Earlier this year, the tandem of Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta began their venture under the banner of House of Protection. As the celebrated unit that was a driving force in Fever333, in addition to their own projects in The Chariot for Harrison and Night Verses for Improta - the move was one that was as ambitious as it was obvious. 

Having earned a reputation for their enthralling live performances and dynamic contributions on record, the duo sought out to continue their creative surge, this time finding their own voice and asserting their own wherewithal as songwriters and storytellers. Equipped with a lengthy resume that loaned itself to expertise, combined with the kind of visceral explosiveness that really can't be taught, the pair opted to create a vehicle for their progressive musical vision. 

Thus, House of Protection was born. 

In the subsequent months since their formal introduction, a succession of singles in "It's Supposed to Hurt", "Learn to Forget" and "Being One" underscored the creative cohesion that bonds the two. A potent meld of stylized rock, hardcore inflection and punk rock posture resonated in a collection of entries that felt rebellious in spirit and authentic in artistry.

Long regarded as an obvious spark in a greater collective, it was now apparent that Harrison and Improta had collectively caught flame. Achieving peak momentum, the tandem have now announced their pending debut EP, Galore, due out via Red Bull Records on September 13th. Further emphasizing their disregard for expectation and their penchant for creative risk, the pair sought to bring a longstanding idea to life with the unveiling of their latest visual clip for "Pulling Teeth". 

Complimenting the high-octane, heart-racing cadence of their music, House of Protection traveled to a remote location in India to take centerstage inside what is known as the "Well of Death" among locals. Equal parts motorsports and circus sideshow, local drivers defy the laws of gravity by racing around the makeshift wooden cylinder. The adrenaline dump plays out magnificently as a music video, while offering greater commentary on the future of House of Protection. 

In addition to the kind of platform Harrison and Improta now have to explore their own creative ambition, the peril in making a music video like "Pulling Teeth" speaks to the kind of risk that goes hand in hand with putting it all on the line with House of Protection. 

Finding a sense of artistic affirmation and self-reliance, Harrison and Improta, along with trusted collaborators like producer Jordan Fish, are wholly committed to achieving their full creative potential. Disregarding norms, expectations and sometimes their own physical safety in the process, the end result is powerful testament to intellectual independence, musical diversity and the kind of catharsis that can only come crafting a damn good song. 

Stephen Harrison spoke about his outlook with the new venture. He shared the value of allies like Jordan Fish and detailed how the personal investment of House of Protection has come with the biggest payoff for both he and Aric Improta. 

This video for “Pulling Teeth” - how long have you been sitting on the idea of filming in Ahmedabad, India and how did you first happen upon something as ominous as The Well of Death?

STEPHEN HARRISON - I’ve had this idea for 11 years or so. I saw a documentary about The Well of Death on IFC or something a long time ago. It was nuts because I’ve seen motorcycles ride around in those spheres at fairs, but this was even crazier because it had cars and it looked like it was defying physics. I always wanted to play in the middle of one, but I haven’t been in a project where it felt right until now.

It sounds like the trek to get to the location was pretty arduous. Did you come across any other roadblocks in making this video happen? Specifically, how were you received among the people there?

HARRISON - The drive was pretty gnarly. The first location we were going to got shut down and that was three hours away. So we went to our backup location and that was eight hours away. Once we got there, we had to hand over some cash to make it happen. But after that it was chill. Well, actually not really because we really didn’t have much time at all to shoot the fucking thing. Like 4 hours.

There is an inherent level of risk that goes into pulling off a video shoot like this - do you feel like risk is part of the creative DNA of House of Protection?

HARRISON - Yeah, in one way or another. Whether it’s taking a big creative risk with a weird song idea or with our voices, or a physical risk like the well of death or hanging upside down from a streetlight. This whole band is about taking risks.

Galore officially marks the first EP release from the HOP. Given how HOP came to be, what is the feeling like having lived with these songs & ideas for quite some time and now watching them be released into the wild?

HARRISON - It’s actually so crazy. We’ve been working on the songs and videos for so long that I kind of forgot like “Oh these actually have to come out one day.” It feels good though. It’s been pretty well-received so far. 

As a duo, you seem to be operating with a level of creative freedom that has really unlocked something special. Has House of Protection met the expectations you had when you first decided to start the project? How has it evolved from its initial concept to the here and now of Galore?

HARRISON - I’d say so, yeah. In the early writing sessions of House, we were just trying to figure out what our voices sounded like. Like what came naturally and what felt good and what was outside of our register. But by the time ‘GALORE’ was wrapping, I feel like we had both evolved a lot vocally and that opened the door to options musically that perhaps we didn’t think were possible when we started.

Even in your previous projects, an obvious common denominator with you both as performers and songwriters has been the energy that goes into your craft. Because you don't really adhere to any one genre, would you say that the baseline for what makes HOP, HOP is that energy that you have become known for?

HARRISON - Yeah I’d definitely say the energy for sure, but also Aric and I see eye to eye on a lot of different things that form the identity of this band. We’re ‘90s kids so ‘90s everything comes into play: movies, skateboarding, fashion…nostalgia in general. Just vibes that kinda feel lost these days sometimes. “Remember when you were young, and this felt like that and when you went here it felt like this? Let's write a song that feels like that.” That kind of thing.

How crucial was working with someone like Jordan Fish? As the producer, what kind of role did he play in better refining your sound so that HOP could achieve it’s full potential on this first outing?

HARRISON - Jordan is extremely important. He’s my best friend and I have a lot of trust and love for him. And as a producer he’s a genius. So, it was sort of a no brainer to get with him and see what we could cook up together. We all know he can write a huge memorable chorus, but he’s also so good at pushing you in the studio. Honestly, he’s a big reason why I feel comfortable singing at all. He just knows how to get you there as a vocalist. He gets weird with sounds too, which we love. His contributions are invaluable.