Papa Topo

Formed in 2008, Papa Topo surfaced as a charmingly cute Spanish indie pop outfit built around the compositions of Adrià Arbona Orero. He began by capturing tracks straight to a computer microphone with toy instruments and uploading them to MySpace, where they reached Elefant artist Guille Milkyway of La Casa Azul. Orero then assembled a band that included vocalist Paulita Demaíz to broaden the arrangements, later teaming with producer Alberto Lozano in 2009 to cut several numbers, among them the sunny singalong “Oso Panda.” Once videos appeared on MySpace, a surge of interest grew after Spanish music blog Je Ne Sais Pop featured the material, prompting Elefant to sign the group and issue a version of “Oso Panda” partially reworked by Milkyway as their debut single. An equally cute and disturbing clip accompanied the track, which also drew praise from Everett True’s blog. The follow-up, the punk-inspired “La Chica Vampire,” arrived in 2011, while the mini-LP Rotación y Traslación appeared the next year. Although membership had always shifted, Demaíz, one of the steady presences, departed following that release. Early-2013’s “Sangre en los Zapatos (Mi Amor)” introduced a refreshed roster and returned to Milkyway for production. Years of live work and sessions with the updated lineup eventually led Orero to declare the first full-length finished; Elefant issued Ópalo Negro in summer 2016, with fellow Spaniard Sergio Pérez of SVPER handling production.