Anfang are wizards of angst conjuration with riff-heavy grunge grooves that scintillate with atmospheric texture and unresolved emotion. New single Honey Trudge from Chicago based Anfang is evocative alt/rock firmly rooted in garage/blues rock and gloriously sugar-laced with anthemic pop melody. Anfang means to start over, which is what the quartet did in 2018, as they emerged out of the ashes of previous projects. Fronted by the astonishing energy of lead singer Andie Zaragoza, the band quickly became a draw in the Chicago area and recorded their debut EP Tunneler, favourably received by scores of press and playlists alike.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Anfang, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hey Kamil! Thanks so much for having us! We all grew up in musical families, but I (Christian / Guitar) was the odd one out who could never play anything and just focused on sports. I got the urge to pick up a guitar after hearing Coheed's Welcome Home for the first time in 9th grade and never looked back!
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
All three of us have a lot going on outside of ANFANG. It's part of the nature of starting the band in our mid-late 20s. We have full-on careers we are balancing while trying to keep the dream alive! We approach our music as a creative outlet first and foremost. It is an integral cog in our work/life balance. Without that creative output we would probably go insane at our jobs! But for the business of the band, we have to treat that as a job or it would never get done. We just have to squeeze the business side in where we can!
Your latest song is 'Honey Trudge'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
Honey Trudge is one of our oldest songs as a group. It has seen many iterations over the past couple of years. We finally found the sound we were looking for when we cut out about half the song. It went from 5:30 to 3:30. We made it as straight-forward as possible while not losing any of the punch. We ended up transitioning from a 4-piece to a 3-piece almost entirely as a result! It was an eye-opening songwriting case study. The results are worth it. Quite the learning experience!
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
I think everybody has an idea of what it's going to be like that is very different from the reality of what the business is. We try not to be too cynical about the process. We just try and make the best music we can. This is a creative project for us. We have a vision and a sound we feel we need to be putting out into the world. We feel like we have great partners in our producer Matt Dougherty and the great folks at Animal Farm. Having the right people around us makes us feel like we are on the right track!
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
Probably focusing on our other careers! Between the three of us we have an Architect, a Restaurant Entrepreneur, and an IT whiz! We would probably be much better and at those jobs, but much more sad and dreary. The music keeps us sane!
How do you know when a work is finished?
Usually when we have run out of money! Aside from that we have learned the hard way that perfectionism is a curse. There is a point where you just have to call it done. It helps, too, to have a raw garage sound to begin with!
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
We, as a band, play Lord of the Rings DnD. It's very fun and not nerdy at all, how dare you! We are into any visual / graphic arts. Some of these interests and skills really come through in our Lyric Videos that we release with our songs. Check them out on YouTube!
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
There's something about music that taps directly into emotions unlike anything else. I have been known to shed a tear or two at the movies (looking at you Puss'n'Boots 2) but nothing roils my soul like music. The right riff makes me want to run through a wall, or the right lyric can cripple me for weeks and make me reconsider all of my life's choices. If our songs can do that or anything in between we consider our job complete. Run through more walls.
Who is your favourite musician?
The band we all agree the most on is probably Queens of the Stone Age. However, we are also massive fans of Blood Red Shoes. We got the chance to open for them when they came through Chicago last year, and it was amazing to meet them and share a stage with one of our favorite bands!
What are your plans for the future?
We have a lot of plans! We will be releasing a new single, NOSEDIVE, in March. We have been in the studio working on six new songs that are sounding absolutely killer. We also are planning to play as many shows as possible this year! Keep a weather eye on the horizon and follow us @ANFANGMUSIC on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music etc etc etc!