Elán is a Slovak pop rock band founded in 1968 by elementary school classmates Jožo Ráž, Vašo Patejdl, Juraj Farkaš, and Zdeno Baláž. They became one of the most popular Czechoslovak bands during the 1980s, releasing ten successful albums between 1981 and 1991. In 1993, the group represented Slovakia in the preliminary round of the Eurovision Song Contest but having finished in fourth place, failed to qualify for the finals in Ireland. Elán performed at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic, as part of the championship's entertainment festivities. The band has toured internationally throughout their career. They have produced many well-known hits and won several awards, such as the Slávik Awards, Slávik, and Zlatý slavík, which they won four years in a row.

Vašo Patejdl was a Slovak musician and composer. He was best known for being a co-founder and long-term member of the pop-rock band Elán. He wrote songs for other musicians, including the Richard Müller single "Po schodoch", and he composed music for films, such as Fontána pre Zuzanu (1985) and The Seven Ravens (2015). Patejdl also released a number of solo albums throughout his career, both in Slovak and English. He died on 19 August 2023, at the age of 68.