Elektra Records Returns With Justice, Little Boots, Cee-Lo

After five years of dormancy, Elektra Records will relaunch with a fresh roster of artists, Atlantic Records announced today in a statement. French dance duo Justice, Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo and RS Breaking artist Little Boots are among the first musicians on the label, which in the past was home to the Doors, Eagles and Phish. Mike Caren, who was Executive Vice President of A&R for Atlantic Records, and John Janick, the founder of Fueled By Ramen, will serve as co-Presidents of the new venture.

"Elektra Records will mark its 60th Anniversary in 2010, and it feels like the perfect time to recapture and reignite the spirit which made the label a beacon of great music and eclectic artistry," Janick said in a statement. Elektra was founded in 1950, and eventually went on to sign acts like the Stooges, MC5 and Love, before merging with Asylum Records in 1972 to bring artists like Tom Waits and the Eagles into the fold. In 2004, after Warner Music Group was sold by Time Warner, Elektra and Atlantic Records were merged, marking the temporary end of the Elektra brand.

Thus far, the biggest acquisition for the Elektra reboot is the second album by Justice, who released their hit 2007 debut † with the indie label Ed Banger. Little Boots' Hands, due out next week, finds a WMG distributor in the States after being assigned to WMG's Sixsevenine in the U.K. Cee-Lo, who released his first two solo albums through Arista but is signed to Atlantic for his output with Gnarls Barkley, rounds out the new Elektra roster. Additionally, the label also recently released a soundtrack for the HBO series True Blood.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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