By Donzig
The Rishis (Hindi for 'sage' or 'ray of light') have been together as a performing duo for over 10 years, featuring Ranjan Avasthi (vocals, all songwriting and some guitar/banjo) and Sofie Lute (guitar/vocals). Their debut album August Moon is now out, released under the aegis of the venerable musical cooperative The Elephant 6 Collective.
Avasth and Lute are joined on the album by a host of Elephant 6 veterans. From the press release for the album: "E6 alumni friends helping in its creation include Scott Spillane (Neutral Mik Hotel), John Kiran Fernades (Olivia Tremor Control), Andrew Rieger (Elf Power), James Huggins III (Of Montreal), Andy Gonzalez (Marshmallow Coast), Peter Alvanos (Sunshine Fiz and also Elf Power), Lucy Calhoun (Black Swan Network), Todd Kelly (Phosphorescent and also Great Lakes), Wild Rumpus founder Timi Conley, and co-producer Chris Byron." Lucy Calhoun also created the album cover, a Van Gogh-like pastoral scene entitled "Riding Horse, Staying Sane."
The guests provide a rhythym section for the vocals and guitar of the duo, and add modest keyboard, brass/woodwind and string sounds. This allows the album to transcend the run-of-the-mill sound often typical of singer-songwriter and folk acts, giving a somewhat lush, almost Baroque touch to the album. But Avasthi and Lute co-produced the album, ensuring that their sound and songs are not overhwhelmed by the numerous guest contributions.
Stand out tracks include "Seeds", with perhaps the biggest arrangement on the album; the country-influenced "Make Me Love You"; the guitar-driven "Holi"; and the instrumental "Uttar Pradesh", a psychedelic tribute to Avasthi's Indian homeland.
Interestingly, August Moon is being released only on vinyl and digital download -- no CD or Cassette issue is mentioned in the press release. This reflects the great rebirth of LP's as a physical format and the decline of CD's. Just as CD's made tapes irrelevant as a portable physical format and nearly killed the LP, the digital format (whether streaming or purchased and downloaded) now makes CD's superfluous. Vinyl, with its innate quality and nostalgia value, along with digital and its convenience and low cost, are now the dominant music formats and likely will be for the foreseeable future.
August Moon by The Rishis is out April 21 on Cloud Recordings.