Review Fix Exclusive: Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir Talks ‘Manipulator’ And More

Review Fix chats with Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir, who discusses the creative process behind their new single, “Manipulator” and their upcoming album, “Ship of Fools.”

About Elephant Stone:

Evolution, change, artistic growth, exploration – these words are associated with all great rock and roll bands, but they’re quickly becoming synonymous with Elephant Stone, the Montreal trio led by singer/bassist/songwriter/sitar player, Rishi Dhir. With Ship of Fools (their 4th full-length LP), Dhir and his bandmates – Miles Dupire (drummer/backing vox) and Gabriel Lambert (geetar/backing vox) – have solidified Elephant Stone’s place among the greats as innovators who are unafraid of challenging themselves and their audience. Produced by Marcus Paquin (Arcade Fire/The National).

For More on the Band, Click Here.

Review Fix: What makes this album special?

Rishi Dhir: We stressed substance over style for this album. I’d like to think we’ve done the same with past records… However, it truly felt like we approached this album with the mindset of not boxing our music into any style. Still, the psychedelic undertones are everpresent no matter what I do… it’s just too deeply ingrained.

Review Fix: What was the band’s creative process for this album?

Dhir: Caffeine spurs my creativity. I guess coffee is my drug… I’ll have an espresso first thing in the morning and that’ll, usually, get me humming a melody and then grabbing a guitar. I’ll record the idea on my phone and save it for later day when I have time to flesh it out into something grander. I’ll then demo the song at home and then eventually bring it to the band and have them tear it apart to reveal the true beauty.

Review Fix: How was  “Manipulator” written?

Dhir: I had a bluesy riff lying around for a couple years. I felt pretty confident in the melody (my wife, the executive producer of all Elephant Stone songs/albums, wouldn’t let me give up on the tune). Eventually, I found the right drum and the song just came together.

Review Fix: Pokemon Go? How did that happen?

Dhir: To distract the masses from the real issues. My whole social media feed was flooded with Pokemon Go… and then I start noticing people roaming the streets just staring at their phone and almost getting hit by a car. Nintendo’s value is now $7.5 billion because of this.. the media then puts a spin that Pokemon Go is great as it gets you out and active. Really? Who’s in control here?

Review Fix: How was this album different ?

Dhir: We worked with a great producer. Gab, our guitarist, was good friends Marcus Paquin. He’s worked with Arcade Fire (his wife, Marika Shaw, actually use to be in the band and now runs http://plus1.org/) and the National. I may not be their biggest fans, but I have always thought their albums sounded great. Anyhow, he’s a wonderful and inspiring person and encouraged us to be fearless. I think that shows through in the album. I gave him carte blanche to do what he wanted with the songs and I think we really benefited from that.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this album?

Dhir: For people to hear it. I am very proud of what we’ve accomplished.

Review Fix: How do you want it to be remembered?

Dhir: As a watershed moment in our catalog. Personally and creatively, this album was a big turning point for me (well, every album really is…). I hoping this album will help us reach wider and bigger audiences…

Review Fix: What’s next?

Dhir: A North American fall tour and Euro winter tour. We’re releasing the album on my label, Elephants On Parade, and Burger Records. We’re a great team and very DIY. We definitely have our work cut out for us.