Artist Profile: This is The Glasshouse
This is The Glasshouse, an electronic, post-rock project fronted by Zeke Dukart, cries out from the depths on their newest project, 867, eviscerated by rumbling horns and plaintively spoken lyrics.
867, which was written by Dukart and his frequent collaborator Cole Buchinski, takes the shy experimentation of the project’s earlier records, including As Small as Ants, to drastically new heights, operating on levels of simultaneous angst and a sort of beautiful simplicity. Dukart, in many ways, echoes this sentiment of growth himself. While his earlier projects were more based on wholly electronic and chamber sounds, he feels as though a shift to guitar-based instrumentation has brought something new to his music that was only partially present before.
Yet, throughout his journey, his mission has remained the same: to make music that aligns with what he enjoys. He feels as though 867, more than anything he has made thus far, achieves this goal in its entirety.
“And I remember just listening to [the project], and we're sitting in Cole's house…and I was just saying like, ‘I think I just made my own favorite music right now’.”
Yet, 867, in its open vulnerability, has a disarming quality that separates it from the often dense and opaque products of such experimentation. Its tracklist alternates between horn-based and guitar-oriented pieces, yet both feel cohesive insofar as they contribute to the clear receptiveness of the project. In fact, Dukart finds the project’s consistency to be what sets it apart from his earlier records..
“I think it's just consistent. There's no little songs that kind of just don't mean anything. Every song feels like a massive statement.”
Every song on 867 indeed has something to say, and the immensity mentioned by Zeke is nowhere more apparent than on “January”, the 4th track on the album.
Over an infectious guitar riff and beating drums, Dukart etches out the innermost stirrings of his soul, bearing private triumphs and embarrassments with a repeated refrain: “I get excited when”.
“For that entire second half of that song, which is brutal… I remember recording vocals for that. I needed to be alone… And it's like a studio on campus so [my collaborators] were just sitting in the other room just talking or playing instruments. They couldn't hear me but I was screaming… And I got and it was just, I was so sweaty. And I'll probably never forget that experience man.”
In fact, the experience of simply making the record may have been one of the most influential of Dukart’s life.
While he is “burnt out” from the grueling process of arranging and recording the expansive project, he plans to spend the next couple of months assembling a large ensemble to perform This is The Glasshouse’s songs live in the Vancouver area.
As This is The Glasshouse takes its next, guitar-driven steps, they will certainly surpass the tentative treads of the project’s early form, taking on bold and experimental manifestations in the process.