Russian Circles is coming to Brazil for the first time for a single performance in São Paulo, taking place on April 3rd at Cinejoia. Buy your ticket here.
The trio, consisting of Mike Sullivan on guitar, Brian Cook on bass, and Dave Turncrantz on drums, arrives in the country with a tour promoting their eighth album, Gnosis , released in 2022.
In an exclusive interview with Wikimetal , Cook spoke about the current post-rock/post-metal scene, as well as Gnosis and the band's first visit to Brazil.
Check out the full interview:
Wikimetal: Gnosis is your most recent album, and one of its biggest highlights is its power. How do you feel about the acceptance of this type of music nowadays, especially instrumental music?
Brian Cook: Thank you for your kind words. We feel very fortunate to have been able to do this band for almost twenty years, as I think the band's initial goals were very modest. I think the band looked to groups like The Fucking Champs , Don Caballero , and Trans Am as examples of how we wanted to operate as an instrumental group. And while all those bands were very successful in our eyes, I don't think any of us thought we would be able to tour the world on our current scale. I think much of our success comes from the doors opened by the internet and the technological advances that allow music to be accessible and playable in so many different environments. We can fill more time in our personal lives with music due to the ease of streaming and mp3s, and I think instrumental music fits well into these new time periods.
WM: Are you already planning to do the next Gnosis ?
BC: Not yet. We've mostly been in performance mode. There are some ideas circulating, but it's easier to write when we can focus entirely on that aspect of the band and not be interrupted by rehearsals for shows.
Interview continues after the player
WM: How do you perceive the post-rock/metal scene today? Are there any more recent bands in this style that you would mention?
BC: I always feel bad when we get asked that kind of question because I don't really look for new music in the post-rock/post-metal world. Metal represents a large part of my musical diet. I like a lot of things in the black/death/war metal vein – things you'd find released by labels like Extremely Rotten, Nuclear War Now, Sentient Ruin, and Me Saco Un Ojo, but I don't listen to a lot of things that have an atmospheric element, unless it's a band like Blood Incantation , where they treat their different stylistic approaches almost as two separate projects. That being said, there's obviously a big scene for post-genre stuff out there, and we play a lot of festivals in that realm and do shows with a lot of those bands. We just toured Australia with Tangled Thoughts of Leaving Miles Davis ' electric records or Emerson, Lake & Palmer . They're a great band that's doing something new and exciting. We played with a German band called Acid Rooster at a festival last year and became fans of theirs. They have a heavy Cologne-circa 1970s vibe… very krautrock. And there are Chicago bands that explore space and texture in a way that might appeal to a post-rock audience, like REZN and FACS , who we tour with [and who] we love very much. But as far as newer artists who are firmly in the post-rock world, I don't have much knowledge.
WM: The band will be 20 years old in 2024. Looking back, what are some of the moments you would like to highlight?
It's always exciting to play somewhere new. Our first trips to Europe, Japan, Russia, and Mexico were huge highlights. That's one of the big reasons why we're so excited about this Latin American tour. We never expected to have this kind of opportunity, so we don't take it for granted.
WM: Russian Circles has already performed at festivals like SXSW and Psycho California. What have you learned from these big shows?
BC: Festivals are stressful because you don't have the same ability to control the show and adjust your equipment and sound. But there's a lot of adrenaline involved in these performances, so if you can harness that energy and not let anxiety take over, they can be transcendental experiences. Some of our favorite shows were at festivals – like Dunk! Festival where we recorded our live album. Or Hellfest. Or Roadburn. But we still prefer playing a show in a club any day of the week.
WM: This is the band's first time in Brazil. Why did you take so long?
BC: We are very excited to finally come to Brazil! We wish it wasn't so far and so expensive to get here! Actually, it took us a long time because we were waiting for a promoter to invite us and guarantee that we could deliver the quality of show that we felt people deserved from us.
WM: What are your expectations for this upcoming tour here in the country?
BC: I really have no idea! I watched old videos of Sepultura playing in Brazil in the late 1980s and early 1990s and it sounds so wild and unhinged! I hope we get some of that energy from the audience!
