Elektrik Ram is the new single and title track from South African stoner rock reprobates Ruff Majik’s upcoming album.
Vocalist and guitarist Johni Holiday’s quick stint in a mental wellness facility brought on the lyrics and structure of Elektrik Ram. “What started as a fun ditty, emulating the sound of Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins, became a triumphant battle song chronicling the power of picking up where you left off and trying again.” Explains Johni.
He delves deeper into the message behind the song, “Conquering dependency on medication and machines (as a replacement for human contact) to step out victorious. It’s a song about not letting go of rage but using it instead to break through the barriers of modern living.”
The first gasps of air this song took was a three-part harmony that Johni wrote using only his acoustic guitar and a tape recorder to lay down the ideas. From there it was presented to the other members of the band, with the idea of making a relentless juggernaut of a song. “It should sound like a swarm of bees, but with an uplifting crescendo” Johni said.
Lyrically, Holiday referenced the feeling of being incapacitated on a hospital bed and combined it with an allegory for oppressive and dogmatic religious views, to drive the point home that “fate will not grant you any favours, you must take them.”
DOWNLOAD / STREAM ‘ELEKTRIK RAM’
https://orcd.co/elektrikram
https://mongrelrecords1.bandcamp.com/track/elektrik-ram