Russian Circles

Many elements of Russian Circles shouldn’t make sense, but do. The band monopolizes a unique position within the music sphere such that their only competitors are themselves - a case against which they appear to be consistently winning, with each album evoking a perpetually anachronistic intensity and depth that seems to disregard concepts of time and context altogether. Their latest release Empros sees them interweaving heavy, frenetic movements with those of surprising tenderness in creating a crystallized, eloquent album that commands your attention at every turn. Ahead of their show here in October, we talk to them about performing live and listening with ‘fresh ears’.

You guys have previously played in Singapore back in 2010 - what should we expect for your second show here and how did you like it here the last time?
We had a great time in Singapore. Lesley and Errol from KittyWu did an amazing job and were incredible hosts. The crowd was great, and it was a pleasure to play with In Each Hand A Cutlass. I don’t think folks should expect anything too wildly different from us from last time!

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Russian Circles live videos shot on August 22, 2012 at The Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids, MI filmed by Joel Potrykus.

Russian Circles will be heading back over to headline Tours in Australia, New Zealand and Asia for the following Shows below. A big thanks to Heathen Skulls for the Australian and to Kitty Wu for the Asian dates. 


RUSSIAN CIRCLES / EAGLE TWIN /NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Sep 26, 2012 - Newton, AUC, NZ @ Kings Arms Tavern
Sep 27, 2012 - Wellington, NZ @ San Francisco Bathhouse
Sep 28, 2012 - Melbourne, VIC @ Corner Hotel
Sep 29, 2012 - Adelaide, SA @ Fowler’s Live
Sep 30, 2012 - Perth, @ The Bakery  w/ Drowning Horse
Oct 4, 2012 - Canberra, ACT @ ANU Bar
Oct 5, 2012 - Brisbane, AU @ The Zoo
Oct 6, 2012 - Sydney, AU @ The Hi Fi

RUSSIAN CIRCLES - ASIA
Oct 10, 2012 - Taipei City, Taiwan @ The Wall Live House
Oct 11, 2012 - Hong Kong @ Hidden Agenda
Oct 12, 2012 - Selangor, Malaysia @ Sunflower Hall, Global Bus Conv Centre
Oct 13, 2012 - Singapore @ TAB

SEE ALL SHOW DETAILS AND UPDATES HERE

(Source: russiancircles)

The premise is simple.  The execution?  The antithesis of anything simplistic. Three guys. Three instruments.  A sound that at once crushes and transcends the listener - Russian Circles has been around for a while not doing the same thing necessarily but retaining their signature, bombastic sound combing elements of prog rock with shoegaze with punk and even elements of psychedelia.  I recently sat down with bassist, Brian Cook, to discuss the ins and outs of the band and how they, for a lack of better terminology, pull it off:

From where Russian Circles started out to now how do you see yourselves as a band and the progression of your music? 

I don’t know.  That’s a hard one for me to answer, because I wasn’t in the band originally.  Colin DeKuiper was the original bass player in the band, and he was on the first album, Enter.  But as someone that watched and toured and saw the band in that incarnation, I came into the band as a fan and was really excited about what they were doing just because I thought it was a kind of amalgamation of a lot of the things I liked.  I mean, it had the sort of proggy elements of Yes and more modern stuff like Mars Volta, but it was still kind of driven by that Chicago touch and go kind of post-punk sound.  Don Caballero and others -  I mean they weren’t a Chicago band, but I feel like they were always kind of affiliated with that city because of their label.  I liked that sort of combination.  I mean, now I feel like, ever since I’ve been on board, and been around longer, I feel like – and maybe it’s because I’m too entrenched in it – but I just don’t see the sort of comparisons as recently anymore probably because I’m too involved.  I think of where the band is now, and I don’t have a frame of reference.  We just run on what sounds good and sounds fresh to us. 

On that note, for this last release, what was the collective goal or thought process for the band going into Empros?  What did you guys see on the canvas? 

 You know, when we were in the practice space, there wasn’t a specific idea.  We’ve never approach a song with the idea that it was going to go in a specific direction.  Every song is a blank canvas.  It’s not like we see the picture we’re going to put on it.  It’s more of a stream of consciousness exercise – throwing it down and seeing what works.  So it’s more…abstract expressionist.  Whatever works there and resonates with us – that’s where we’re going.  We’re not going for an image so much as we’re going for a gut-level, emotional response on our end. 

With instrumental rock or metal, there’s so much that can go wrong – it can be derivative – it can be stagnant, but it seems like you guys  are carving out these melodies and these harmonies out of this dissonance – this noise.  It’s chaotic and also it’s completely and utterly organized at the same time.  How do you pull that off? 

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(Source: steelforbrains)

Russian Circles tour with label mates Chelsea Wolfe and Marriages starts today, August 6th. Thanks to Neal Williams of Epic Problems for the Tour poster art - we will have 100 of these silk screen posters with us available. Make sure to come early and see Dave Turncrantz playing drums in Marriages the new Red Sparowes off shoot from Greg Burns and Emma Ruth Rundle. They will be playing first and then Chelsea Wolfe. It’s a great tour line up.

SEE ALL DATES AND SHOW DETAILS HERE

RUSSIAN CIRCLES with CHELSEA WOLFE & MARRIAGES
Aug 6, 2012 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
Aug 7, 2012 - St Louis, MO @ The Firebird
Aug 8, 2012 - Louisville, KY @ Vernon Club
Aug 9, 2012 - Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
Aug 10, 2012 - Tallahassee, FL @ Retrofit Records
Aug 11, 2012 - Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub
Aug 12, 2012 - St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Aug 13, 2012 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
Aug 14, 2012 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Aug 15, 2012 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Aug 16, 2012 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
Aug 17, 2012 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Aug 18, 2012 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
Aug 19, 2012 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Downstairs)
Aug 20, 2012 - Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
Aug 21, 2012 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Aug 22, 2012 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme
Aug 23, 2012 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Aug 24, 2012 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club

Russian Circles release the first of a three part live in-studio video series which is the debut of the new in-studio sessions by Sargent House in conjunction with Terroreyes.TV. The clip is for the song “309” from the album, Empros. Audio for this session was engineered and mixed by Toshi Kasai (Melvins, Big Business) at Entourage Studios in North Hollywood.

Russian Circles also launch their North American and Australian/New Zealand headlining dates beginning next week and running well into Fall 2012. The band will be supported by Sargent House family bands Chelsea Wolfe and Marriages in North America and Southern Lord band Eagle Twin down under. Russian Circles drummer Dave Turncrantz will pull double-duty drumming for Marriages on all the US dates. 

SEE ALL SHOW DETAILS/TICKET LINKS HERE

RUSSIAN CIRCLES with CHELSEA WOLFE & MARRIAGES
Aug 6, 2012 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
Aug 7, 2012 - St Louis, MO @ The Firebird
Aug 8, 2012 - Louisville, KY @ Vernon Club
Aug 9, 2012 - Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
Aug 10, 2012 - Tallahassee, FL @ Retrofit Records
Aug 11, 2012 - Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub
Aug 12, 2012 - St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Aug 13, 2012 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
Aug 14, 2012 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Aug 15, 2012 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Aug 16, 2012 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
Aug 17, 2012 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Aug 18, 2012 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
Aug 19, 2012 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Downstairs)
Aug 20, 2012 - Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
Aug 21, 2012 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Aug 22, 2012 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme
Aug 23, 2012 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Aug 24, 2012 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club

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Want to know when you’ve arrived as a musician? A good sign is when Guitar World magazine comes calling to pick your brain about seminal influences, go-to pedals, and, of course, that one axe you’d throw yourself in front of a Japanese bullet train to save.

Russian Circles guitarist Mike Sullivan is one of those who’s received his own spread in the American glossy. As someone who spent more than one afternoon flipping through Guitar World’s pages, he finds it hard to believe that he’s someone the six-string warriors of tomorrow are reading about today.

“If anything, it’s flattering,” Sullivan says humbly, on the line from his hometown of Chicago. “I definitely never thought that things would come to this level, where people care about what kind of stupid gear I’m using. It’s all very shocking to me.”

Fans of Russian Circles are likely nowhere near as surprised by the recognition the guitarist is getting. Over the course of the past eight years, the three-piece has proven itself to be one of the most forward-thinking acts in instrumental rock. That status is solidified by the group’s beautifully bombastic—and often just plain beautiful—latest, Empros.

For good reasons, the record represents something of a sonic step back for Russian Circles. On 2009’s Geneva, Sullivan and his bandmates—bassist Brian Cook and drummer Dave Turncrantz—seemed on a mission to out-ornate Godspeed You! Black Emperor with songs draped in seasons-of-sorrow strings. To the group’s dismay, that ambitiousness presented a bit of a problem when it was time to play Geneva’s songs on-stage.

“The strings were something that we always wanted to do, and we finally had the time and the means to do it,” Sullivan says. “The problem was that a lot of the string parts were written purely as string parts. So when it came down to the first tour for the record, it was like ‘Shit—which ones of these can we actually play without sacrificing the melody or rhythmic part of the song?’ It became frustrating because we couldn’t do a lot of the songs from Geneva live. We dug our own grave. With Empros, we really wanted to be able to play every song on the record.”

And what monumental songs they are, with Russian Circles proving that it doesn’t need strings to send chills up the spines of postrock metal-punk fans. Connecting the songs to past efforts, it’s often all about the slow build and violent release. “Schipol” starts out with delicate acoustic guitar and ambient, tombstone-grey distortion, then explodes into a stadium-size prog rocker around the three-minute mark. “Mládek” opens as bright-eyed, break-of-dawn hard pop, before pulling a violent U-turn halfway through, burning across the finish line with salvos of neck-snapping chugga-chugga riffage. The kickoff track, “309”, meanwhile, is almost uglier than Big Black, and one of the reasons Empros has been called Russian Circles’ heaviest album to date.

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Russian Circles announce North American and Australian/New Zealand headlining dates beginning this month and running well into Fall. The band will be supported by a plethora of Sargent House records bands along the way, including And So I Watch You From Afar, Chelsea Wolfe, Marriages, Indian Handcrafts, Deafheaven and Crypts. Please see complete dates below and for all updates and show Details GO HERE

RUSSIAN CIRCLES / AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR
Jun 18, 2012 - Winnipeg, MB (CA) @ The Park Theatre ^^
Jun 19, 2012 - Saskatoon, SK (CA) @ Amigos Cantina ^^
Jun 20, 2012 - Calgary, (CA) @ Dicken’s @Sled Island ^^ w/Secret SH Guest
Jun 22, 2012 - Vancouver, BC (CA) @ Biltmore Cabaret ^
Jun 24, 2012 - Seattle, WA (US) @ Neumos ^ w/ Sandrider
Jun 25, 2012 - Portland, OR (US) @ Doug Fir Lounge ^ w/ Crypts
Jun 27, 2012 - Sacramento, CA (US) @ Harlow’s **
Jun 28, 2012 - San Francisco, CA (US) @ Great American Music Hall **
Jun 29, 2012 - Los Angeles, CA (US) @ El Rey Theatre w/ Chelsea Wolfe **
Jul 02, 2012  - Denver, CO (US) @ Bluebird Theater
Jul 03, 2012  - Kansas City, MO (US) @ The Riot Room

RUSSIAN CIRCLES/ CHELSEA WOLFE / MARRIAGES
Aug 6, 2012 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
Aug 7, 2012 - St Louis, MO @ The Firebird
Aug 8, 2012 - Louisville, KY @ Vernon Club
Aug 9, 2012 - Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
Aug 10, 2012 - Tallahassee, FL @ Retrofit Records
Aug 11, 2012 - Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub
Aug 12, 2012 - St. Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Aug 13, 2012 - Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
Aug 14, 2012 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Aug 15, 2012 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Aug 16, 2012 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
Aug 17, 2012 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Aug 18, 2012 - New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom
Aug 19, 2012 - Cambridge, MA @ The Middle East (Downstairs)
Aug 20, 2012 - Montreal, QC @ Il Motore
Aug 21, 2012 - Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Aug 22, 2012 - Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme
Aug 23, 2012 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Aug 24, 2012 - Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club

RUSSIAN CIRCLES / EAGLE TWIN /NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Sep 26, 2012 - Newton, AUC, NZ @ Kings Arms Tavern
Sep 27, 2012 - Wellington, NZ @ San Francisco Bathhouse
Sep 28, 2012 - Melbourne, VIC @ Corner Hotel
Sep 29, 2012 - Adelaide, SA @ Fowler’s Live
Sep 30, 2012 - Perth, @ The Bakery  w/ Drowning Horse
Oct 4, 2012 - Canberra, ACT @ ANU Bar
Oct 5, 2012 - Brisbane, AU @ The Zoo
Oct 6, 2012 - Sydney, AU @ The Hi Fi

MORE TOUR DATES COMING SOON

Russian Circles will be heading back to New Zealand and Australia to headline some shows with Southern Lord band Eagle Twin joining them on all shows. Tickets for the shows go on sale June 4th and if it’s anything like Russian Circles first tour there I’d buy them in advance! And ASIA look out for announcements of tour dates from them coming soon.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES / EAGLE TWIN //NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIAN TOUR
Sep 26, 2012 - Newton, AUC, NZ @ Kings Arms Tavern
Sep 27, 2012 - Wellington, NZ @ San Francisco Bathhouse
Sep 28, 2012 - Melbourne, VIC @ Corner Hotel
Sep 29, 2012 - Adelaide, SA @ Fowler’s Live
Sep 30, 2012 - Perth, @ The Bakery  w/ Drowning Horse
Oct 4, 2012 - Canberra, ACT @ ANU Bar
Oct 5, 2012 - Brisbane, AU @ The Zoo
Oct 6, 2012 - Sydney, AU @ The Hi Fi

CLICK HERE FOR ALL SHOW UPDATES AND DETAILS

Continuing on from last time…

Cologne, Germany

I packed light for this trip. I can wear the same pair of jeans for the whole trip. I try to milk two or three days out of a t-shirt. Socks and underwear require daily changing. So my luggage is basically just socks and underwear. I brought two button-up shirts, and today I rip open the back of one of them trying to do a Ray Cappo jump in a music store parking lot.

Tonight’s club is another one of those converted factory/warehouse spaces. Not sure if it’s a squat, necessarily, but it definitely feels like one. The promoter is a very outgoing, boisterous, jolly German guy named Uncle George. It winds up being my favorite show of tour thus far. Good sound, good crowd, good vibes. Even Deafheaven seems to have gotten over their whole choking-and-punching incident from Paris.

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Russian Circles will be playing some Canadian shows including Calgary’s Sled Island Festival along with label mates And So I Watch You From Afar coming over from Belfast and Canada’s own Indian Handcrafts joining in on a few shows are also Deafheaven , Chelsea Wolfe, Crypts and Seattle’s own Sandrider.
Check HERE for details on each show.

RUSSIAN CIRCLES / AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR
Jun 18, 2012 - Winnipeg, MB (CA) @ The Park Theatre ^^
Jun 19, 2012 - Saskatoon, SK (CA) @ Amigos Cantina ^^
Jun 20, 2012 - Calgary, (CA) TBA @ Sled Island Festival ^^ w/ Secret Guest!!!
Jun 22, 2012 - Vancouver, BC (CA) @ Biltmore Cabaret ^
Jun 24, 2012 - Seattle, WA (US) @ Neumos ^ w/ Sandrider
Jun 25, 2012 - Portland, OR (US) @ Doug Fir Lounge ^ w/ Crypts
Jun 27, 2012 - Sacramento, CA (US) @ Harlow’s **
Jun 28, 2012 - San Francisco, CA (US) @ Great American Music Hall **
Jun 29, 2012 - Los Angeles, CA (US) @ El Rey Theatre w/ Chelsea Wolfe **
Jul 02, 2012  - Denver, CO (US) @ Bluebird Theater - Russian Circles only
Jul 03, 2012  - Kansas City, MO (US) @ The Riot Room - Russian Circles only

^ w/ Russian Circles, And So I Watch You From Afar
^^ w/ Russian Circles, And So I Watch You From Afar & Indian Handcrafts
** w/ Russian Circles, And So I Watch You From Afar & Deafheaven

Continuing on from last week…

Hamburg, Germany

You know what’s depressing? Cutting through a red light district in broad daylight with the prostitutes already hanging out in their windows while Adele’s “Someone Like You” plays over outdoor speakers.

Just down the street from the red light district is Hafenklang, one of my favorite venues in Germany. The people who work here are always a pleasure to work with, the size of the room is perfect, and the club is easy walking distance from the Reeperbahn. Tonight’s show is a drone festival. Two stages, six bands. And the ticket price is still less than half of the fest we played in Estonia. But ya know, as much as I enjoy listening to drone stuff when I’m at home, it’s not really the kind of music I want to spend an evening watching at a club. I watch a few of the acts before I start feeling narcoleptic. I’m not even bothering with beer tonight; I’ve switched to some sort of carbonated yerba mate drink in an effort to stay awake.

Tonight is Derek from Deafheaven’s birthday. There are plans to go out on the town after the show, but by the time we’re packed up and loaded out, it’s 3am. The other guys go for it, but Che and I opt to sit in our hotel room and eat Burger King before going to bed.

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Continuing on from last week…

Vilnius, Lithuania

It’s another early wake-up call. I feel better cold-wise, but I’m still exhausted. I feel like I’ve avoided the whole jet lag issue where I can’t sleep at night and can’t stay awake during the day, but I’m just not getting much opportunity to get more than three or four hours of sleep a night.

Sleep deprivation is making me extremely moody. One minute I’m listening to Jawbreaker in the van and getting misty-eyed from nostalgia, the next minute I’m in a Polish gas station laughing hysterically at a malfunctioning automatic espresso machine spewing hot milk all over the counter.

I’ve never been to the Baltic states. We’d received an email from a concerned fan about the venue we’re playing tonight because the club has a history of hosting National Socialist bands. We’d contacted our booking agent about the concern. Our booking agent said that he’d just booked the Japanese band Mono in the room and had had no issues. He contacted the promoter anyway, and the promoter confirmed that other outside promoters had rented the space and hosted some pretty politically dubious bands. But they’ve also booked Jewish klezmer bands, leftist punk bands, and hip hop artists. If you want to play in Lithuania and don’t want to play a club that has a history of hosting extreme right-wing bands, you’re apparently shit out of luck. It doesn’t bring a whole lot of peace of mind to roll up to a club with Nazi graffiti spray-painted by the entrance, though. Still, the people at the club are nice, though we get a lot of stares while we walk around town.

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