Protection nod to 80s, 90s and percussive sounds in new exploratory project

Protection – the alter ego project of CHVRCHES’ Iain Cook and fellow musician and producer Scott Paterson – have announced their forthcoming second EP, ‘SEEDS II’.

The EP will drop on September 1, although the duo has shared lead single ‘Thirst Shrine’ available to check out now. A new single from the EP will drop every two weeks until this release date to form the finalised record.

‘Thirst Shrine’ employs jingling chimes paying homage to the 80s with skittish hi-hats and layered bass sounds. It meanders through breakbeat sounds to drum ‘n’ bass at its height, with a shifted pitch vocal adding to the mysterious ambience.

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“‘Thirst Shrine’ started off as a little seed idea that I sent to Iain, the vocal chop and the drum break stuff. We bounced it back and forth until it sounded right,” explains Scott of the duo.

“I heard the demo while touring with CHVRCHES after lockdown,” adds Iain. “It felt so fresh since we hadn’t really dabbled with drum ‘n’ bass so directly yet. The vocal chop inspired me to push further. Between Austin and Chicago I got Covid, so I just lay in bed feverishly chopping up for hours working on it. Getting the bass right took about five layers of sounds, we wanted it enormous, enveloping like early UK dubstep or drum ‘n’ bass.”

The element of bass is something which the pair have feverishly experimented with in their forthcoming record, keen to not limit themselves to a specific genre.

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“I certainly think we’re both enjoying big bass at the moment and will probably continue that through new tracks,” Scott concludes. “We don’t have a set direction in mind and we don’t really talk about that. When we’re making music it’s just making whatever we want in that moment. The entire premise of the project was for us to have fun together and to us I think the fun is in the exploration of music and seeing what our version of a known style sounds like.”

Protection’s sophomore EP ‘Seeds II’ is available now via Saint Lucky Records. Check it out here.

Niamh Ingram is Mixmag’s Weekend Editor, follow her on Twitter