Harp & Lyre| Studio Update
Written By: Jameson Ketchum

One of the most well known unsigned bands in the heavy genre right now , Harp & Lyre gave Hopecore.com a sneak peek into their time at Glow in the Dark Studio where they are currently wrapping up their next record with producer Matt McClellan. McClellan, most known for this work with Hawkboy, To Speak of Wolves, Becoming the Archetype and more, was also kind enough to weigh in on the process alongside vocalist Tyler Carder. Expect the new record from Harp & Lyre sometime this spring.

How is the album coming along and how do you feel about the progress so far?

Tyler Carder: The album is coming along really well. We are so stoked to be working with Matt McClellan here at Glow in the Dark. We have a little less than a week left to finish the album and have only a handful of songs that require any tracking. Matt has already begun mixing the songs that are completed or near completion and they are sounding big but natural at the same time. We may have trouble matching the enormity of the sound at shows. I’m very excited because I feel that this album will be able to more accurately portray our band and match our live sound.

Matt McClellan: We have a week left. We have to finish some vocals and I’ve already started mixing and it’s some of the best mixes I have ever done. It’s really heavy hitting but it still retains a sense of rawness. So, I think the progress is going great. They are doing good.

How does it compare to expectations prior to coming into the studio?

TC: It’s hard to know what to really expect coming in because every engineer/producer is different but it’s been really great. Matt is a great dude. He is very passionate about what he is doing and understands what it takes to capture a heavy sound. He stands behind what we are trying to do with this album and I think that makes the difference. That combination leaves nothing but room for a great creative environment and it’s something that we really needed in order to do this album.

Matt, what were your expectations prior to Harp coming into the studio?

MM: I had heard Harp & Lyre’s older music and it had a lot of keyboard and stuff kids are into these days. Before they came in they told me they had two new guitar players in the band so that was a big change and I was wondering what the new music was going to sound like. It came in being a good bit different than what I had heard them do before but it’s still in the same ballpark. But I think it’s even better.

What was the tracking process and why was it tracked in that way?

MM: The tracking process went really well. We started with drums like most projects but from that point on we did a song at a time. That’s something I had noticed from the way the last The Chariot album was tracked and it seemed to work really well. It keeps everybody fresh so there’s not a bunch of guys sitting around not getting to do anything. So, we tried our best to get guitars out of the way for one song then bass then vocals then move on to the next song. This process seems to keep everyone happy.

TC: Tracking this way was different than how we have done it in the past for sure but I think it really helped having it all spread out like it was. I have had a lot to work on myself so it was nice to not feel super pressured to do it all at once. I was able to track the songs I was finished writing and not have to worry about them after that and focus on the work that I still had in front of me.

Sounds like there is some down time for some of you as you approach the end of recording. What have you guys been doing to keep yourselves occupied?

TC: Netflix. That is about it. Well, that and the Nintendo 64 that is down in the game room. Dylan has been finished tracking drums for two weeks and really has nothing else to do on the record so he has been watching everything on Netflix. We are usually not so boring but our sleep schedule got kind of screwed up preventing us from getting out to explore what ATL has to offer. The average bedtime for us has been 10am so our mornings are pretty dark. Only seeing the sunlight for a couple hours a day or less is starting to wear on us.

What are the plans after the studio?

TC: We will be rushing to get back to our families for Thanksgiving and will be home through the end of the year. We still have gear we will need to acquire before touring again so jobs are going to be a priority until then. Once we get back on the road we will be trying to spread out and hit markets we have yet to tour. We plan on being on the road as much as we possibly can in 2012.