FOCUS: Interview to JOE & THE ANCHOR

Hi Joe & The Anchor. Welcome to AFX. Please, introduce the band!

Hello, we're Joe & The Anchor, alternative indierockband and childhood friends from Sweden!

What are a few words that would best describe your musical world? and what about the Swedish indie pop scene?

Catchy melodies, energetic guitars, and undeniable charm with inspiration from the 90s and 00s indie and pop influences! The Swedish indie pop scene is so incredibly full of potential. There’s literally a musician in every corner of Malmö and they all sound terrific, which is very inspiring and you kinda feel like stepping up your game even more because everyone’s so talented.

What first inspired you to make music? Describe your creative process and if it is difficult to write for a full band.

Music is a form of therapy for us, we all love music and we can't live without it. So creating just kinda comes to you and then you start evolving it together. In this case the pandemic took over the world, and shortly thereafter, our lead singer's parents were both diagnosed with cancer. We persevered as we always had, but it quickly became clear that we needed to tear everything down and rebuild something new. We stopped playing live, stepped out of the industry, and didn't plan to return until it felt right. Then, inspiration suddenly struck like a bolt from the blue, and Joakim entered an almost manic songwriting phase that resulted in dozens of song ideas. The rest of the band joined in to complete the songs, and before we knew it, we had a potential album. We combined our new songs with our old unused favorites, went into our studio, and recorded everything from scratch. With a finished album, all that was left was to create our own record label and start releasing! And in terms of creative process it usually starts off with an idea and a relatively fleshed out demo from our lead singer Joe. And then we learn the song, produce it and add/remove stuff to take it to the next level and it's always so much fun!

Do you write with a specific audience in mind?

We write only for ourselves nowadays and that has turned out to be the best decision ever as we think our love for our own music transcends into whoever is listening!

What does high quality sound mean to you? Do you have a favourite recording studio and producer?

One word, Jack Antonoff haha!

What are some of your favourite songs to play live? Where have you performed?

We haven't performed our new songs yet, but we're looking forward to play all of them live when we get back to touring again. Especially Nothing Without You!

What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

A strong memory is when we played at the INmusic Festival in Croatia and had to camp in a rainy festival area with our cheap tents. The rain poured straight through the tent roof, and not much was dry the next day. But it turned into an absolutely fantastic show! Another magical experience was when we opened for Mando Diao at a sold-out KB, which was a bit surreal for us since they were our childhood idols. We're planning our upcoming shows at the moment!

Would you like to share anything else about yourself or your music with our readers?

We're incredibly proud and thankful for this opportunity, thank you and please listen, share and spread the word!