My Elephant Ride make cosmic and soulful indie pop. They have just returned with the second album 'Beyond the Skin'.
Tomatrax caught up with Nathan from the band to ask a few questions.
How did the band form?Yo, Nathan here. We all met at uni. We were young innocent and ambitious back then. We used to share our new songs together and give each other suggestions. Eventually we just put all our songs together.
Where did the name My Elephant Ride come from?The Elephant is a wise, ancient animal. It symbolizes a power far greater then ourselves. We ride it without questioning where it's going, how long takes or for what reason it's going there. We are just along for the ride.
You're about to release your second album, how does it feel to have it ready to go?It feels great! it's been done for a while now, but part of the process is the patience of not letting it go too quickly.
It's been around 3 years since your first album, what have you been up to over this time?Whoa, really that long ago? So much of our lives have changed now that I'm looking back. Life takes weird twists and turns and when you multiply that change between three band members, you could write a book on the amount of change that has happened. To answer the question of "what have we been up to" though.. Mostly just questioning reality.
How will your next release compare with your previous work?It's pretty different musically. The first album was more of a document of our live show. Loud guitars and drums kind of thing. This is more of a studio endeavor where all the songs where written while we were recording.
Where did the title Beyond the skincome from?It's a question really. Are we shackled by limitations of flesh? What's going on outside of our sensory inputs?
What made you pick 'Diamond Eyes' as the single?There's too much bias for us to decided ourselves haha. We just asked a friend in the end and trusted their choice.
The album was recorded across Bali and Melbourne, what inspired you to take this approach?Practical reasons really. Joe spends most of his time there anyway so we thought it would only be fair to go to him for once. The beautiful people, scenery and way of life were all little sub reasons.
What is the music scene like in Bali?That's something I'm not really sure of unfortunately. There were some great music stores that let us hire some gear, which was really nice. The time we were there recording we didn't really go out much.. We just stayed inside and stared at a computer mostly.
Do you ever listen to your own music?That's a funny one. I do a lot when it's first finished. You hear it done and it fills you with sooo much pride and accomplishment. Unfortunately that wears off pretty quickly though and then things get pretty cringy.
What other music do you listen to?Lot's and lots. Recorded music is my favourite thing in the world!! The analog sound and approach of the 70's warms my heart a lot, however the DIY attitude of today's music fills me with great inspiration.
What do you have planned once the album is out?No plans. Just try and live in the present. Also trying to stay aware that the present is in constant motion, so just trying to flow with that momentum through life.
Thanks for the time, peaceeee ❤ ❤
Check out My Elephant Ride's website to find out more!
