Paper Anthem is a London based Indie band that first got together in 2014. The band members are Joseph Hitchcock, Joe Spoors, Carlos Haltrich and Noor Haralji.
I talked to Joseph Hitchcok who created the band.
How is it performing in London? Do you think people are attracted to your gigs?
“He thinks it is exciting and terrfying in the best way. A lot of the industry people and taste-makers come to gigs without telling you, so you literally never know if someone important might be watching, and there is a lot of pressure to play your best. I’m from a small town in the United States, so being within the industry like this is very surreal for me. I’d like to think there’s some word of mout from strangers in the audience once they see us play. But we’re still waiting to see the benefits as we attempt to spread our name around town.”
Why is your band called Paper Anthem?
Joseph came up with a bunch of ideas to what he calls his projects back in 2014.
“My mum who funded my album, By Ghosts, did not like any of them. Some other variations I went through were Music By Ghosts which ended up as the album title, All At Once, and Moon Therapy. I plan out our albums very far in advance in relation to which songs will be on them. I went on the internet and found a band name generator, and I did not like any of those either but two separate prompts involved ‘paper’ and ‘anthem’ so I combined those myself. I like it because it sounds like something frail and fragile like paper that can become very important. Once words are written on it.”
What is your favorite song that you have performed?
“It is hard to pick one as I design the sets to be as diverse as possible and incorporate different styles and moods. It has to be between ‘When you know (you know) and ‘Game plan’. Of the released songs that have been released already, these are the ones I have written more recently, and I feel I’ve never been a better songwriter than I am right now. The lyrics are very personal to me and when I’m playing them live sometimes I feel the need to cry, so I am pouring my heart out on stage, and I think that’s the pinnacle of artistic expression. I could bottle those emotions up into those words so well that they usually trigger some sort of emotion and that is what I’m most proud of in our sets.
Do you want to play at larger venues or at festivals?
“Yes, but it’s hard to get to that point. We have a lot of bookers and promoters to take us seriously on that level, and it takes a lot of work to do so I don’t think we will be playing any festivals this year. We always submit to competitions for emerging artists and we’re still waiting to hear back on those this year.”