Taiwan's Elephant Gym bring back bass-driven math rock

Math rock is typically a technical, complex and somewhat intense genre, but Taiwanese trio Elephant Gym add a touch of cuteness to the equation. Just look at the video for , the first single from their recently released debut album, , which depicts a musical fairy tale, or the clip for the follow-up single , which features a beautiful pas de deux.

Still, this may not be so surprising considering the band's age: all three members are still at university. Elephant Gym was formed in 2012 when siblings Tell Chang Kai-hsiung and Tif Chang Kai-ting (on guitar and bass, respectively) were joined by drummer Tu Chia-chin. The "elephant" in the band's name refers to the bass guitar, the lead instrument in the trio, and "gym" is a metaphor for the unique rhythm generated by the band.

Elephant Gym quickly created a buzz among university students in their hometown of Kaohsiung, and later tore through the independent music scene in Taiwan by playing at large-scale festivals such as Formoz, Mega Port Festival and Simple Life.

Their first EP, , was released in May last year and was followed by a sold-out tour of Taiwan. Their big breakthrough came soon after when they were featured on Mando-pop superstar Yoga Lin You-jia's single , exposing the band to a wider audience. As a bonus, they were also special guests during Lin's recent tour, playing at places such as the Taipei Arena and Hong Kong Coliseum — hardly conventional venues for a young indie band. Elephant Gym's next performance in Hong Kong will be on August 15 at Hidden Agenda.

Math rock is rhythmically rich, and Elephant Gym interpret the sound in a bass-driven, mainly instrumental style.