alumni At Cherrity Bar"

On Saturday, July 21, the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio (YOSA) is posting up at Cherrity Bar to host performances by alumni and local acts Booty Feet, Elnuh and Victoria Acuña.

At this altruistic haunt, patrons are able to vote for which of the month's three featured organizations they want help support. This July, you can choose from Woodlawn Theater, Luminaria — a contemporary arts program — and naturally, the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio.

The bands helping promote YOSA have quickly garnered popularity and community love since their respective relatively recent inceptions within the local DIY scene. Elnuh, the latest project from Elena Lopez, brings surfy garage songs honeyed by wistful vocals and hazy production that act as an idyllic wavy summer soundtrack. Her sometimes collaborators Booty Feet, composed of vocalist Noah Escamilla, bassist Jakob Rau and drummer Luke Mitchell, create eclectic and danceable indie rock music defined by a sophisticated penchant for pop crooning. 16 Psyche lead singer and eight year YOSA veteran Victoria Acuña's ethereal, modulated vocals alone are enough to spark a flurried moment of digging your fingernails into your palms, gulping back your emotions or resigning to them completely.

You truly can't lose with an event that promises a great show for an even better cause. Enjoy some food, drinks, local bands and support local youth musicians. - San Antonio Current


"Our 10 Favorite Songs Released By San Antonio Artists in 2017"

Like gliding through a dream about surfing California waves, Elnuh's "May 2 June" is a echoey, psychedelic, indie rock gem that's more laid back then a afternoon nap in in July. Fronted by Elena Lopez, who's played in a number of projects including Octahedron and Baby Bangs, Elnuh is described as the kind of music Lopez writes in the middle of the night when she can't fall asleep. Pretty appropriate, if you ask us. - San Antonio Current


Discography

Let's Go Skating EP - 2016
Bad Week EP - 2017
The Split EP with Booty Feet - 2017
Topics LP - 2018

Photos

Bio

San Antonio-based musician Elena Lopez — co-founder of Octahedron and Baby Bangs — released her debut solo EP “Let’s Go Skating” in 2016 under the name Elnuh. Since then, Elnuh has toured extensively in the southwest, establishing a foothold in the Phoenix DIY scene, appearing alongside artists like Pro Teens, Elna Rae, and Dovi. In addition, Elnuh has provided local support for SALES, No Vacation, Men I Trust, Paul Cherry, Palm, and others.

Many of Elnuh's tour stops have been DIY venues — basements, warehouses and empty pools. This is Elnuh's home. Since the 2016 release of Let's Go Skating, Elnuh has carved out a niche in San Antonio's DIY scene by bringing high-profile indie acts like Diners, Spud Cannon, Anna Burch, and Stef Chura to living rooms around San Antonio. 

Elnuh released “Topics,” her debut full-length album, in May 2018.