Scott's Spotlight #41- Huis
Originally posted to Facebook on August 21, 2025
link to post:
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Welcome to Scott’s Spotlight (#scottsspotlight) issue #41. For more information about this series, please click here:
https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk
In the spotlight this week are Canadian proggers Huis. Regular readers of my content may remember that I mentioned in my spotlight on Mystery (linked below) that Mystery main man Michel St-Père was also a member of this band. Huis, however, is not just a side project of his. It is a legitimate band of its own. In fact, St-Père is not one of the funding members.
Huis was first formed in 2009 by French-Canadians Pascal Lapierre (Keyboards) and Michel Joncas (Bass) after they took a trip to the Netherlands together. Huis translates to “home doors” in French and “house” in Dutch. The two made demos of several songs they wrote over the next few years. Over the next few years they gradually added William Regnier (drums), Sylvain Descoteaux (vocals) and the aforementioned Michel St-Pere (guitar) to the band. Their music is inspired by 70’s classic prog, using Hammond organ, Mellotron and Moog synths.
The line-up was complete by 2013, and they would release their first album the following year, titled “Despite Guardian Angels”. Their albums are released on the Unicorn label, headed by St-Père. The songs range in length from 3:00 to 9:35. I have enjoyed “Oude Kirk 1”, “Oude Kirk 2”, and “Write Your Name” from this release. Oude Kirk is the Dutch name for “Old Church” and there is a famous Oude Kirk in Amsterdam, which is the oldest building standing in the city, making it likely that it is inspired by the two founding members’ travels through the Netherlands. The longest track is the 9:35 “Little Anne”. The album has been well-received, garnering an average rating of 3.88 out of 5 stars on Prog Archives. At some point after this album was released in 2014, founding keyboardist Pascal Lapierre had to leave Huis for “family reasons”.
The second album features the 4 remaining members of the band with St-Père contributing keyboards along with 4 guest musicians: Nathan Vanheuverzwijn / piano (Tracks 1,10), Johnny Maz / synth solo (Track 2), Gerben Klazinga / synth solo (Track 3), Benoit Dupuis / keyboards (Track 4). Additionally, Johanne Laplante provides flute (Track 5). The album was released in 2016, and titled “Neither in Heaven”. I have enjoyed the following tracks: “Synesthesia” (the longest track on the album at 13:09), “Entering the Gallery”, “The Red Gypsy”, and “I Held”. Furthermore, there is another extended track of 11:41 called “Nor on this Earth”. The album fared nearly as well as its predecessor, with an average score of 3.82/5 stars.
Album #3 from Huis would come in 2019, titled “Abandoned”. Johnny Maz, who was a guest on the previous album, became the official keyboardist on this effort, with the other 4 band members remaining constant. I have loved 3 tracks off of this album: “The Giant Awakens”, “Caducée” (the album’s longest at 12:49), and “Solitude”. Once again, those who rated it on Prog Archives have generally liked it, giving it a score in line with the two previous albums of 3.84/5 stars.
The fourth, and currently most recent Huis album was released in 2024, and called “In the Face of the Unknown” Founding drummer William Regnier departed and was replaced by Martin Plante. I have found no explanation for Regnier’s departure, but did find that he is available as a recording session drummer for hire for $400 (Canadian, I assume) per track (https://www.soundbetter.com/profiles/275667-will-r%C3%A9gnier#profile-credits). I have enjoyed “Chaos” (album opener and longest track at 11:36), “Paralyzed” and “Crossroads”. This seems to be their highest rated album on Prog Archives, averaging just under 4 out of 5 stars (3.97). Huis appears to be still active, with 2 dates booked in November and December of this year in Canada.
Prog Archives classifies Huis as neo-prog, which seems apt for their sound, blending classic prog influences, with modern production values and tones. I suspect fans of St-Père’s main band “Mystery” would enjoy Huis as well, along with anyone who enjoys modern prog music. All four albums are very solid and enjoyable. Check them out in the Links for Listening below!
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Be sure to check out the “LINKS FOR LISTENING” below.
Prog On!
Scott
Links for Listening (and additional reading):
Mystery Spotlight:
https://scottssongbysongandspotlights.blogspot.com/2025/05/scotts-spotlight-16-mystery.html
From “Despite Guardian Angels”:
“Oude Kirk 1”:
“Write Your Name”
From “Neither in Heaven”
“Synesthesia”
“The Red Gypsey”
From “Abandoned”
“Caducée”
“We Are Not Alone”
From “In the Face of the Unknown”
“Chaos”
“Paralyzed”
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