The Chennai-based singer-songwriter’s latest is inspired by forests and temple visits in South India The post MILI’s Cosmic New Song ‘Elephant’ Brings in Joe Satriani, Vinnie Colaiuta, James Genus and Jeff Babko appeared first on Rolling Stone India.
Temple bells to powerful beats usher in Chennai singer-songwriter MILI’s surging new single “Elephant,” featuring guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, drumming ace Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, seasoned bassist James Genus, pianist/keyboardist Jeff Babko.
The pacing, swirling psychedelic song sees MILI sing about journeying and longing, with Satriani’s distinctly melodic and roomy guitar leads taking over. “Elephant” marks the first time Satriani has worked with an Indian singer-songwriter.
Among the conversations she had with Satriani was, of course, about India, considering “Elephant” was inspired by MILI envisioning forests and temples in her native Kerala. Satriani, for his part, toured India in 2005 and last returned to headline NH7 Weekender in Pune in 2018. MILI says she spoke about “the multiple facets of Indian culture and how diverse it is” and Chennai. She explained the culture of chenda drummers, theyyam festivals and elephants in the midst and the festival fervour. “In the peak of these performances, the air gets so thick with these intense sounds and energies and above it all lies a silence where a sense of mystery and mysticism prevails. Like Joe, I too have had the fascination about aliens and the outwardly and all this culminated into the main inspiration for ‘Elephant,’” MILI says.
MILI first met Satriani when she was 19 years old, just as she was committing to a full-time music career. “If someone told me then that this would happen, I would never had believed it! Now, the fact that it actually did and by giving the world a song like ‘Elephant,’ life and purpose have come together full circle,” she says.
Familiar with MILI’s work, including her 2017 album Written In The Stars, Satriani was ready to come on board to play on “Elephant,” which was arranged by the Indian singer-songwriter and is produced with producer Hamesh. It’s led to a more rock direction for MILI compared to her pop leanings explored in previous material. Colaiuta and Genus had already featured on Written In The Stars, with Babko adding textural key layers on this project.
Writing a song with a versatile guitarist like Satriani in mind could have felt daunting, but MILI says following his work and performances for years made her want to “think differently” for “Elephant.” She says the “vibe” of the music, along with the lyrics, were done and she went further into the project by wanting “to leave space for the magic to happen.”
MILI adds, “Along with the guitar solos, he’s played on the entire song, adding these really cool ethereal textures that shaped the overall sound in a much deeper way. I think what Joe has done for ‘Elephant’ is so different. For me, this goes beyond. It’s about artistic alignment and synchronicity, where you step into each other’s creative worlds and explore what can emerge from an idea or vision.”
“Elephant” marks the first of more music coming up through 2026 for MILI. She doesn’t rule out another collaboration with the guitar great either. “I will never say never to that! It would be so awesome to create music with Joe Satriani again,” she says.
The post MILI’s Cosmic New Song ‘Elephant’ Brings in Joe Satriani, Vinnie Colaiuta, James Genus and Jeff Babko appeared first on Rolling Stone India.
