In The Studio: The Early November

The Early November entered the studio less than a month ago to begin working on In Currents—their third album and first for Rise Records—but with post-production fast approaching, it's clear the band have wasted no time. AP caught up with frontman Ace Enders at his studio, the Living Room, where he says it's been “the most productive we've ever done anything.”

You guys have been posting updates during the tracking, but for the record, what's the status of the album? Preorders were announced last week, so I'd say you guys must be hustling.

We're almost wrapped on the record. We have some vocals to do, mixing and in the next couple of weeks we should be all done. Everything is going really fast and it's going really smoothly.

The album name was announced a few days ago. What's the origin of In Currents and what does it represent?

The best way I can describe where the name came from is basically the idea of life taking on any direction at any time, and going through changes like a current changes. A year ago we had no idea we would be doing this band again or we never even thought that we would play another show. And now all of the sudden, pretty much overnight, it just so happened that we were touring and playing shows and making another record. It's kinda crazy cause just think, like a year ago that had no vision. Now it's all that I think about. So I think that sort of sums up what the record's about and how easily and how quick it can change—for the good and bad—and everything in between and that's what it's all about. Basically, the same old cheesy stuff that I'll always write about. [Laughs.]

This is the first time you've ran the entire session for TEN. How has that influenced both the overall quality of the work and your personal experiences of being accustomed to outside help?

For right now, for where we're at and how quick we're going through everything…it's the quickest we've ever done anything, the most productive we've ever done anything. It feels different than anything we've ever done and I don't think that's just me being like “Oh, we're older and more mature now.” I just think in general. It just feels right and I'm really happy with it. It's a ton of stress sometimes thinking about making everything sound good, trying to do everything right and also making sure the songs and the parts are all right—and taking myself out of that side of it. But I think it's coming together great and I definitely could not be happier with what's going down right now.

Having three guitarists recording for the first time as well, how is that addition reflecting in the tracks?

I think it's definitely a lot different than we've ever approached it, and we're trying a lot of different techniques. I'm absolutely thrilled about it. I don't think it's gonna be exactly what people may expect off the bat, but I think it's close enough to how we left off to feel good, but at the same time there's a new interesting twist on how we went about all the guitars. I feel really good about it. I think it's coming together great. Nothing steps on each other, it flows together and it all just fits in the right place. We're definitely using the three guitar players to the maximum, and not the cheesy like, harmonized everything all over the place. Although there is a lot of harmony goin' on. It's not cheesy though.

You said a while back that lyrically the new record would represent where you are in life, which makes perfect sense. What sort of lyrical themes are apparent now that they've come to fruition?

I think it's probably the most relatable that I've ever been when it comes to lyrics on a record and I think that's just because from how I see it and—I mean you've gotta understand for years I tried after the band broke up really hard to pick up where we left off or be in that position or have that type of momentum behind me. I think seeing when we got back together, all the sudden a lot of people cared again, and you can lose that just as easily. That's sort of where we're at. I know you can lose that in a minute.

It's weird that we got it that quickly. It's crazy cause I tried to work for it for so long, and to see how you really have no control but are just taking a journey. This is the only thing that I can do. Music. Writing music is the only thing that I do that confidently in my life, and to see how easily you can go in and out of that and have no control over it is where I'm sort of coming from mentally with everything. It's like a very honest, not rock star, way of looking at doing a record. Especially how it's all coming together. It's just realizing that I'm not in control and I think that's where my head's at.

It's like you're the head of the pressure—being in charge of recording and also doing a lot of the writing.

Has its moments, has its moments for sure. I think we all are doing our best to keep up with everything we've done. The recording of the album is my—like I said, that's what I'm confident in—as far as everything else that happens with the band, everybody's got their strengths in what they do best. For me, this is what I contibute the most, but I'm happy to do it. 

About how many finished songs did you guys bring in to work on?

The majority of them we had demoed, coming into it I probably had seven. Seven of the eleven songs we demoed. From there we were able to fill in the rest of the spots pretty easily. 

Do you plan on having them all on the album or is that something you'll evaluate as final products?

Yeah, we have a couple cool ideas for bonus things and extras that we're gonna be putting up. As far as right now, all the main songs that we're tracking are all gonna be there.

Have you considered which ones are going to be in the setlist?

I think as they develop a little bit farther we'll be able to get there and know exactly what we'll be doing live. For now, I could say that I definitely see where they're going and it's gonna be a hard decision.

You guys haven't played any live yet, right?

No, we definitely haven't.

These are fresh.

Yeah.

Did you guys bring in any special guests in for the record?

No, we kept it just us. I think we did that because we wanted to be as real to ourselves as possible.

If you listened to the last two records and then you immediately listened to In Currents, what sticks out as different to you? Do you think the growth between those records has multiplied over the years?

I definitely do. The thing that I think if you listen—you can definitely hear similarities in all of them. You can definitely hear how it's the same. I hear bits of really old school stuff and I hear bits of stuff that was on the last album with that direction we were headed. At this point, it's a really good mix of everything.

This reunion—not just the new album—but the shows and recently announced tour—it's all been in progress for a little while now, and it's starting to mirror the presence that the band once had. How has everyone's lifestyle adjusted to the transition at this point?

Well, I mean it's crazy. For me, I work in the studio all day and I've been around music and been touring and doing all that type of stuff. But you feel right now though, because it's how I've always wanted to do it. It feels cool. I think I transitioned pretty easily and I think you know, Jeff (Kummer) still works full-time and everybody still has jobs and lives their lives how they normally did pretty much the same way. We take our time to do this and we take our time to do our other stuff. That's what's keeping it so special to us right now. We know that it's something that we have to work for. You have to have the other stuff in our life and you have to stay busy with everything else, but when you do this you enjoy it, it's not just a job.

What else do you want fans to know about the record?

I would just say that for myself, I've never been so deep into something. Never felt so right about doing a record. I don't know, maybe it's just because I'm able to be producing it and doing it, but it really does feel good. I think the whole process and going through every single step, the appreciation for all of our fans and everything that has kept us going, not only that but just to come back and see everybody's reaction and all the support that we have, we're keeping all of that in mind.

I'm smart enough now to know that it's not just about where I want to go artistically, but it's also about the connection that we have with the people who take care of us. I think you will definitely see that on the album. It's something I've thought about it a lot.

Would you say it's your favorite thing you've ever worked on?

Yep.