Le Mans

Spanish indie-popsters Le Mans (not to be confused with the American AOR band of the same name) were formed in San Sebastián, in the heart of Basque country; their original lineup featured vocalist Jone Gabarain, guitarist Ibon Errazkin, bassist Teresa Iturrioz, and stand-up drummer Peru Izeta. They began playing together in early 1986 under the name Aventuras de Kirlian, performing simple, melodic pop tunes that were influenced by British indie pop of the time, and rarely lasted longer than one minute (owing to the fact that the members were learning their instruments as they went). The San Sebastián indie pop scene started to attract some attention in Madrid, and the band was eventually signed to indie label DRO, for whom they released a mini-album in the fall of 1989. It went nowhere, though, and the band was dropped in summer 1990; they resurfaced soon afterwards with the same lineup, now playing under the name Le Mans. In 1991, Gorka Ochoa joined the band as drummer (playing a full trap set), and Izeta switched to guitar. Thus constituted, Le Mans began recording a new album on their own time, simultaneously searching for a label to release the project when it was completed. Both processes were slow going; the album, Le Mans, was finally finished in late summer 1993, and the Madrid label Elefant agreed to release it several months later. Somewhat dissatisfied with the results, Le Mans quickly recorded a follow-up, Entresemana, which was issued in 1994; in addition to featuring some striking string arrangements, it better reflected their new influences, which in addition to indie pop included funk, psychedelia, cabaret pop, and melancholy singer/songwriters like Nick Drake. The band was also becoming more interested in British electronica, and soon put out a remix...