Brett Renfer and James Tichenor are a New York / Jersey based duo who spontaneously make experimental compositions under the rightfully named Endless Endless Endless. Whether it’s through their recording methods or through their album art, the two have an organic approach to everything that they create. Renfer and Tichenor have no intention of settling down, the two plan on evolving Endless Endless Endless and progressively steering the band in a new direction.
So you two both met at work, where did you guys work at the time?
James Tichenor: We would rather not say for reasons of keeping a seperation of Church and State.
Brett Renfer: …We work together at an architecture firm. We have sort of hard-to-explain jobs.
When and how did Endless Endless Endless start? Did you guys come in knowing what kind of music you wanted to create or did it take some time to develop?
BR: We started I think in fall 2009. We definitely didn’t really approach it with any idea about what we were going to make… But neither of us really showed up to our first jam session with any normal songs. So, it was definitely something improvisation-focused from the start.
JT: I would say we had no idea the type of music we wanted to create, and I at least still don’t know. The tracks the I am happiest with of Endless Endless Endless evolve out of playing and listening to each other as we play. A key factor in our sound is how Brett and I will tackle the same musical problem from different directions and that interplay is where the song grows from. Our influences are very fluid and evolving and are based on what we are interested in musically at any moment from West African Guitar music to The Mintuemen to The Orb. The limitations of a two person band and not overcooking the songs allow this to work so an influence of a Minutemen song may just come through as a the rhythmic pattern of a synth line in the final song.
What can you tell us about the newest cassingle you released – Looking up / Could Never? Musically, how is it different from your previous releases?
JT: It sounds better. The songs are more songlike. Its a hot single that you can’t stop listening to.
BR: My thoughts exactly. It’s the first product of our new recording/making process, we’re both really proud of it.
What is your recording process like? And how does it differ from your live performances?
JT: Our recording process is really just pressing record and playing. We never do a second take on things we record. After we have material we are happy with we edit it down and make a single mix thematically for a release. In the live setting we revisit songs to try and craft a tighter experience in time while still leaving it fairly loose in execution.
BR: The big difference in the recording is the looseness of the process. When we play out, we at least show up with some idea of what kind of things we’re going to play with. Lately, we also have a way more involved recording setup that we’re trying to reconcile with our live setup. It’s a work in progress.
It’s really cool how you guys integrate the Nintendo DS into your music. How do you guys manage to do this?
JT: We gravitated to the DS because of its portability as an instrument and the simplicity and power of the Korg analog synth simulator for it. Because of its limitations in its tracker interface we treat it as an analog instrument that has its own track when we record.
BR: Well, as a sort of spoiler, we don’t use the DS anymore. I think everything we put out in 2k11 will be with our new non-DS setup. So look forward to that! The DS was perfect for us starting out, as it’s simple and has a great range for what it is. The software we use now had enough of a learning curve that it’s taken us a while to figure things out… Which would have sucked to do as a new band. It’s been really fun learning new stuff recently, and we’re getting psyched to show off some new sounds.
All of your releases have such creative artwork and handmade packaging, do either of you guys have a background in art?
BR: Both of us do, in a way. I went to art school and majored in graphic design, so I have some control issues with the look and feel of our releases.
JT: Our interest in handmade packaging comes from being music fans in this day and age where we are able to download any music or song at a push of a button and wanting to hold and keep the musical experience. Time constraints keep us from handcrafting all the releases but we hope the spirit of this approach comes through in all of our work.
What would you say are the main themes throughout your songs? What would you say comes to mind lyrically and musically?
JT: We try and keep a lightness to our work. Not exactly off the cuff, more of lightness in the sense discussed by Italio Calvino in his six notes for the next Millennium.
BR: I think the only overall theme (if there is one) with our music and lyrics is abstraction. I always liked the lyrics of people like Brian Eno that were more evocative without having any underlying “deep” meaning. The lyrics and vocals are improvised along with the music, so they’re more just part of the mix than their own entity at this point.
The triangle is very consistent throughout your band. What does it symbolize for EEE?
JT: The triangle or a grouping of three has associating the infinite and the meeting of the physical and metaphysical, the tangible and intangible. This is important to us as a band especially as the artwork is this meeting point between the intangible and tangible touchpoints of the music. There is ambiguity of the triangles associations with power in its many forms that is a fine line in the artwork. Oh, and its geometric function as in tiling patterns over a surface make it very appealing as well.
BR: It’s a good symbol of endlessness, and fits nicely with our name. The triangle has become pretty saturated in band artwork lately, though, so we’re exploring other graphic ideas.
What do you guys have planned for 2011?
JT: The biggest plans for 2011 are more releases and more jamming. In 2010 we put out a number or releases and were very happy with them, but I think in 2011 we will be releasing a lot more of our stuff in digital format as its fresh via our Bandcamp site. The best thing we can do as a band is release music we want to listen to. We are also expanding our sonic palette some more, and so far it has been a success listening to our recent new tracks. I am not sure who is playing which parts and that is a good thing.
