Picture by Chelsea Delgadillo
The No. 44’s hit 2020 with the release of their first full-length album and I’m happy to report that they brought their psychedelic sound into the new decade. I had the pleasure of having a conversation with the band regarding their most recent release Reflexive // Repeater.
Dan Gee on Reflexive // Repeater, “… it is going to be a journey. You’re going to start off in an unfamiliar place and come full circle if you stick with it. It’s going to get galactic and then in the next breath come collapsing down past our grainy roots.”
The No. 44’s have released their first full album in 2020 but you’ve been releasing singles since 2017. Is it safe to say that your life work as The No. 44’s (so far) is gathered in Reflexive // Repeater?
It is! Yes, both this and the EP are congruous in the sense that we had the vision of what we wanted Reflexive // Repeater while we were recording the EP. We knew as a new band, we had to record some music quickly, so we chose songs for the EP that didn’t require as much work texturally to stand out on their own. But yes. the idea of the band up to this point is captured in Reflexive // Repeater.
How are you guys feeling about the debut album now as it’s complete? Elaborate on how it feels to be done. I imagine it is a great relief.
A great relief is correct! We are so excited to finally get it out into the world. We spent so long on it for a myriad of reasons, but getting it right I think is the major one. We are extremely proud of it.
How many songs off the tracklist were written for this album in particular?
I guess all of them? Or none of them? It’s hard to tell. I don’t really remember when we came up with the idea for Reflexive // Repeater, and there are definitely some songs that pre-date the idea, but it’s very hard for me to think of the songs as not an essential part of the album anymore.
Picture By Michael Haight
Where were these songs recorded? Correct me if my memory is incorrect, but did you know go out to some faraway cabin to record?
Yes, we recorded all of this in a cabin in Running Springs, CA with Christopher Maciel. It was a very pleasant, relaxing, and inspiring experience, but we definitely will not be doing the next record that way haha
Did you work with any particular names during the creation of this album? Who created the cover art?
Our good friend Christopher Maciel recorded and mixed the album, Anthony Russo mastered it, and we rented gear from our friend Jesus Salas, but other than that, it was pretty in house. There are no guest spots except one stellar vocal performance towards the end of the album by Eileen. The album art was created by our drummer, Evan Achen. The idea of the art is somewhat warped from the original intention for what the cover was supposed to be, but we’re all very happy with how it turned out.
You are working alongside Donut Sounds on this album release, how did you all come to collaborate?
I met J. R. at a when we played one of his shows at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach. He called me to ask for some touring advice for another one of his artists, and we got to talking about how The No. 44 was trying to figure out the best way to release our album. We had been shopping it around for a few months before, but it didn’t seem like there was real excitement in those conversations. J. R. and I clicked pretty fast over intentions, management styles, and general outlook and it just kind of worked out!
Picture By Michael Haight
Your songs open with the sounds of nature… What’s the theme behind this?
I don’t know how easy it is to tell, but on Reflexive, they’re daytime nature sounds, and on Repeater, they’re nighttime sounds. We stuck a microphone out the window of the cabin we recorded the album while we went out for a bite to eat and then again while we slept. The theme is to do with waking and subconscious life, the two themes of the two sides.
“Eden Somewhere” specifically stood out to me as a favorite. To me, its branded with the No. 44 seal… it’s quintessentially you! I think it speaks volumes that being a relatively young band you have been able to nurture a specific sound. Can you talk a little about this track in particular?
Thank you! Eden Somewhere is actually one of the oldest songs on the record, but it’s hard for me to think of it in another context now. We actually played it with a previous band and a completely different arrangement. I don’t even think I can remember what it sounded like before. But as an old song, it went through quite a few changes including completely revamping the ending to the super long loopy-jam ending. And even then, we were supposed to fade that out but liked how awkwardly it naturally ended.
Is there a track in the album that you’re most happy about? A favorite maybe that you can’t wait to perform?
We’re pretty happy with all of them! We’ve been playing most of them in our live set for the past few years, but I’m pretty happy with “We Look So Much Better From Further Away” and “I Am” because it took a lot of work to get them to where they sit in the album.
How did the band know that this album was completed?
When we stopped arguing about mixes haha
Now that the album is done, what is something you’d wish you knew at the start?
How important a room sound is, how different it is to track live vs. multitrack/overdub. But really, not a ton. There are absolutely things we would do differently, even 180 degrees opposite of what we did, but I think it was important for us to make this record how we did.
Last words
Thanks so much for taking the time to write this piece! We are very excited for everyone to hear Reflexive // Repeater and tell us what they think of it. We are so excited to learn and grow as a band and explore new and strange sonic territories. I think we all agreed that this album is the one accomplishment we are most proud of in our lives no matter how it does professionally.
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