Musician Kristian Dunn of El Ten Eleven wants to shorten, but increase, his output. Or as he puts it, “make shorter statements more often.”
The bass player and one-half of the Los Angeles-based instrumental duo has been at it with drummer bandmate Tim Fogarty for 20 years; with more than a dozen records under their belt, they have navigated the music industry enough to know that it’s an unpredictable business with regards to how listeners purchase product. Singles are dropped and purchased digitally, and those singles sometimes act as predecessors to the eventual release of a full album. The duo has dropped EP’s and full-length releases throughout their career, with their 2020 release “Tautology” going against the “shorter statement” concept; it is a triple album but was released in three parts over the course of five months.
El Ten Eleven returns to Durango on Saturday, performing at the Animas City Theatre along with rock band Sego.
If you go
WHAT: El Ten Eleven performs instrumental indie-rock, Sego opens.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive.
TICKETS: $20. Available online at https://bit.ly/3rm8nKo.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit animascitytheatre.com or call 799-2281.
“I told our manager and the head of our label I just want to release EP’s from now on, just to make shorter statements. I never listen to full-length records, so why should I release them?” Dunn said. “Then I started coming up with all this material for ‘Tautology,’ so much material that it ended up being a freaking triple record, the opposite of what I wanted. But from here on out I want to make shorter statements more often. So, this new record, it’s a full-length but it’s shorter. We’ll see if I can stick with that, god forbid I come up with a quadruple record or something.”
With Dunn and Fogerty playing bass and drums enhanced by a variety of electronics, the sound of El Ten Eleven lies somewhere between exploratory electronic music and math-rock with an experimental vibe, reminiscent of 1980s-era King Crimson, Tortoise or Trans Am. But its their own sound, a pulsing and bobbing score that can be laid back and ambient one moment, driving and aggressive the next. Live, it’s visual and stimulating, with Fogerty driving a pushy rhythm while Dunn, who acknowledges performing live is “physically demanding,” keeps both hands busy on his bass, and both feet even busier pressing a number of pedals. It’s a thumping, glorious sound for a duo, dance music ripe for either a sweaty punk-basement or EDM club.
“I’m a bass player, and I love disco music. Non-ironically I love disco music,” Dunn said. “I like it when the bass is a lead instrument, so that funky dance kind of stuff creeps into our music. When you see us live, it’s a lot of head nodding and dancing.”
They joke that they’re an instrumental band because neither musician can sing, and both have been in enough bands that they pondered and wanted to experience life in a band without a singer. Shelf life for a band can be as unpredictable as the business itself, but with a DIY mindset and the desire to do things their own way, El Ten Eleven continues to enjoy success in the indie-rock world.
“A lot of my friends asked me, ‘how long and how far can you go with just bass and drums?’ Well, we’re 20 years and 13 records in, and we’re still coming up with new ideas, so I guess we can go pretty far. Honestly, the way it’s going I’m not going to be surprised if we make it to 40 years, if we’re still alive, and if we’re physically able to do it,” Dunn said. “I’m 52, and still doing this. Can I do this when I’m 72? We’ll see.”
Their forthcoming LP titled “New Year’s Eve” is set for release in March.
Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager. Reach him at liggett_b@fortlewis.edu.
