Builder of the House

“[Builder of the House] are excellent avatars for the kind of hushed melodies we’ve all come to associate with the [folk pop] genre, but like a color-changing chameleon, they alter rapidly and authentically blend into more diverse and exotic material.” – The Big Takeover

Builder of the House is an American Folk Pop band comprised of singer and guitarist Rob Cimitile and drummer Elliot Heeschen. Rob began performing under the name Builder of the House in 2010, but the group was cemented after Rob and Elliot met as members of a Zimbabwean marimba band. Together, the two created a sound that melds elements of Americana, roots, folk, and African music in a modern pop idiom augmented with electronic sounds.

The band's name comes from a Buddhist story Rob heard while attending a meditation retreat. Read the full story behind the band’s name here.

In concert, the band achieves the full scope of their recordings through the use of live looping, samples, and synthesizers, which accompany acoustic instruments. The group currently performs as a trio with the addition of synth player Leigh Charest. In their tour history they have opened for Kaleo, Dylan Leblanc, Pearl and the Beard, and Kristeen Young.

Since the release of two EPs and their debut album Ornaments (sonaBLAST! Records 2017) the band's music has been featured several films including Don’t Think Twice (Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs), Better Start Running (Jeremy Irons, Analeigh Tipton), and Totem (HBO).

The group put equal effort into the videos that accompany their music. Music videos for the songs There Is No Hourglass, Only Sand and Look at the Man have garnered acclaim at music award shows and domestic and international film festivals.

The band has been written about by PASTE Magazine and Consequence of Sound.