Destinations, detours & the roads traveled by The Rishis
Modern mystics — The Rishis; press photo courtesy of the artists.
Legendary vision pop artists The Rishis recently released the summer sun saturated song cycle August Moon via Cloud Recordings and present us with a sampling of just some of their favorite phenomena. The Athens by way of Georgia and Tacoma duo Sofie Lute and Ranjan Avasthi are joined by the esteemed talents of John Fernandes, Lucy Calhoun, James Huggins, Scott Spillane, Peter Alvanos, Andrew Reiger, Charlie Estes, Andy Gonzales, Timi Conley, Chris Byron and more to bring more holistic psych hymns from the Elephant 6 canon of contemporaries, fellow associates and luminaries. The group give the gift of a seasonal processional toward the sun, the moon, the stars and one another in a record that works to center the spirit, mind and the constructs of self.
August Moon sails into the horizon of hot nights spent before the solstice shifts into the autumnal beginnings of fall. "Holiday" traverses the cosmic American canyons with a down home feel, as "Migrations" moves with the rhythms and brass toward the astral planes of inspirations. "Oh So Young" reminisces youthful indulgences in a timeless power pop hop, as "Seeds" delves into the mysterious sectors of the psyche, to the open arms heartland ballad of "Make Me Love You" that resounds like a roadhouse slow dance at a lonely dive off the highway in the middle of nowhere.
"Wake Up" taps into those upper levels of consciousness and being, as "Just Between You & Me" expands privy exchanges into full stadium level anthemic grandeur, carried forth even further on the warmth of "Holi". The on the road, world traveling vibes of The Rishis can be felt on the camper van cool of "Jetstream", concluding with the east meets west psychedelia of "Uttar Pradesh" that gives a loving nod to Northern India. August Moon aligns the cosmos for a journey of consciousness toward higher degrees of enlightenment and endearments. The Rishis take over Week in Pop after the jump with a compendium of current favorites:
On the road with The Rishis
Events and items of interest by The Rishis; press photo courtesy of the artists.
Nuçi’s Space
Nucis Space is a music center offering discounted rates for recording studio time, practice space, music equipment rental. Nucis also offers inexpensive mental health services and even some free medical care for musicians.
Bay to Breakers
Bay to Breakers is a super wild fun run in San Francisco that Sofie and I have participated in a couple of times before. It is held the 3rd weekend in May and combines creating elaborate costumes and a city fun run through SF. Really it’s more of a festival than a sports event. The Rishis are looking to play some in-store performances at record shops in SF during this weekend on the left coast when we aren’t hanging out at the Bay to Breakers.
The Rishis’ Sofie Lute and Ranjan Avasthi; press photo courtesy of the artists.
Barton Springs
Austin, TX Barton Springs. Anytime we head to Austin to play a show we love to spend some time at this spring fed swimming area at Zilker Park in downtown Austin. Barton Springs is 3 acres of swimming area and it’s fed by the Edwards Aquifer. It’s home to the endangered Barton Springs Salamander. Lots of room to swim and relax at this city park.
Music Millenium
When the Rishis toured the Pacific Northwest we loved playing at Music Millennium rocking Portland since ‘69. It’s a rad record store that sells vinyl, music merchandise, and even lovely local microbrews.
Sofie Lute and Ranjan Avasthi of The Rishis; press photo courtesy of the artists.
Next Level Burger
Also while in Portland we had delicious burgers at Next Level. These sloppy burgers were some of the best we’ve ever had and the entire menu is 100% plant based including their peanut butter chocolate shakes!
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine
We really like Rescuing Leftover Cuisine. This non-profit organization tries to reduce food waste ending up in land fills and utilizing the donated food to feed people in need. The food donation program collects excess food from restaurants, movie sets, catering companies, and event spaces. The RLC then coordinates with food pantries, homeless shelters, and other non-profits that provide relief for families in need to provide them with food. This non-profit has branches in 7 states GA, NY, NJ, OH, RI, MA, TX. We thought it was a really cool way to help those in need, reduce food waste, and help with climate change since the food is not ending up in landfills.
The Rishis’ August Moon is available now via Cloud Recordings.