Russian Circles
Lead The Pack of Instru-metal Movement
2008-06-09
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There’s no shortage of instrumental bands in today’s musical landscape, and to be fair, there has been a steady stream of vocal-less groups surfacing since roughly the mid-‘90s. Bands like Tortoise, The Six Parts Seven, Pelican and Mogwai have redefined the ethoses of atmospheric noise, in particular within the realm of progressive metal. And while the initial reaction to a band without vocals might be that of dismissal or indifference for lack of relatable facets, it’s an arm of rock music that’s quickly becoming much harder to ignore. Chicago’s Russian Circles are aware of the stigmas attached to their particular brand of ambient prog-noise, and with a small West Coast tour currently underway (a tour that will include a stop at Café Coda this Wednesday June 11th with Daughters, Young Widows and locals La Fin du Monde), and a support slot for this summer’s Coheed and Cambria US tour, the trio hopes to forego the throes of being lumped in, and instead hopes to lunge out.
Russian Circles formed in Chicago in 2004 with drummer Dave Turncrantz, guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist Colin DeKuiper, all scratching an itch to parlay heavy, sonically experimental rock music, though they were not as of yet staunch proponents of discarding vocals entirely.
“When we started, we’d only written a few songs, and we hadn’t ruled out a vocalist, hadn’t tried anybody,” explained Sullivan while in Chicago preparing for the first show of the tour. “We were just like, ‘I’d feel bad for any vocalist to have to come in here and try to sing over this mess.’ It would have made a singer feel awkward onstage and have to resort to stupid stage antics [laughs]. It didn’t originally lend itself to vocals at the time, but we’re not totally opposed to in the future fucking around in the studio with different vocal effects, more for ambiance and atmosphere more so than vocal melody.”
The band’s latest album, the sprawling but sparse Station, steers the band in a direction less expected from the throngs of instru-metal fans; rather than cashing in on the well-worn avenues of heavy technical wizardry, the trio opted for a much more stripped-down approach.
“Enter [the band’s first full-length] was written really quickly and not as careful, and it got different results obviously,” said Sullivan. “We were a little bit more meticulous this time around with parts and having parts flow from song to song and from different parts within a song. Enter was a bit more segmented and disjointed as far as how the song was laid out…and not in a bad way, just in a different, more direct way. As a result, you get something not as atmospheric.”
The band’s recent lineup shift — after last fall’s departure of DeKuiper on bass — has ushered in the talents of Brian Cook of These Arms Are Snakes/Botch fame on bass. Cook was tapped to record and write on fairly short notice for all of the tracks on Station, but Sullivan doesn’t seem convinced that there was a huge shift in chemistry with the swap-out on the new record.
“[The songwriting] seemed a little more natural; Brian accents the guitar differently than Colin does — not in a better or worse way, just in a different way,” said Sullivan. “We took some time getting used to that and getting adjusted, but it seemed to go a little smoother, writing-wise. Maybe that’s just the nature of their bass playing; maybe Colin’s parts took longer to write for a reason. All his bass parts sounded great and I’m happy with them, but the chemistry was instantly pretty comfortable with Brian.”
The synergy is instantly evident on Station. Gone are the overindulgences of Enter, and in their place resides the surging rush of a shore-bound tsunami — wave-breaking guitars squall and chug to make way for subtler tenets of moody dissonance and creates a wall of sound that doesn’t seethe but rather scours every hidden corner for the resonant climax, before it finally recedes into a swooshing, foamy sheen back from whence it came. If that sounds farfetched, it’s probably because it is; you try expounding on the artistic subtleties of a six-song, 40-plus minute instrumental album…
“Instrumental music, or music with more abstract vocals, leaves more interpretation to each listener,” explained Sullivan. “Without that structure of verse-chorus-verse-chorus, there’s more freedom with the music to take it in a lot of different places, and not have to repeat similar progressions. It’s definitely more freeing.”
Comparisons to like-minded acts like Red Sparowes and Isis perpetually dog the group, regardless of the fact that Isis indeed features the vocal prowess of one Aaron Turner. But it’s a phenomenon that Sullivan takes in stride; and besides, Russian Circles are flattered, by and large, from the assessments.
“Some bands make more sense than others, like Pelican — we’ve been friends with them for years. There’s no way to avoid their influence, as people and as musicians,” began Sullivan. “Other bands — Red Sparowes and Isis — we hadn’t heard until we were much further into our career. It doesn’t really bother us. They’re bands we like so we’re not ashamed by any means. If it was Fall Out Boy or Bullet For My Valentine, it might be a different story.”
Russian Circles formed in Chicago in 2004 with drummer Dave Turncrantz, guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist Colin DeKuiper, all scratching an itch to parlay heavy, sonically experimental rock music, though they were not as of yet staunch proponents of discarding vocals entirely.
