Biography
Taiwanese three-piece Elephant Gym centers its luminous, groove-driven math rock around a prominent bass guitar, taking cues from Japanese groups including Toe, LITE, and Tricot. The band originated in Kaohsiung in 2012 when siblings Tif Chang Kai-ting (bass/keyboards/vocals) and Tell Chang Kai-hsiang (guitar/keyboards) joined forces with drummer Tu Chia-chin. Their mother provided classical instruction to the Chang siblings, who subsequently embraced the exploratory textures of post-rock and math rock. Tell first encountered Chia-chin during high school, after which Elephant Gym quickly took shape. The group released its debut EP, Balance (ULOUD), in 2013 and followed it the next year with the full-length Angle. Fellow Taiwanese artist Yoga Lin broadened their reach by featuring the trio on the 2014 track “Speaking in Tongues,” included on Lin’s EP of the same title. Once Tell and Chia-chin finished their required military service, the band issued the 2016 Work EP on Republic, which contained the single “Midway.” In the following year they joined the Boston-based imprint Top Shelf Records, whose 2018 reissues brought the earlier three releases to new listeners.
Singles
