The Blue Elephant

The Blue Elephant (Hebrew: הפיל הכחול) is an Israeli rock band from Ascalon, founded in 2005.

 History 
In 2005, Liron Atia suffered paralysis in the lower half of his body following a serious snowboarding accident. During his hospitalization, his friends visited him and they began writing songs and singing together with guitar accompaniment. After his recovery, the musicians decided to form a band. During his rehabilitation, Atia had to regularly take a blue pill, which eventually inspired the band's name. The English term "blue pill" is a play on words: the English word "pill" sounds exactly like the Hebrew word פִּיל (pronounced "pil"), meaning elephant. 

Around the same time, Daniel Barkat, Atia's cousin from Ma'alot Tarshiha in northern Israel, joined the band as vocalist. In 2006, the band performed for the first time in Ashkelon on the independent label Kolya Records and began recording their debut album. Itay Sahar became a producer and arranger, contributing to the development of the band's rock sound. At the same time, the band continued to play in Ashkelon and throughout Israel.

In 2009, the band released three singles. However, the first two received little radio airplay. In May 2009, their debut album, Above the Water, was released by the Hashimi label. The third single, Yasmin (Hebrew: יסמין), remained on the Galgalatz radio show charts for 13 weeks. The Channel 2 news channel aired a feature on the band. In September 2009, the band placed third in the "Band of the Year" category on the Galgalatz 2009 annual list and was also voted Band of the Year by local radio stations Kol Negev and Kol Netanya. 

In February 2012, the band released their second album and another single in August 2015. In November 2017, the band began the Headstart project. In March 2018, the band released their third album, subsequently posting it on YouTube. In 2021, the band released further singles, some with music videos, and on February 16, 2023, their fourth album. On February 7, 2024, they performed a tribute version of T-Slam's song Kalaniyot (Hebrew: כלניות, German: Anemones), which they dedicated to the festival's initiator, Ofir Libstein, who was killed in the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 attacks.

 Band members 

 Liron Atia – Harmonica, Singing, Music Production
 Gilad Levy – Vocals, bass (until 2010), acoustic guitar
 Itay Sahar – Guitar, Music Production
 Moran Atia – Guitars, vocals
 Nir Maayan (seit 2010)
 Raz Toubol – Drums
 Erez Baram – Guitar

Former members

 Daniel Barkat (2005–2010) – Life

 References 

 Other websites 
 הפיל הכחול bei MusicBrainz (englisch)
 הפיל הכחול bei Discogs

Category:Israeli music
Category:Musical groups
Category:Israeli entertainers