Setting Standards

Tortoise often seems like an incompatible name for the Chicago outfit who are now entering their third decade together. The five-piece, comprising of Jeff McEntire, Jeff Parker, Dan Bitney, John Herndon and Doug McCombs, have embraced their free-jazz leanings to create serpentine melodic jams that defy definition. Since bringing out their last record, Beacons Of Ancestorship, back in 2009, they've been far from idle, busy with various collaborations including one with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and another with Thurston Moore and Brian LeBarton covering Yanni's Live At The Acropolis for Beck's online Record Club project; scoring Lovely Molly, a horror film by Eduardo Sanchez, who's most renowned for The Blair Witch Project; and incessant global touring. Even in their “downtime” the various members have focused on other projects – McEntire's band The Sea & Cake have just released their new record, Runner – solo albums, production duties and contributions to albums by Bright Eyes, Warm Ghost and others. Yet it hasn't stopped there, with the 20th anniversary of hugely influential Chicago label Thrill Jockey seeing every Tortoise record garnering reissues. It continues to be a busy time for the band, who have always stayed true to their mission statement – if indeed there is one.

“Man, I don't even know if I can articulate that, it's never been established,” McEntire laughs. “(Playing together) is one of the easiest things, all of those things just flow together in a weird way. Even when the situation itself may be very different (for us), it's still merely making some small adjustments to your perspective. It's just something that we instinctively know. Every time we get together to work on something, it's pretty clear, and this goes back to the fact that we have known each other so long that when the five of us get together there is this very specific aesthetic that happens where we are working as one mind. There are no big discussions on the aesthetics or the merits of something; it either works or it doesn't, and when it doesn't you can just let it go. I wouldn't be able to articulate it into specific points, other than to say that it is what it is.”

When their second album, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, hit the shelves in 1996, it was met with the kind of critical and commercial credence that was incongruous to the time. Since then they've embraced their jazz roots (TNT in 1998), the avant-garde (2001's Standards) and ambient frameworks (2004's It's All Around You) whilst continuing to craft their own niche. Their fanbase is as ardent as ever, and such longevity has proven to be just as much a lightning-in-a-bottle happenstance as it is a dedicated endeavour to keep everything moving forward.

“I'm not sure if there has been any one reason why we've focused on touring, because I think any band sees themselves shift in direction from album production to touring as far as a revenue model goes. And we are totally happy to do it. It all has to do with our personalities. We are all pretty mellow dudes, there aren't any ego issues at all, or ever have been. The other thing is I think we are all relentlessly interested in doing things that challenge and excite us musically; we definitely aren't trying to make another version of Millions Now Living… again and again and again. The issues that generally break up bands are not at all present in our scenario.”

One of those challenges has been the soundtrack for Lovely Molly, an experience that McEntire admits has been a burning desire for quite some time, although the idea of creating something for someone else's vision was a foreign concept.

“We were actually approached directly by the director as well as the producers about another project back in 2004 that never materialised,” he explains. “Yet it was clear that they really wanted to work with us, and when this project was floated we saw it as a really good opportunity. We had been talking about this kind of thing ever since we started the band, yet the offers haven't been exactly rolling in. But we finally got this, and it was pretty… I don't want to say easy, but the ability to communicate their ideas to us was great, and they were really happy with the stuff we were submitting, so it was easy to move forward on this. They had specific ideas on what each scene needed; they had families of sounds and themes that they wanted to compact into sound bites, so we had a pretty detailed road map and we were left to fill in the blanks.”

New material of any kind is likely to excite many, especially as the band's live show has not diminished in intensity and passion one iota over the past two decades. But the anniversary of Tortoise's self-titled debut record has brought along with it a time for introspection and reflection, especially when looking at the trajectory the band has travelled over the years. Being an instrumental ensemble is always a decision that can steer people away, a notion that McEntire understands even though it irks him.

“I would never say instrumental music is limiting, but it certainly is challenging, for the performer and the listener. For us it can be difficult to come up with something from a creative standpoint, because the few projects we have done with vocalists has always been like, 'Oh my God, this is so easy!' You can get away with murder with what your backing track is doing and in terms of simplicity or repetition. Yet if you are instrumental-concerned and you actually have to create some interest that would fill the void of a vocal track, it is super challenging. It's one of the reasons it takes so long for us to make records. Yet I think it is totally worth it for all concerned.”

Nevertheless while instrumental music may seem hemmed in by such boundaries, it also means that the other shackles that anchor more traditional songwriting can be shrugged off and discarded, and that is where the majesty of Tortoise really resides. “It's super energising,” McEntire admits. “Once we get to a point where we can see how something is going to materialise, it offers up so many possibilities along the way. So now we live in a blessed state where we play together, tour together, all strive for the same goals that we did twenty years ago. We would love to do more film work; it's something that seems made for our sensibilities. We'd like to do more collaborations too; to work with other artists is proving to be another drive. And then of course we want to keep on putting out solid records as often as we can. Unfortunately, due to doing a lot of touring over the last three, four years, we haven't paid any particular efforts towards the new album. However we are hoping that this fall or winter we can head back in – everyone's schedule is finally clear.”

Tortoise will be playing the following shows:

Thursday 11 October - The Hi-Fi, Sydney NSW
Friday 12 October - The Zoo, Brisbane QLD
Saturday 13 October - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Sunday 14 October - This Is Nowhere, Perth WA