Elephant Stone to Release 'ASHA' LP and Launch North American Tour
The Montreal psych-rock band also shares new single and video 'I Got A Pill' alongside EU tour dates.
Montreal-based psychedelic rock band Elephant Stone has released a new single, 'I Got A Pill,' alongside a music video, and announced that their album ASHA is set for release on August 28, with a North American tour to follow in September and additional European dates also on the schedule.
The single, first premiered via FLOOD Magazine, continues where previous single 'Fascists Killed Yer Rock 'N' Roll' left off. Frontman Rishi Dhir explains, 'It's about demagogues, the populist playbook. Leaders who feed on people's fear and offer an easy fix. The pill. Take it and your problems go away. Except it doesn't work like that. It's control dressed up as relief.'
The accompanying video was directed by Adam Traynor and features handcrafted puppets by Diablo Puppets. Characters Futzy, Radis, and Mascot lure viewers into a surreal puppet world described as blurring the lines between comfort and control.
Traynor says, 'The lyrics to 'I Got A Pill' woo and warn all at once. I wanted to put the sweetness of that voice into the mouth of a Tony the Tiger-type mascot with a special breakfast gift for kids that would be sure to kick off a trip into a sugary Wonderland, a cardboard Oz, an awe-inducing game-world of artificial colours, a Dark Crystal quest for power, a Soylent Green feeding frenzy.'
'I Got A Pill' comes off ASHA, Elephant Stone's 10th studio release via Elephants On Parade. Named after the late mother of frontman Rishi Dhir — Asha means 'Hope' in Sanskrit — the album is a meditation on grief, hope, and the friction between sorrow and the darkness of these times. Limited edition signed and hand-numbered vinyl is available for pre-order now via Little Cloud Records.
At the heart of Montreal's Elephant Stone is Rishi Dhir, a songwriter and sitarist who has spent twenty years blurring the lines between Western psych-pop and Indian classical tradition. What began in 2006 as a quest for transcendental sound has evolved into a singular, self-contained vision. Operating out of his Montreal home studio, Sacred Sounds, Dhir has emerged as a true studio auteur — producing, engineering, and mixing the band's increasingly complex and cinematic output.
While the band's reputation was built on airtight pop craftsmanship and spiritual exploration, their recent work — anchored by longtime members Miles Dupire, Robbie MacArthur, and Jason Kent — possesses a new, raw intensity. It is a sound forged through Dhir's deep collaborative history with icons like The Black Angels, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Beck, as well as his role in the psych-supergroup MIEN.
With a discography spanning 10 acclaimed releases, Elephant Stone remains at the forefront of the modern movement, constantly deconstructing the past to find something visceral, haunting, and undeniably human in the present.
In support of their new album, Elephant Stone have announced new tour dates across Europe this fall, going on sale Friday, July 17. The band will also be embarking on a North American tour kicking off in September. Dates and tickets for all shows are available here.
ASHA Tracklist:
1. Here Comes The Rising Sun
2. Everything Evil
3. Fascists Killed Yer Rock 'N' Roll
4. I Got A Pill
5. Broken Arrow
6. A Beautiful Fate
7. Parallel And Contrary Motion
8. Sleepwalking In Prague
9. Spirit, Take Me Away (feat. Amy Millan)
Tour Dates:
Sept 15 — Burlington, VT @ Foam Brewers
Sept 16 — Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
Sept 17 — Troy, NY @ No Fun
Sept 18 — New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Sept 19 — Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong
Sept 20 — State College, PA @ Manny's
Sept 22 — Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village
Sept 23 — Detroit, MI @ Outer Limits
Sept 24 — Toronto, ON @ Second Summer Festival
Oct 1 — Montreal, QC @ Bar le Ritz
Nov 2 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Nov 4 — Paris, FR @ Le Chinois
Nov 16 — London, UK @ MOTH Club
Photo Credit: Bowen Stead
NA tour poster, Credit: Jon Carling
EU tour poster, Credit: Jon Carling
Photo Credit: Bowen Stead | Hi-res here
