The debut EP out now, GALORE, ties together a multitude of influences into a tidy package.
House of Protection are a supergroup of sorts. We’re using the term ‘group’ loosely as it’s a duo made up of drummer Aric Improta and guitarist Stephen Harris.
Formed from the ashes of other bands, both musicians are known for incredible musicianship as well as their showmanship. Harris’ chaotic riffs, stage presence and tone lends itself well to the precise, clinically tight drumming of Aric, both guys knowing when to push the rhythm, pull it all back, and when to descend into mathy, chaotic frenzy. This is on show on their debut EP GALORE, produced alongside producer extraordinaire Jordan Fish.
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The EP is truly the voice and identity of Aric and Stephen combined, blending electronic sounds, industrial, hardcore and metal – so I start there: what comes first?
“Damn, that’s a good question,” begins Aric. “I think it’s song by song. I know that “It’s Supposed to Hurt” started with a drum beat, but “Being One” started with production”
Stephen nods.
“It kinda just depends, but I think for both of us, that—” Aric motions clicking a finger to signify the start of an idea, “… sets the tone to lead us in different directions rather than accidentally writing the same song over and over.”
“Another one that’s been cool for production was “Better Off”, Steve had a few ideas that he wanted to figure out, so we collaborated with Jordan [Fish] on that and the whole song was pretty much built around production. I think you can kinda tell, when you listen for it, which ones are built around a metal structure or an electronic structure.” Aric concludes.
Recalling the writing of the first track, “Pulling Teeth”, Stephen recalls “I think that one was electronic first. The breakdown and stuff came so much later, the guitar-based structure came after the electronic vibe that we were thinking of.”
“I would say that one is a little more electronic leaning, as far as how we set out to write it.”
Because of this workflow, the guys won’t jam an idea until it is reasonably developed. They’ll start writing ideas that might sound cool, but they’re not sure how it’ll all translate live. This can extend from writing stuff that’s difficult or impossible to play, or the feel, drop or tempo isn’t right.
With the limitation of only two people in the band, I ask if thought of the live show is a consideration while writing, or if they just write a record and figure it out later. The guys chuckle before they respond.
“I feel like it definitely comes up, we’ll be like ‘Damn this is cool, how are we gonna do this?’” says Aric with a grin.
“If something sounds cool, we’re not trying to fuck it up. We’re a two piece so there’s gonna be tracks, that aspect we’ve already agreed on, so we don’t stress on it too hard. I think if anything it’s more vocally what we can pull off live.”
“Yeah, that’s more what we’re aware of when recording,” explains Stephen. “As far as vibe and parts and stuff, we’re not gonna take something out that’s hard to reproduce live. We’ll keep the vibe.”
Recording wise, they’ll start building songs with Jordan, demoing and recording as they go, without a clear delineation between ‘end of songwriting’ and ‘start of recording’.
They’ll finish songs, take a week or two to sit with things, and while they end up re-recording a lot of stuff, the process isn’t always so clear. House of Protection works on songs until they feel finished, giving themselves time to process what they’ve written.
They’re not afraid to leave “unfinished” ideas in the final masters either, Aric acknowledging that sometimes they can’t beat the feel and emotion of a first take while they’re still figuring out songs.
“We’ve definitely fallen in that,” says Aric, describing the process of inverse of accidentally overcooking ideas. “And then had to rewind, back track, do a song that we didn’t expect. It’s hard not to! It’s so tempting to be like ‘We can do anything with this’, but at the same time, you wanna feel like it’s still you.”
Having had his name mentioned a few times, we speak to the choice to bring producer Jordan Fish on board at all, both guys obviously adept at songwriting, producing and more.
“I feel like he’s one of the greatest rock producers.” says Stephen. “Aric and I, when it comes to our respective instruments, have a really good handle on that, songwriting and composing, stuff like that.”
“But when it comes to production, we have a lot of ideas, and we can execute an okay amount of them, but as far as collaborators we’re really not looking outside of our immediate group of friends.”
“Also, because it’s the first time that we’ve done vocals.” says Aric, chiming in. He explains further that while playing and singing, it can be really difficult to assess whether the ideas are good or not. Having a producer there to offer feedback, as well as being able to play back the recordings allows the guys to hear it from a fresh perspective. Jordan being such a good friend allows them to express themselves and try ideas without fear of judgment.
“Given our situation,” says Aric, referring to the fact they’re a two-piece. “And some of our past experiences, like Stephen said, we want to keep this a tight-knit group with our friends and not go beyond that.”
One could say they’re cultivating a… House of Protection for their ideas and songs. The duo are bringing together more influences on more new music. Playing live has helped the two guys find the ebb and flow of the music, which in turn is helping them shape the recordings and production process.
The future is looking bright for the duo who are currently forging a new path somewhere between metal, punk, electronic and hardcore.
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