Project Description

Interview with

HOUSE OF STRANGERS

(Q&A)

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House Of Strangers

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Having worked with Emmy award winning producer Ric Markmann in Los Angeles to cut their latest EP, Canberra rock band ‘House of Strangers’ are turning heads with their blend of sweet melodies and psychedelic groove.  I am here today with singer and keyboardist, Chloe, from the band to know a little more about their single “Poison Pill”.

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How was House of Strangers formed?

My brother Liam and I have always played music together. As we went through High School, playing music turned into writing music. We loved the freedom of creating our own songs and decided to form a band with some very musical friends, Angus and Evan, from college and uni. And House of Strangers has been our passion ever since.

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Does the band share a similar taste in music? Or is it the musical infusion of different tastes in style that catalyze House of Strangers unique sound?

There are definitely artist we all just adore, such as Tame Impala and Radiohead. But there are also artists that we enjoy independently. I’m more into the indie rock/pop music scene and listen to bands such as the Preatures, Ball Park Music and Haim – this influences the more melodic pop sound I bring to the group. The boys are all studying jazz at university, so this gives many of our songs more of a chill vibe. But we all love to rock out.

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What was is like travelling to the US and recording your debut EP? Any interesting session stories?

It was quite a surreal experience. We were in the music capital of the world, and it’s hard not to get overwhelmed at times. The professionalism of the industry really stands out. But it was also a lot of fun, and the studio we recorded in encouraged us to improvise and enjoy ourselves. For the song Poison Pill, we wanted to create a catchy backing vocal line and singing own my own just wasn’t cutting it. So all 4 of us squished into the vocal booth together and just sang our hearts out on this vocal line together. It was a real bonding moment, and captured just how happy we were to be all together working on something we’d put so much energy into.

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How did you find working with Emmy Award winning producer Ric Markmann?

Working with Ric brought out the best in us. He collaborated on everything from the sounds of the individual parts to the arrangements and structure of the songs. It was incredible to work with someone so confident and watching how fast Ric would come up with solutions to problems was amazing. All the tracks on the EP have Ric’s fingerprints on them.

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What can we expect to hear when we hit play and listen to your EP?

Some absolute bangers! We have some more poppier numbers and moments of true alternative heavy rock. There really is something for everyone on the EP and you’ll definitely have some of the chorus line stuck in your head.

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Have you got a title for the EP yet?

Having had a few working titles, but we are heading towards “Tender Lies”.

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Please tell me more about the single Poison Pill? What was the inspiration behind the title?

Sometimes songs fall into place really quickly, and it was like that with Poison Pill. Liam was playing a bass line, and we started jamming on it together and the other parts fell into place almost like they were already written. The lyrics are about paranoia and revenge in relationships, but in a cheeky, light hearted fashion. Poison pill is an expression used when companies try to prevent a hostile takeover – this notion fits neatly into that of a hostile relationship.

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Can we expect to see you guys on the road anytime soon?

Yes! We are planning on touring regional NSW later on this year so stay tuned.

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House Of Strangers

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AMNPLIFY – DB