SARGENT HOUSE

Russian Circles began recording their fifth full length album today in Chicago at Electrical Audio with long time allie Brandon Curtis (Geneva, Empros) producing again. Day 1, let the drums begin…..the album is slated for release late this year on Sargent House. We can’t wait.

This place was indeed, sold out. It seemed like a good percentage of the city was there that night standing shoulder to shoulder. You could already smell that hot fleshy odor of lots of people crammed into one room. Big as the Fillmore may be, it was still crowded.There were a melange of different people there to enjoy the show. Punk rockers. Metal heads. Stoners. Prog nerds. College kids. “Pretty” girls and not so pretty boys. Drunks and degenerates of all types. Eclectic shows are always among some of the most fun to write.The house lights descended until there was nothing.
The blackness had swallowed every inch of that room.

An ominous hum began and the crowd erupted in applause. This, however was just a tease. I knew there would be no veiling, not right away. There was still too much anticipation. The hum continued. It grew weird and loud very slowly. The more it grew the more you could feel the electricity between the people.

In this blackness, there was a little light. This little bit of light was just right to cast silhouettes against the tall black backdrops when Russian Circles came on. They looked taller than any man should. They almost looked like gods.

And they played like gods. Right along side that hum, noise and feedback began to take life. A steady rolling of the drums gave this thing a heartbeat. A fuzzy bass joined in and the alacrity had reached its peak. The crowd was ready. This climactic build up was about to reach a precipitous drop. All that noise, brothers and sisters, all that noise. It began to take shape and, like jazz, it was the notes between the notes that held the potency. As of yet, there has been no way that man has been teleported, at least not physically. Books do it and maybe, if I’m lucky, these words will do it. But, when Russian Circles played you were taken away.

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This is not an April Fools prank. BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges are proud to announce Russian Circles at Saint Vitus on April 1! Tickets ARE NOW SOLD OUT. This announcement comes a few days after the band drew their tour with Coheed & Cambria/Between the Buried & Me to a close at Radio City Music Hall over the weekend (on March 16). Our friends at The Obelisk were there:

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Click on photos for hi-res pdf

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Dave Turncrantz of Russian Circles is featured in the February 2013 issue of Modern Drummer. - Click here to see hi-res pdf.

Russian Circles have been a mainstay on the instrumental rock scene for around 9 years, touring their sprawling, almost filmic, compositions.

Brian Cook anchors the band with his muscular, over-driven bass tone, often stepping out and exploring other roles within the music afforded to him by his heavy use of effects, sampling & looping. 

Brian has kindly taken time to answer some questions about the band, his bass sound & the difficulty (or ease?) of instrumental music.  

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(Source: simonpoulton)

Russian Circles will join Between the Buried and Me for three shows in Canada before both bands meet up with Coheed And Cambria for their tour together starting February 4th through March 16th 2013. Keep in mind Russian Circles play first so always check with venues directly for official start time and doors.

Between The Buried And Me, Russian Circles
Jan 31, 2013 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theater
Feb 01, 2013 - London, ON - London Music Hall
Feb 02, 2013 - Montreal, QU - Soda Bar

Coheed And Cambria , Between The Buried And Me, Russian Circles
Feb 04 2013 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club - SOLD OUT
Feb 05 2013 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club - SOLD OUT
Feb 07 2013 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
Feb 08 2013 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
Feb 09 2013 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
Feb 10 2013 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Feb 12 2013 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
Feb 14 2013 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
Feb 15 2013 - Salt Lake City, UT - SaltAir

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(Source: artistdata.com)

Fun Fact #1: Russian Circles named their band after an excruciating Hockey Drill and don’t think the guys in the band have never done them themselves (well all except Brian Cook). Yes, that is Dave Turncrantz up top and Mike Sullivan below playing Ice Hockey on their team in Chicago. Apparently they are pretty bad ass too.

Fun Fact#2:  I was my high school hockey team’s statistician - I spent my teen years in the penalty box with hot Hockey boys. No wonder I love Russian Circles so much.

HOCKEY + ROCK = RUSSIAN CIRCLES

Russian Circles will join Between the Buried and Me for three shows in Canada before both bands meet up with Coheed And Cambria for their tour together starting February 4th through March 16th 2013. Keep in mind Russian Circles play first so always check with venues directly for official start time and doors.

Between The Buried And Me, Russian Circles
Jan 31, 2013 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theater
Feb 01, 2013 - London, ON - London Music Hall
Feb 02, 2013 - Montreal, QU - Soda Bar

Coheed And Cambria , Between The Buried And Me, Russian Circles
Feb 04 2013 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Feb 05 2013 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Feb 07 2013 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
Feb 08 2013 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
Feb 09 2013 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
Feb 10 2013 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Feb 12 2013 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
Feb 14 2013 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
Feb 15 2013 - Salt Lake City, UT - SaltAir
Feb 17 2013 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
Feb 18 2013 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
Feb 19 2013 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
Feb 21 2013 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater
Feb 22 2013 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
Feb 25 2013 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
Feb 26 2013 - The Marquee - Tempe, AZ
Feb 27 2013 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
Mar 01 2013 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s
Mar 02 2013 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center
Mar 03 2013 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
Mar 05 2013 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
Mar 06 2013 - Saint Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
Mar 07 2013 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
Mar 08 2013 - Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore
Mar 10 2013 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore Charlotte
Mar 11 2013 - Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
Mar 14 2013 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
Mar 15 2013 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
Mar 16 2013 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall

SEE ALL RUSSIAN CIRCLES SHOW DATES & DETAILS HERE

(Source: artistdata.com)

Russian Circles performing “Geneva”, “Youngblood”, “Batu” and “Death Rides A Horse” all filmed in April 2012 live from The Button Factory in Dublin.

