Elephant Stone is a Canadian indie rock band. Fronted by Rishi Dhir (formerly associated with The High Dials), the band's style incorporates aspects of traditional Indian music including the sitar, tabla, and dilruba with Western psychedelic rock.
Rishi Dhir formed Elephant Stone in 2009 after he left The High Dials. The
band began to combine Indian classical music and instrumentation with
1960s pop and rock.
The band's debut album, "The Seven Seas", was released June 2, 2009 on Dhir's own Elephants on
Parade label, with distribution by Fontana North. The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize on June 15, 2009.
On July 4, 2009 The Seven Seas was released on Irish label Indiecater Records.
On February 12, 2013, their self-titled second album was released on Reverberation Appreciation Society.
The band's third full-length album, "The Three Poisons", was released in 2014. In 2015, Burger
Records released a cassette featuring a remixed version of "The Three Poisons" titled "ES3PRMX". The cassette features collaborations with Anton Newcombe of "The Brian Jonestown Massacre", Fabien Leseure, Tom Furse of "The Horrors", Al Lover, Alex Maas of "The Black Angels", Peter Holmstrom of "The Dandy Warhols" and JP Lapham of "The Earlies".
In 2016 Elephant Stone released their fourth album, "Ship of Fools". In 2017 they released an EP, "Live at the Verge", and set out on a tour of Europe.
[ AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
For modern rock fans the very name Elephant Stone connotes something specific: a beloved 1988 single from the Stone Roses. The new millennial, Canadian psych rock band Elephant Stone does
indeed take elements from the Stone Roses, specifically how the Manchester group layered acoustic guitars and ringing Rickenbackers to create a psychedelic, '60s pastiche that never sounded tethered to the past, but on their eponymous 2013 sophomore set, there are several elements that give this modern-day trippy pop band their own identity.
Foremost among them is a fondness for Indian music -- not a huge surprise considering how leader
Rishi Dhir was an in-demand sitarist among the neo-psychedelic set prior to his formation of Elephant Stone (he played with "Brian Jonestown Massacre" and "Soundtrack of Our Lives", among others) -- but it's hardly exotic window-dressing for standard-issue psychedelia. Classical Indian music is thoroughly interwoven with '60s psychedelia and pop -- and the two are different, with the first emphasizing texture and the second structure -- giving Elephant Stone a shimmering, off-kilter quality that's alluring.
That sound is alluring enough to warrant return visits to the album, repeated listens that reveal the album to be built on solidly sculpted songs where the riffs and melodies intertwine into something quietly enchanting; like their inspirations, Elephant Stone evokes the best of the past, but is intent on recasting these sounds for the future.]
This is a masterpiece of Neo-Psychedelia.
Albums
The Seven Seas (2009)
Elephant Stone (2013)
The Three Poisons (2014)
Ship of Fools (2016)
Hollow (2020)
EPs and singles
The Glass Box EP 12" (2010) - mini album
Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin b/w Strangers 7" (2012)
TRACKS
01. Setting Sun 3:57
02. Heavy Moon 4:10
03. Masters Of War 3:25
04. Hold Onto Your Soul 2:36
05. A Silent Moment 5:16
06. Looking Thru Baby Blue 3:02
07. Sally Go Round The Sun 1:45
08. Love The Sinner, Hate The Sin 3:32
09. The Sea Of Your Mind 8:32
10. The Sacred Sound 3:22
MEMBERS
Backing Vocals – Jace Lasek, Kirsty MacEachern
Cello – Unnur Fjola Evans
Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Jules Pampena
Guitar – Gabriel Lambert
Producer – Elephant Stone, Jace Lasek
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jace Lasek
Tabla – Shawn Mativetsky
Viola, Violin – Monica Günter
Vocals – Vinay Bhide
Vocals, Bass, Sitar, Dilruba – Rishi Dhir
Written-By – Rishi Dhir
MASTERS OF WAR LYRICS
Take the heart of a fallen of man
and a child and saint and a burning land
Know the smell of fear and the fear that you bring
You have come from far off lands
to lay to claims to lives that you can’t understand
To come and take all, but never to leave
Must we wait for a brighter day
when all our sins are washed away
Must we wait for the fallen ones to be
You with all of your diplomats and your guns
and checks and forgotten debts
You cannot be loved or ever feel peace
I know I can’t feel his pain
but I still can see what your money brings
You build to destroy with your all new toys
Must we wait for a brighter day
when all our sins are washed away
Must we wait for the fallen ones to be
Can’t you see what this could mean
That a time will come for thee
A fist cannot keep what it can’t feel
For I know you’ve had your fill
Must we wait for a brighter day
when all our sins are washed away
Must we wait for the fallen ones to be
SETTING SUN LYRICS
I'm looking for the one that's with me
The one that burns an eternal light
A distant sun that's deep within me
A force too strong to ever fight
A setting sun is not an ending
A setting sun can be our light to get us right
I've taken all that's handed to me
So much detail, so little insight
A calling card for the end of our century
A new rebirth to give new life
A setting sun is not an ending
A setting sun can be our light to get us right
I know it's hard to know
When it's time to go
Feel it coming near
Hear your heart beat clear
A light will guide our way
To the life we've paid
All we've done today
Will carry us away
More Elephant Stone please.. that was fab!
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