Lawrence Peryer chats with Rishi Dhir. Formed in Montreal in 2009, Elephant Stone is the brainchild of vocalist, bassist, songwriter, and sitar player, Rishi Dhir.
Elephant Stone have toured extensively throughout North America and Europe and are prominent members of the burgeoning psych rock scene. Dhir has recorded, performed, and toured with indie rock icons (Beck), legendary cult bands (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), and contemporary psych titans (The Black Angels and The Horrors).
Released in 2009 on Dhir’s own Elephants on Parade label, Elephant Stone’s debut album, The Seven Seas, was nominated for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize, which honors the best full-length Canadian album. In 2013 Elephant Stone released their second full-length LP, Elephant Stone. The album received critical acclaim from NPR, Brooklyn Vegan, Consequence of Sound, and other important media outlets. It also contained Dhir’s finest batch of songs yet, especially the singles “Heavy Moon” and “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin,” as well as the raga-drenched meditation, “A Silent Moment.”
A third album – The Three Poisons – followed in 2014. Elephant Stone’s heaviest, grooviest, and most ambitious record to date, The Three Poisons yielded the band’s two biggest hits: “Knock You from Yr Mountain” and “Child of Nature (Om Namah Shivaya).” And the darkly compelling and inventive “Three Poisons” showcased Dhir’s lyrical exploration of Buddhist themes and The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
The Three Poisons remix album – ES3PRMX – appeared in 2015 as a digital download. Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Tom Furse of The Horrors, Alex Maas of The Black Angels, Peter Holmström of The Dandy Warhols, and more contributed remixes.
In 2016 Elephant Stone released their fourth album, Ship of Fools, via Elephants On Parade/Burger Records. And in 2020 released, "Hollow" a dystopian themed album touching on climate change, political divide and the future.
Rishi also released a song written during the pandemic called "American Dream" that came out May 29th.
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