Protect Your Heart talks to us about their new album, [Re]Introduction. You think it could be our album of the year?
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
Kean: Honestly, not much of a story really. We had been putting some ideas down and brainstorming a name at one point, when we had decided to pursue the project more seriously, but nothing ever really clicked until one day in a session Jake just kind of said “what about Protect Your Heart.” Right then and there it just kind of made sense given the style of music we were making. Myself, coming from the brand and design world, saw the visual potential in that name and kind of took it and ran. I started to develop concept art and logos and different visual treatments, and at that point, it just stuck. I think aside from the fact that it matches the vibe of the music, it’s also kind of relevant, conceptually, to all of us as individuals, and a name that a lot of listeners of this style of music can probably relate to on a certain level, too.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Matty: All of us in the band are connected through the EDM scene, and have collaborated with some of the same artists over the years. A few years ago, I wrote ‘Fireproof’ with an artist named High Society, and he later introduced me to the guys. Before PYH, I sang for a pop band called Beta State and we released a few albums.
Kean: We all started playing in garage bands and at local shows as kids, which eventually evolved into DJing and producing dance music in the 2010s. Playing shows together, and then some of us living together, we all connected and bonded over our musical influences and histories. When we took a trip to the final Warped Tour together, we were inspired to try and make some pop-punk songs, and a few years later, here we are.
How would you describe your sound?
Matty: Pop punk with breakdowns!
Kean: What Matty said. Our mantra for PYH writing is “try to make the heaviest pop music possible.”
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Matty: We all grew up listening to a lot of the same music. Metallica and Blink 182 are the most common influences between us. I also grew up listening to tons of diva singers like Whitney Houston, Freddie Mercury, and Steve Perry, which definitely influenced how I think of writing vocal melodies.
Kean: Collectively, our influences are pretty far and wide. We all listen to pretty much everything, from the obvious bands in our scene, to pop and hip-hop artists, toheavier dance music like Drum & Bass. If we all had to agree on a few artists in our specific lane, it would probably be BMTH, ADTR, Silverstein, The Used, etc.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Matty: The Midnight – Heroes
Kean: A Drum & Bass song by REAPER & Josh Rubin called RUNAWAY.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
Matty: I love going to random shows and discovering new bands. There’s so much crazy talent out there, and it’s super fun to show support and make friends with other artists in the scene.
Kean: These days it’s mostly via the Spotify algorithm. We all share music back and forth via text so that’s the other most common discovery method.
Who is your dream producer?
Matty: Rick Rubin – he’s worked with just about everybody, but I like his ability to think out-of-the-box.
Kean: Jerry Finn (RIP) did such incredible work with every artist he produced. These days, John Feldmann is probably the most comparable in our scene. But to be honest, we’re all producers and I’m pretty proud of our work on this album, so I would probably just keep our approach the same until we feel like we want or need to involve someone else. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Matty: Chad Gilbert from NFG. I love what he’s done with ADTR and NFG. Two of my favorite bands of all time.
Kean: For me personally, Tom DeLonge, but I also think it would be an incredible experience to work with Jeremy McKinnon given our sound.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Matty: I’ve always been passionate about being a fan of music. I truly love the art of it. I’m inspired to keep writing because there’s no limit to how creative you can get…it’s a complete open canvas that challenges you differently each time you write.
Kean: Like Matty, music has always been an integral part of my life and who I am as a person. I can’t imagine a day without it. I have an insatiable drive to create and music is one of the ways that I am able to be expressive. So as long as that drive still exists and it’s exciting and challenging, I will be motivated to continue making it.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Matty: When I start a new song, I start with the chorus and always sing what I call “wizards” – paying no attention to lyrics and singing whatever melody and words sound pleasing or inspiring while I am in flow. I like letting it feel organic. Most of the time, the wizard lyrics I come up with end up staying in the song. For ‘Never Gonna Leave You’, I wrote that chorus in 10 minutes and kept all of my wizard lyrics, then we worried about the rest of the song once that felt solid.
Kean: A lot of the writing of the instrumentals on this record happened before we even met Matty. Back in those days, we would basically meet up on Friday nights or Saturdays and just write until it was 2 or 3 AM. Throughout the week, we’d noodle away on the guitars or write melodies or drums in the computer and bring them to those sessions and see what happened. There was never really a “process.” Because we all produce, our “process” is basically, get an idea in the computer as quickly as we can before we lose the idea, share it with everyone, and if everyone digs it, we work together to add/subtract/refine it. With whatever new material comes next, I imagine that the process will morph and evolve with Matty’s involvement and input on the front end. Next time around, we won’t have to hand Matty a folder of 50+ ideas and have him figure it out. We’ll probably start with the vocals and build the song structures around that instead of the other way around.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Matty: I consider them all friends, so it’s easy to connect! I like getting to know them and actually making it feel personal.
Kean: We’re pretty active on social media and make it a point to reply to every comment and message on every platform, but typically, Instagram is where we see the most engagement. The easiest way to connect with us is to honestly just send us a message or leave a comment. We’ll always reply.
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What’s next for you?
Matty: We already have a full album of demos ready to go! They’re gonna be pretty damn heavy.
Kean: We have some shows coming up, hopefully some apparel and more music videos and video content, and of course, new music hopefully as early as January. We’ll see.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
Matty: Writing a heavy pop punk record has been my bucket list for so long. Stoked to have it all coming together!
Kean: Just to say thank you to anybody who listens to us, follows us, supports our project in any way whatsoever. We’re just four guys who wanted to write some music for ourselves, as an experiment, and never really intended to make an album out of it. So the fact that anyone cares or listens or follows, we’re extremely grateful for any and all of that. We hope each listener can find something that resonates with them and connects with them on a personal level because it’s all very special and meaningful to us. This project is entirely DIY, self-written, self-recorded, self-produced, and every note and lyric is coming from a sincere place and is a genuine reflection of who we are as people. We’re very proud of this record and hope that other people can find something meaningful in it too.
BIO
The formation of Protect Your Heart was as unique as it was unlikely.
What started as a weekend getaway to the final Vans Warped Tour, ended in a four-year journey through writing, recording, and producing a debut full-length album.
Meeting through California’s vibrant dance music community, longtime friends and producers/DJs Jake Bratrude (Rudebrat, Jacob Lethal Beats, Darkk Matter, An Error Occurred), Anthony Palazzole (not sorry, Them Lost Boys), and Kean Bartelman (Wild Boyz!) decided to take on a new challenge—dust off their guitars, and get back to their roots.
What was intended to be a three-song pop-punk experiment in 2018, ultimately spiraled into weekly writing sessions, 50+ demos, and eventually, their debut LP—[re]Introduction.
In February 2020, a chance phone call with Matty McDonald (Beta State, Ashcroft) would help PYH solidify their core roster—adding the vocalist to the fold after years of writing without one.
Less than a month later, the world shut down, but Protect Your Heart pushed on.
Undeterred from achieving their ultimate goal, the band hosted online writing sessions, recorded demos in their own studios, and collaborated on lyrics, music video development, and final mixes and masters over the internet.
After years of hard work, PYH released their debut single, “Don’t Count Me Out” on the three-year anniversary of the project’s inception.
The release of the first single marked the group’s reintroduction to the pop-punk world, and like the rest of the album, is a pure reflection of their relentless DIY attitude and motivation to make the music they love.
Read more about Protect Your Heart: 2021 Awards, Review of “Never Gonna Leave You”, Review of “Last To Love You”, and Review of “Fireproof.”
