hERON (yeah, spell it just like that) is a long-distance, Seattle-slash-San Antonio collaboration between Progeny of Chisme/Ghost Palace (MPC, guitar, records) and Rob Castro of Grayskul/Chisme/Ghost Palace (bass). Instrumental trip-hop infused with a gloomy dreamlike melancholy, hERON’s cinematic sad bangers draw as much from psych rock, 70’s pop and Twin Peaks as they do from Seattle’s chief exports of hip hop and grunge. hERON’s 12-song debut release is available on tape, wax, and digital.
Pro Media Mag : First of all please introduce yourself to our readers.
Erick- Hi my name is Erick Frias I go by the Alias of Progeny. I am the producer of this project. I make all the beats that contain samples off of records, I play Guitar, synths and do the Drum programming. I sometimes lay down bass lines on the synths for ideas
Castro- I’m rob castro, I play bass and help engineer and mix hERON…I sometimes add keys and synth.
Pro Media Mag : Who or what inspired you to get into music industry?
Erick- I didn’t come from a family of music background. It really just happened to be for the love of music and always wanted to make it in my own way. If I had to choose though I would say Nirvana and hieroglyphics. The Beatles & Blackmoon, Dinasour Jr & Big L, skateboarding & my parents stash of records.
Castro- I’ve been working and making music for 30 years, i suppose it’s more appropriate to ask what keeps me in the music industry. I love making music and playing bass, putting out my own records has been a life dream. But I’m more into just making music now than performing out, or making videos etc. I’m inspired by the many talented friends i have that all make music an art. It’s what we do
Pro Media Mag : Tell us about your Debut Album ?
Erick-hERON is collaborative project from Castro and I, him living in Seattle, WA. And I in San Antonio, Tejas. (Now living in SEA) When working on the self titled album. I did all the beats I would send to him and he would send me back the bass tracks so basically I would chop up the bass stems and make everything fit in the songs of what I thought sounded right. I like to describe this album went with all sorts of sounds of things I was going through at the time of heart breaks, loneliness, depression and try to over come all that with the sounds I created along with Castro’s bass lines. I listen to all genres of music so I put all that into it. From psyche, pop rock, cinematic to hip hop. And this is what came out of it.
Castro- Progeny and i worked on this sending tracks back and forth over the internet for over a year. It really was a completely modern project in that way. We would get together and work in the same room just a couple of times a year…We had used a couple of these tracks for rap albums, and i asked if we could just keep some of them for ourselves. When you put a vocal on top, the concept of the song becomes the vocal. I really had strong emotions about these cuts, and when that concept would change i felt let down. I wanted hERON to leave the interpretation of the concept open to the listener and not tell them what to feel. I think that makes this album really special, or at least very special to me.
Pro Media Mag : Any particular track of the album that’s your favorite?
Erick- flipout, Evilfortress & hERON. Are my favorite. Each song has its own mind ride I make sad bangers and that’s my emotional outcome . Lyrics describe everything in songs. but I try to give the listeners their own imagery of their own. It’s their own roller coaster ride they make what they make out of it.
castro: More like favorites. I have love for all the tracks; i dont think any of these could be considered filler. That being said, my favorites are Evil Fortress, Flipout, and One Day It All Ends. Those are some heady songs, but without the more upbeat stuff in between it would be a way more somber album.
Pro Media Mag : What kind of response you have received from the release?
Erick-We’ve been grateful to have had nothing but great responses on this album. All I can do is just keep making music on how I feel. That’s really all I can say about that.
Castro: Critically we have been getting a great response. All positive reviews from blogs and local press. As a self release, we didn’t have as big a push as maybe we should have. Both Progeny and I each have our own loyal fanbase and have begun doing live shows as hERON , but we’ re still trying to reach a larger audience.
Pro Media Mag : What attracts you more, performing on stage or working in studios?
Erick- Both. Studio is more intimate so it’s more of how I’m going to piece it together then having Castro lay the bass line on it. Performing live is another way of just having fun up on stage and creating things that were not in the studio so it’s more visually/ sound attracting when performing.
Castro: I want to do some shows in Europe, but otherwise, i really do like what the studio allows artistically. Not all of what we do in the studio can be recreated live.
Pro Media Mag : What’s your favorite music genre?
Erick- psychedelic, Rock, Hiphop, outlaw country, Texas Psyche, Balladas, Romanticas, Bollywood and old international soundtracks. Really anything
Castro- instrumental beats,for sure.
Pro Media Mag : Have you set some goals to achieve?
Erick- My main goal is to keep creating and maybe start branching out to making music for movies, commercials, short films of that sort.
Castro- I would personally like to play some shows outside of the US. We definitely have plans for the 2nd hERON record..
Pro Media Mag : Are you working on any new project?
Erick-finishing up a new ep for hERON which will be out really soon following that is the 2nd full album of hERON. Other projects I have finished is BIG KIDS RUN, SB The Moor & Progeny Ep, Chisme (Fakefourinc) BLKWTR and Ghost Palace. Keeping busy and making sure music is being pumped out of me while I’m still here.
Castro: Definitely working on our 2nd album. It’s not a rushed process, and both Progeny and I have a lot of other art/music/work on our plates; but we have it recorded, and we need to edit and mix now. We have a digital EP were about ready to drop as well.