Photo by Noah Kalina

Equally noted was the absence of a singer. As it turns out, Russian Circles was never intended to be an instrumental project. At first they debated over who would sing, but soon realized, as Sullivan explains, “There was too much shit going on. Before we knew it…vocals would be a distraction.” Turncrantz adds “[vocals] would just clusterfuck it.”

Russian Circles believe that playing instrumental music opens up a broader range of interpretations of the music’s mood. Sullivan says, “We don’t have a singer, and we play kind of heavier stuff. Once you have a dude screaming on top of it, people get really turned off and don’t want to listen to it. Same with the quiet stuff, hearing someone bitch and moan. People who are more metal hear it and think ‘What the fuck is that?’ and vice versa ‘It’s too heavy, why are you so angry?’” He concedes, “I think it’s weird that instrumental music now seems like it’s a new thing. Groups like Trans Am and Don Caballero have always written simple, but memorable and easy to grasp music. Even bands like Tortoise come from that, easier ideas being built up.”

Enter was recorded with Greg Norman at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio Studios and released on Chicago-based Flameshovel Records. Turncrantz says “When we recorded the demo, we were driving home listening to it, thinking it could have the worst reception or the best reception, I had no idea.” After the May 2006 release of the six-song LP, Russian Circles cultivated a steadily growing stream of fans, much of it through word of mouth—the organic buzz that corporate executives salivate just thinking about because it is something that money just can’t buy. Sullivan says, “There wasn’t a whole lot of instant press about it, which was good for us. We toured non-stop for a year and a half by doing that. It was a slow and steady thing, it wasn’t out of nowhere. We opened for a shitload of bands and met awesome people. I’m thankful we had that.” Aside from the constant touring, they attribute much of their growing recognition to the Internet, noting that a lot of people are buying Enter after discovering it online, two years after its release.

When Russian Circles began to develop material for their second album, Turncrantz and Sullivan headed away from many of the proggy, technical characteristics of their first record in favor of a more stripped-down approach. Of Enter, Turncrantz says, “I listened to it maybe four times afterwards, always thinking ‘I don’t know what’s going on right now. What the fuck am I playing? Why am I doing that?’ I think the more catchy and simple it is, the more people who wouldn’t normally like instrumental music will be drawn towards it. I love bands like Hella, but I couldn’t tell you the third song on the record, I couldn’t hum it for you. I want a CD I can actually listen to from start to finish.” Sullivan says “A lot of people want to get shred happy and you don’t need to do it.” But not everyone was in agreement. The conversation turns serious as Sullivan and Turncrantz describe how they parted ways with DeKupier last year. Sullivan explains, “[Colin] wasn’t that excited by where we were going. I think he was happier going a different way…. We sat down at a bar, and we all knew why we were meeting. The question “why” wasn’t asked once. It was a mutual understanding.”

Turncrantz says, “Mike and I work really, really well together. It’s funny, we’ll write a part and change it at the same time, like we don’t even look at each other, we just know it should change. And when there is someone who isn’t on that level, it definitely holds us back and takes us a lot longer to create and complete a song. When we parted ways with Colin it was a relief, musically. Writing was a relief and songs just came out.”

That wasn’t the only change they made. Sullivan explains “The last record was a Chicago label, recorded in Chicago, everything was Chicago. We love Chicago but we just felt that it was the best thing for us to try something new.” They signed with Seattle-based Suicide Squeeze Records, who had released their 2006 single “Upper Ninety,” and arranged to record with producer Matt Bayles (Isis, Pearl Jam). The eclectic label felt like a good fit for them because, as Sullivan spells out “There are no expectations because they are more an indie label than a heavy label.” However, he quips “Matt Bayles is known for heavier stuff, so it’s a good juxtaposition of the indie/metal world.”

Turncrantz says that working with bassist Brian Cook was a pleasure. “With his writing mindset, we were all the same page. We would write stuff the day we went into the studio, like the end of “Verses.” We wrote the part right then and there and it’s one of my favorite parts on the record.” Although Cook has already agreed to work on their third album when the time comes, chances are, he’ll never join the group as a full-time member. After all, he already has a full-time band with These Arms are Snakes, a commitment Turncrantz and Sullivan would never disturb. They also aren’t sure they even want a permanent third member. Turncrantz says, “I like the structure we have right now, because it feels good, refreshing to play with different bass players. So I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

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Posted to Music Features on Monday, June 30th, 2008 by britt.