“When we started, we’d only written a few songs, and we hadn’t ruled out a vocalist, hadn’t tried anybody,” explained Sullivan while in Chicago preparing for the first show of the tour. “We were just like, ‘I’d feel bad for any vocalist to have to come in here and try to sing over this mess.’ It would have made a singer feel awkward onstage and have to resort to stupid stage antics [laughs]. It didn’t originally lend itself to vocals at the time, but we’re not totally opposed to in the future fucking around in the studio with different vocal effects, more for ambiance and atmosphere more so than vocal melody.”
The band’s latest album, the sprawling but sparse Station, steers the band in a direction less expected from the throngs of instru-metal fans; rather than cashing in on the well-worn avenues of heavy technical wizardry, the trio opted for a much more stripped-down approach.
“Enter [the band’s first full-length] was written really quickly and not as careful, and it got different results obviously,” said Sullivan. “We were a little bit more meticulous this time around with parts and having parts flow from song to song and from different parts within a song. Enter was a bit more segmented and disjointed as far as how the song was laid out…and not in a bad way, just in a different, more direct way. As a result, you get something not as atmospheric.”
The band’s recent lineup shift — after last fall’s departure of DeKuiper on bass — has ushered in the talents of Brian Cook of These Arms Are Snakes/Botch fame on bass. Cook was tapped to record and write on fairly short notice for all of the tracks on Station, but Sullivan doesn’t seem convinced that there was a huge shift in chemistry with the swap-out on the new record.
“[The songwriting] seemed a little more natural; Brian accents the guitar differently than Colin does — not in a better or worse way, just in a different way,” said Sullivan. “We took some time getting used to that and getting adjusted, but it seemed to go a little smoother, writing-wise. Maybe that’s just the nature of their bass playing; maybe Colin’s parts took longer to write for a reason. All his bass parts sounded great and I’m happy with them, but the chemistry was instantly pretty comfortable with Brian.”
The synergy is instantly evident on Station. Gone are the overindulgences of Enter, and in their place resides the surging rush of a shore-bound tsunami — wave-breaking guitars squall and chug to make way for subtler tenets of moody dissonance and creates a wall of sound that doesn’t seethe but rather scours every hidden corner for the resonant climax, before it finally recedes into a swooshing, foamy sheen back from whence it came. If that sounds farfetched, it’s probably because it is; you try expounding on the artistic subtleties of a six-song, 40-plus minute instrumental album…
“Instrumental music, or music with more abstract vocals, leaves more interpretation to each listener,” explained Sullivan. “Without that structure of verse-chorus-verse-chorus, there’s more freedom with the music to take it in a lot of different places, and not have to repeat similar progressions. It’s definitely more freeing.”
Comparisons to like-minded acts like Red Sparowes and Isis perpetually dog the group, regardless of the fact that Isis indeed features the vocal prowess of one Aaron Turner. But it’s a phenomenon that Sullivan takes in stride; and besides, Russian Circles are flattered, by and large, from the assessments.
“Some bands make more sense than others, like Pelican — we’ve been friends with them for years. There’s no way to avoid their influence, as people and as musicians,” began Sullivan. “Other bands — Red Sparowes and Isis — we hadn’t heard until we were much further into our career. It doesn’t really bother us. They’re bands we like so we’re not ashamed by any means. If it was Fall Out Boy or Bullet For My Valentine, it might be a different story.”
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Russian Circles
Bio[+]Russian Circles is a three piece instrumental rock/metal band from Chicago. Similar to fellow Chicago residents Pelican, Russian Circles play epic, sprawling music which runs the gamut of heavy discordant metal, to soft delicate passages. They are also known for their energetic live shows.Formed in late 2004 by guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist Colin DeKuiper (both formerly of another instrumental band Dakota/Dakota) they quickly recruited Dave Turncrantz, formerly of St. Louis band Riddle of Steel. In the autumn of 2007, it was announced that the band had parted ways with Colin DeKuiper. As a result, the bass tracks on their new album, titled Station, will be handled by ex-Botch/These Arms Are Snakes bass player Brian Cook.
Interview
Russian Circles (current page)
Bio[+]
Russian Circles is a three piece instrumental rock/metal band from Chicago. Similar to fellow Chicago residents Pelican, Russian Circles play epic, sprawling music which runs the gamut of heavy discordant metal, to soft delicate passages. They are also known for their energetic live shows.Formed in late 2004 by guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist Colin DeKuiper (both formerly of another instrumental band Dakota/Dakota) they quickly recruited Dave Turncrantz, formerly of St. Louis band Riddle of Steel. In the autumn of 2007, it was announced that the band had parted ways with Colin DeKuiper. As a result, the bass tracks on their new album, titled Station, will be handled by ex-Botch/These Arms Are Snakes bass player Brian Cook.
Interview
Russian Circles (current page)