If anyone ever asks I can finally say, “Yes, I do have a favorite sitar player!” Rishabh Seen has been doing various prog covers for a little while now. This time around, “Perfect Life” off of Steven Wilson’s last full-length, Hand. Cannot. Erase., got the sitar treatment. Unsurprisingly, it’s glorious because Rishabh’s got skills.
Rishabh Seen does a seriously cool job of embellishing this track. His playing here definitely doesn’t feel like a cover, but more so an additional layer to the arrangement. The sitar’s distinctive voice probably has something to do with that, but you get what I mean. This ain’t your average guitar cover (not that there’s anything wrong with those). I’d be terrified to try and do justice to a Steven Wilson piece, but Rishabh just does his thing and nails it.
If, at this point, you don’t fuck with either Steven Wilson or Rishabh Seen, you’re just living life wrong. If, on the other hand, you’ve chosen the objectively correct life path and are familiar with Rishabh’s work, be extra sure to check out his progressive metal band, Mute the Saint. They’re releasing their debut EP on December 1st, which is something we can all be thankful for this week.
