El Ten Eleven
El Ten Eleven are an instrumental post-rock duo originating from Los Angeles and consisting of bassist/guitarist Kristian Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty. Dunn plays fretless bass or a double-neck bass/guitar combo and Fogarty alternates between acoustic and electronic drum kits, and they utilize looping stations and effects pedals rather than preprogrammed rhythms, ensuring that their dynamic live performances require a considerable amount of stamina. El Ten Eleven are notable for creating inventive, complex music with limited instrumentation, and their chiming, heartfelt melodies combined with upbeat rhythms result in songs that are touching yet energetic, even danceable. Their music often has a bittersweet tone, and several of their songs are named for departed friends or family members. The pair have seemingly toured nonstop since the release of their self-titled debut in 2004, with subsequent albums including the dance-leaning These Promises Are Being Videotaped (2008) and Fast Forward (2015). While most of the duo's albums were issued through their own label, they signed to Topshelf Records for the release of 2018's Banker's Hill, then moved to Joyful Noise for the release of 2020's three-part Tautology, followed by 2022's celebratory New Year's Eve. The more somber Valley of Fire appeared in 2023.
El Ten Eleven formed in 2002 and recorded their self-titled debut full-length in 2004; Bar/None Records released it in 2005 to critical acclaim. Since then, nearly all of their recordings have been issued on their own Fake Record Label, starting with 2007's Every Direction Is North, which was also given a Japanese release (including a bonus track) by Xtal Records. This was followed by These Promises Are Being Videotaped, a more dance-leaning album recorded solely using fretless bass and drums (both electronic and acoustic), in 2008. The duo's fourth album, It's Still Like a Secret (named in tribute to Built to Spill's Keep It Like a Secret), arrived in fall of 2010. Following a split 7" EP with Girlfriends in 2011, El Ten Eleven's fifth full-length album, Transitions, landed in 2012. Transitions Remixed, containing Transitions tracks reworked by Com Truise, Slow Magic, Max Tundra, and several others, followed in 2013. For emily, an EP dedicated to the passing of a friend who preferred to spell her name in lowercase, was released in early 2014.
Following an online fundraising campaign in order to re-press some of their recordings on vinyl, El Ten Eleven released Fast Forward, their sixth full-length album, in 2015. Two years later, the duo issued the four-song EP Unusable Love, which featured vocals by Emile Mosseri of the Dig and was easily the most pop-minded El Ten Eleven release to date. The pair's seventh album, Banker's Hill (2018), was the first to feature an outside producer (Sonny DiPerri), as well as their first for Topshelf Records. In 2020, Joyful Noise issued El Ten Eleven's Tautology, a three-part concept album about life, aging, and death. The optimistic New Year's Eve appeared in 2022. Valley of Fire, a somewhat darker album inspired by a visit to Nevada's Valley of Fire State Park, was released in 2023.
© Paul Simpson /TiVo
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El Ten Eleven (15th Anniversary Edition)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 20 Sep 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Valley of Fire
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 10 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
El Ten Eleven
Rock - Released by Fake Record Label on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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New Year's Eve
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 4 Mar 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Transitions
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 2 Oct 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tautology
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 18 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fast Forward
Alternative & Indie - Released by Fake Record Label on 21 Aug 2015
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Every Direction Is North
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 2 Jul 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
It's Still Like a Secret
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 9 Nov 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Every Day Is a Sunday b/w Slow Motion Feel
El Ten Eleven, Kishi Bashi, Tall Tall Trees
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 27 Aug 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
These Promises Are Being Videotaped
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 11 Jul 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Fanshawe (Live in Asheville)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 6 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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We Don't Have a Sail But We Have a Rudder
Rock - Released by Topshelf Records on 20 Jul 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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A Watched Pot (2003)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 9 Aug 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
El Ten Eleven on Audiotree Live
Alternative & Indie - Released by Audiotree Music on 20 Aug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I'm Right Here (feat. E. Mosseri)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Alcopop! on 28 Jul 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Transitions (Live)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Joyful Noise Recordings on 4 Nov 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo