Psychedelic Sunday is back! We missed a few weeks due to travel, real life, and plain old laziness. Last time we brought you Chicago’s very own Secret Colours and their album Peach. This week, I couldn’t be more excited to bring to your attention, Elephant Stone, the hardest working act in the Montreal psych pop scene.
Formed back in 2009 by front man Rishi Dhir, formerly of The High Dials, Elephant Stone have been refining their craft over the course of releasing two full length LPs, a 12″ EP, and most recently a 7″ single. Their latest self-titled LP, out now on Austin Psych Fest label, Reverberation Appreciation Society, is easily the finest album they’ve put out to date.
The band is constantly blurring the lines between pop, psychedelic rock, and traditional Indian music. The result is something that is uniquely Elephant Stone. They’ve tossed themselves into the catchy and aptly named sub genre “Hindie Rock” and have the pop sensibilities and ear for song structure to become Hindie Rockstars.
I had the pleasure of interviewing the band before their brilliant performance at this years Austin Psych Fest. Here is what bassist, vocalist, and sitar player, Rishi had to say about the new album and my personal favorite track, “A Silent Moment”:
I wanted this album to be as psychedelic as we could make it. All the songs start off as pop songs, but I remember “A Silent Moment” was a big thing. We got Vinay Bhide to come in and sing on it and afterward Gab and I knew it transcended anything we had done before, it was pretty heavy. – Rishi Dhir
The band recruited Hindustani vocalist Pt. Vinay Bhide to add his amazing voice to this already gorgeous song. Check out a bit of the recording process below (video courtesy of Jules Pampena)
In a world full of acts that define themselves as Hard rock, Psych Rock, Black Metal, Death Metal, Speed Metal, and all sorts of “Kill your parents, Fuck Authority” types of Music, Elephant Stone is content being a pop band and they do pop music better than most.
I posted a video on our YouTube account and someone commented that Elephant Stone, The Black Angels and Tame Impala are their hope for music right now. One guy writes “these guys are nothing like Tame Impala or The Black Angels, this is shitty pop music.”. I posted back, “Yes, it is pop music, so what?”. Some people are so closed minded… We do pop, we’re a pop band. – Rishi Dhir
The band recently finished a successful US Tour with like-minded acts, The Black Angels and Allah La’s, which included some extended sitar jams at Chicago’s Vic Theater and culminated at Carson Creek Ranch for Austin’s magical 3-day psych fest.
Even Conan O’Brien and TeamCoco have taken notice, hosting the exclusive video premiere of Elephant Stone’s latest single “Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin” check it out courtesy of TeamCoco.com.
A much sought after figure in psychedelic music, Rishi also loans his sitar skills to many bands in the psych rock realm such as The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Horrors, and The Black Angels. Most recently he joined Beck on stage performing his classic “Loser” at Osheaga Festival in Montreal.
Give these guys a chance if you enjoy dreamy psychedelic rock and catchy pop melodies, reminiscent of The Zombies and Elliott Smith. You’ll be hooked in no time.
Be sure to catch Elephant Stone on tour this summer in the US, and this overseas this fall when they once again tour Europe in support of The Black Angels.
ELEPHANT STONE US TOUR DATES:
- 08 August – Burlington VT – Signal Kitchen
- 09 August – Philadelphia PA – Kung Fu Necktie
- 10 August – New York NY – The Mercury Lounge
- 11 August – Washington DC – Black Cat Backstage
- 13 August – Asheville NC – Broadways
- 14 August – Nashville TN – High Watt
- 15 August – Louisville KY – RYE on Market
- 16 August – Chicago IL – Beat Kitchen
- 17 August – Detriot MI – The Pike Room at the Crofoot
For more Elephant Stone, check out my full interview with the band at The Vinyl District
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