“You’d have to be living under a rock to ignore what’s happening,” says Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir, who’s made a career out of channeling personal and collective upheaval into expansive psych rock, sitar in hand.
From spiritual rebirth to climate anxiety to the grief for Dihr’s late mother that informs its latest work, the Montreal-based band has never shied away from difficult topics as it’s blurred the lines between Western music and Indian classical tradition. Elephant Stone’s latest single, “Fascists Killed Yer Rock ‘N’ Roll,” is a call to arms driven by the palpable disgust that fueled late-’70s Brit-punk anthems like “God Save The Queen” and “London’s Burning.” It’s paired with an unsettling video that repurposes footage from an eerie early-’60s bicycle-safety film featuring masked children, driving home the song’s themes of conformity, control and history’s sadly repetitious march.
“I don’t claim to have the answers—this song is about giving the threat a name,” says Dihr. “It’s a reminder that we’ve seen this script before … and we’ve overcome it before.”
We’re proud to premiere Elephant Stone’s “Fascists Killed Yer Rock ‘N’ Roll.” Look for Asha, the band’s 10th release, on August 28.
—Hobart Rowland
See Elephant Stone live.
