As with previous Van der Graaf Generator albums, the band collaborated with producer
John Anthony at
Trident Studios, who had established a good working relationship with the band. However, recording for
H to He was sporadic, and occurred intermittently between gigs throughout 1970. Hammill wanted
King Crimson's guitarist and bandleader
Robert Fripp to play on "The Emperor In His War Room". Fripp had never played as a session musician at that point, but had enjoyed listening to
The Least We Can Do ... and was persuaded to take part by Anthony. Jackson recalled that Fripp "set up all of his stuff, put his headphones on, and started searing away." Fripp played the guitar part twice, having never heard the track before, and a composite of both takes appears on the final recording. Fripp has subsequently introduced Anthony as "the guy who gave me my first session" at events. Fripp would collaborate again with Van der Graaf Generator on their next album,
Pawn Hearts, released the following year. The group took a break from recording to play several festivals throughout the summer of 1970. In July, they played at the
Munich and
Aachen Festivals with
Deep Purple,
Pink Floyd,
Black Sabbath and
Fairport Convention. In August, the group played a show as part of
BBC Radio 1's "In Concert" series, which included "Killer", and performed at the 10th National Jazz and Blues Festival at
Plumpton on 9 August. Immediately after the show, bassist
Nic Potter quit the band, before the album was completed (he played on the already recorded tracks "Killer", "The Emperor in His War Room" and "Lost"). The group quickly auditioned
Dave Anderson, roadie for
Brinsley Schwarz who knew Van der Graaf Generator socially, but the group struggled during rehearsals to form a cohesive sound. As an alternative, Banton, who had a background in classical and church organ music, suggested he could simply play all the bass parts on
bass pedals instead, purchasing a
Hammond organ to augment his existing
Farfisa. Anderson was retained as a
roadie. To further expand the sound, Jackson started working with electric saxophones, playing them through effects boxes including a
wah-wah. Banton decided to play bass guitar as well as organ for the remaining studio sessions, being familiar with the instrument. "Pioneers Over c" was recorded in sections in the studio, then edited together, making it impossible to perform live in concert. Banton used an
oscillator as a musical device to complement that track's lyrical theme. By contrast, "House with No Door" was mostly put down live. The group found the sessions enjoyable despite some of the downbeat themes present on the album, and all found fun in some of the esoteric sounds they were creating. To promote the album, the band went on Charisma's "Six Bob Tour" with
Genesis and
Lindisfarne. As Van der Graaf Generator had been signed to Charisma the longest, they were the headline act. == Artwork ==