Interview: Catching Up With The Horizon Problem + Stream “Furiosa”

Hailing from NYC, prog-punk rockers The Horizon Problem combine a wealth of genres with expert instrumentation to craft thrilling new sounds. Their latest single, “Furiosa,” is their boldest sonic step forward yet as the track grabs you by the collar from the outset and never lets go.

To celebrate the release of “Furiosa,” GroundSounds sent over some interview questions to the band to help get to know them better. Check it all out below and be sure to follow The Horizon Problem here for more.

https://soundcloud.com/thehorizonproblem/furiosa/

Hi, The Horizon Problem! Congrats on your new single. Can you tell us a little more on who you are and how you first got into making music?



Thank you! The Horizon Problem is a progressive/alt-rock band that started in Queens, NYC. I think we all united under our attraction to the flexibility of progressive music, and we try to write songs that flow effortlessly while maintaining a bit of technical and musical flare. For example, we love writing things in weird time signatures that also stand out as hooks, and that the average listener wouldn’t feel tension listening to. It definitely treads the lines between prog, math rock, alt rock, and pop.

We also felt pretty strongly that we wanted a singer (and no screaming! though that’s something we stretch sometimes…) which seems to be a bit less common in today’s prog/math rock space.

What’s your songwriting process like? Who are some of your biggest influences?

Almost everything comes out of a riff or snippet of something that one of us will bring to the room. “Furiosa” for example started with the main bass line, and just kind of grew from there. We are all equally involved in the creative process for the most part, and we spend a huge amount of time fine tweaking parts and fitting things together during practice sessions. Occasionally we’ll record stems for each other to take home and spend time with too – it really depends on the song.

As for influences, this is going to vary for each one of us drastically, so I’ll add a caveat in saying that I speak solely for myself here (Justin – bass). I think what I really tried to channel when joining THP was the Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria, Pink Floyd, Gorillaz, and even some RHCP. I’m an avid music listener and searcher – so it’s fair to say I’ll be influenced by different things each week. Some of my recent favorite releases have been from Khruangbin, Kero Kero Bonito, Kikagaku Moyo, 79.5, and Hop Along.

But again, this answer is going to be wildly different for each of us. I’m not a big fan of heavier music with growling vocals or anything too, too technical (e.g. Dream Theater or The Dillinger Escape Plan), which is an opinion usually met with affectionate eye-rolling from the rest of the guys haha.

We’re all enormously huge fans of the band Bent Knee though! Especially their live show.

What is “Furiosa” about?

The intro buildup of guitar and bass made Stannis think of a car chase in the desert and he ended up drawing inspiration from Mad Max 4. The final title “Furiosa” is an obvious nod to the character from the movie franchise. 


Any new NYC-based artists/venues/purveyors of the arts you could turn our readers onto?



Too many, but yes:



Venues: I think we all really appreciate what venues like Gold Sounds and Our Wicked Lady are doing in Brooklyn. They really allow a ton of bands to get on stage and do their thing, regardless of history and popularity, and that really helps bands like us get in front of people.

Bands/Artists: I’d definitely check out Sirintip! An incredibly amazing talented artist who is signed to GroundUP (Snarky Puppy’s label). Also gotta shout out to With Sails Ahead, and They are Dancer, who will be playing our release show with us next month!

And not NYC, but I will take every chance to promote Bent Knee because they should be heard by more people.

Where can we follow you and where can our readers catch you live next?

We’re available on every streaming service, and we’ll occasionally post on FB and IG. Come check out the release show for “Furiosa” and our next single (due to drop in a few weeks!) at Arlene’s Grocery on Saturday, May 4th! We’ll share the stage with With Sails Ahead, and They Are Dancer.

Any parting thoughts? Open platform!

Just a sincere ‘thank you’ to anyone who made it this far.