Elán (musician)
Elán DeFan (born March 1, 1983 in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco, Mexico) is a recording artist, known for being one of the first Latin American female songwriters to begin her career with an English language album written completely on her own and the first independent artist from Latin America to have sold more than 1.7 millions copies of her music with her band which is also named ELAN, made up of Elán, lead vocalist and keyboard player, Jan Carlo DeFan, lead guitarist, co-producer and Elán's brother, childhood friend and bass player Carlos Padilla Maqueo, and younger cousin and drummer Michel "Cheech" Bitar DeFan and Mauricio "The Duck" Lopez.
Elán reveals an assortment of music that has been influenced by many artists like Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, John Lennon, Melissa Etheridge, and a few other notable influences. Elán had a notable success with albums like Street Child and London Express. So far, she released six albums: five in English and one in Spanish.
Career
Early days
Elán was born March 1, 1983 in Tlaquepaque, Jalisco. Her love for music was noticed by her mother at a very young age. "One day, she just climbed up on the bench and started to play; that was the moment where it all began. She was three..." recalls her mother. At age 4, Elán starts writing her first songs and her father starts to record her songs in their makeshift-home studio. "She was always very determined in her writing even at such young age." Jan Carlo recalls. At age 10 Elán starts to perform at private parties and theatres. At age 13 Elán started recordings with a major record label, Warner Music Group in Mexico.