Thanks to Conor Talbot for the videos.

SEE ALL UPCOMING RUSSIAN CIRCLES SHOW DATES HERE

Russian Circles will join Between the Buried and Me and Coheed And Cambria on tour starting February 4th - March 16th 2013. Russian Circles play first always check with venues directly for official start time and doors.

Between The Buried And Me, Russian Circles
Jan 31, 2013 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theater

Coheed And Cambria , Between The Buried And Me, Russian Circles
Feb 04 2013 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Feb 05 2013 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Feb 07 2013 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE
Feb 08 2013 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
Feb 09 2013 - Chicago, IL - Congress Theatre
Feb 10 2013 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
Feb 12 2013 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom
Feb 14 2013 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
Feb 15 2013 - Salt Lake City, UT - SaltAir
Feb 17 2013 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
Feb 18 2013 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre
Feb 19 2013 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
Feb 21 2013 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theater
Feb 22 2013 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
Feb 25 2013 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues
Feb 26 2013 - The Marquee - Tempe, AZ
Feb 27 2013 - Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
Mar 01 2013 - Austin, TX - Stubb’s
Mar 02 2013 - Houston, TX - Bayou Music Center
Mar 03 2013 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom
Mar 05 2013 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
Mar 06 2013 - Saint Petersburg, FL - Jannus Live
Mar 07 2013 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
Mar 08 2013 - Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore
Mar 10 2013 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore Charlotte
Mar 11 2013 - Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
Mar 14 2013 - Boston, MA - House of Blues
Mar 16 2013 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall (Pre-sale starts 11/13, general on sale 11/16)

Tour Presale starts tomorrow @ 10am get tickets HERE
General On Sale FRIDAY NOV 9 AT 12 NOON.
Full Details at WWW.COHEEDANDCAMBRIA.COM

(Source: artistdata.com)

Russian Circles videos shot live on October 13, 2012 at TAB in Singapore.
featuring the songs ‘Mladek’ & ‘309’ from their album ‘Empros’

Filmed and edited by the FilmBros and special thanks to our friends Lesley & Errol at KittyWu Records for putting the whole Asian tour together for us. We love You!

DON’T MISS RUSSIAN CIRCLES ON TOUR - SEE ALL DATES HERE

Russian Circles speaks! A rare interview and live footage shot during their Asian tour in Kuala Lumpur - October 2012 for Blacbod.com Filmed by : Khairul Shafit, Ameerul Affiq (Chulat) Edited by: Ameerul Affiq (Chulat) Russian Circles tracks on this video include Geneva and Mládek.

(Source: vimeo.com)

Last Friday I got into a pretty bad accident while riding on my motorbike. It was pouring on the roads and I was basically riding through walls of water. Vision was limited as well, and that’s why I didn’t see a taxi stopping right in front of me at the traffic light junction. I braked. Hard. The bike was starting to fishtail. Only way to avoid full-on collision (and consequently experience human flight) was to swerve to the side. But alas, I didn’t bank enough - my left handlebar smashed into the rear signal light of the taxi and I fell off the bike. What that meant for me was that my left pinky got really f***ed up; I could post up pictures here but I don’t think you’d want to puke all over your keyboard. The doctors said I lost the distal phalanx of my left pinky. I’d forever have 9.5 fingers instead of 10.

Two questions ran through my mind. One: how was I going to scratch that sweet spot in my left ear now? Two: will the surgery and hospitalisation prevent me from watching Russian Circles the next night?

Bloody of course not. Even an amputation’s not gonna stop me from seeing the Chicago-based post-metal trio play live. Their music probably counts as one of the most grandiose and cerebral instrumental pieces I’ve heard, and that says a lot coming from a Godspeed You! Black Emperor devotee. Instrumental they may be, but the visuals and imagery conjured by them are by no means less formidable.

There’s this thing about them that has always intrigued me from the start, and it’s the name “Russian Circles” itself. I know the name is derived from an ice hockey drill exercise, but just imagine for a moment that we don’t know that. To be honest I really thought the guys were really Russian (or at least Eastern European) when I first heard of them. And why would anyone not think that? Their sound have always contained an air of dark ancient rime, like something out of a post-apocalyptic film. It sounds like something you’d listen to while toiling at the Gulags of Stalin-era Soviet Union. It sounds like something you’d listen to while on a tour of Chernobyl.

Of course, post-metal (eg. Isis, Pelican, Cult of Luna etc) is not exactly a light-hearted, whimsical genre. The genre musters a wintry sense of desolation, an isolated capacity that’s best created by post-rock atmospherics combined with metal theatrics. How Russian Circles differentiate from their colder contemporaries is the thicker, crunchier sound they construct with layers of instrumental technicality and straightforward riffs. The overlying monumental concepts are still there, but with a minimalist edge - only 3 band members and a penchant for naming their albums and tracks with vague singular nouns and verbs. Words like ‘Station’, ‘Philos’, ‘Enter’ and ‘Carpe’ say so little, but as abstract concepts they mean so much. This mysterious minimalism is what makes Russian Circles so attractive; they’re effortlessly provocative.

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