{"id":18286,"date":"2020-05-04T17:19:18","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T21:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/?post_type=interviews&p=18286"},"modified":"2020-05-04T17:49:13","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T21:49:13","slug":"rishi-dhir-and-elephant-stone-broken-dreams-and-sacred-sounds","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/interviews-panm360\/rishi-dhir-and-elephant-stone-broken-dreams-and-sacred-sounds\/","title":{"rendered":"Rishi Dhir and Elephant Stone: Broken dreams and sacred sounds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo credit: Bowen Stead<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360:<\/strong> You\u2019ve just released a new, stand-alone Elephant Stone single, \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d. Musically, it\u2019s a lovely bit of psychedelic folk rock. Lyrically, however, it might as well be an enraged hardcore punk track. It\u2019s an angry song, which is uncharacteristic of you, and I imagine it wasn\u2019t easy to work through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rishi Dhir:<\/strong> The key to most of my lyrics is empathy. I try to feel what the person in the song is feeling. \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d is definitely my most lyrically direct song so far. However, I find a number of my songs to have a cynical or angry twist to them, albeit over breezy melodies \u2013 \u201cBombs Bomb Away\u201d, \u201cManipulator\u201d, \u201cMasters of War\u201d \u2013 the list goes. It did take bit to figure out how to say what I wanted to say. Once I got the opening verse, things just rolled out.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360:<\/strong> Proceeds are going to the PLUS1 COVID-19 Relief Fund, earmarked for people in the now sorely beset live music industry. PLUS1<\/a> is the sort of meta-charity that evolved out of Arcade Fire\u2019s Haitian relief efforts. Why did you choose them in particular to channel proceeds to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RD:<\/strong> I’m good friends with [PLUS1 founder and CEO, and former Arcade Fire member<\/em>] Marika Shaw, and always admired her passion and the work done by PLUS1. It seemed like a natural fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Caroline Perron<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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PAN M 360:<\/strong> You were a pretty early adopter of the live-streamed confinement-time performance with your Sacred Sounds Sessions, which are a little looser than straight-up concerts. They\u2019ve evolved in the few weeks that you\u2019ve been doing them, and you\u2019re doing another this Tuesday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RD:<\/strong> With the cancellation of our SXSW show and U.S. tour, I felt compelled to try to connect with our fans and friends. The first week or so of the quarantine was pretty emotional for me, and I felt like I needed to do something. The first SS session had a much bigger impact on me than I anticipated. I realized that we’re all facing the same challenge together. It was beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAN M 360:<\/strong> Any hints about what to expect during Tuesday night\u2019s stream? Will you perform \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RD:<\/strong> I usually work things out the night before the sessions. I always open the session with about 15 minutes of sitar, and then go from there. Yes, I will most likely be playing \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d. The reaction to the song has been strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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