The ANAIT Interview: Post-punk, Influences, 2025 and New Album

The post-punk band ANAIT, hailing from Riga, Latvia, discusses their influences, perfectionism in music creation, and upcoming projects for 2024/2025.

On our journey of exploring and talking to some of the coolest emerging bands on Earth, we've met incredibly creative individuals from all kinds of backgrounds. It's fascinating to chat with bands on the road to success because they aren't censored like many mainstream bands. They can talk freely and authentically about the subjects they want, in the way they want, and that means the mainstream ego hasn't taken hold. That's the beauty of it!

Chatting with emerging bands is like having an uncensored conversation with young, extremely creative individuals who are free to create and market their art the way they want. That's something truly badass.

But enough of that, let's get to what really matters! And today, what matters is ANAIT—a post-punk band that embodies everything we've discussed: the freedom to compose, the freedom to draw inspiration, and the freedom to speak their truth in their own way. During our chat, ANAIT talked about how they are not prisoners of the rules of one single genre, as an example of that, the song "По воде," which is a big hit, was an "easy creation" for them.

ANAIT is a perfect representation of the evolution of modern music, with influences ranging from Slipknot to PLOHO, yet in a way that is entirely unique and original. Talking about the group PLOHO, ANAIT released a single with them just a few days ago, you can listen to it at the bottom of this article.

Enough said! Let's dive in!

The Post-Punk genre & influences

CONCERTY: First of all, thanks for talking with us! We are very excited about this. So, coming from Riga, Latvia, what inspired you guys to get into the post-punk genre? Was the genre a big influence on you?

ANAIT: Thank you too! I found out this genre 3 years ago. More precisely speaking, Gleb, our producer, showed me a post-punk song and I fell in love with it. Then I started to listen to post-punk songs on daily bases and I dove in it more and more. Previously we've been doing different styles, but once we started to indie-rock, post-punk – I understood that we are on the right track! By the way, our first song in this genre was «Пустота» (Void) and now this is the most listened one.

CONCERTY: Talking about music genres, in our chats with bands and musicians, we've found that most artists today tend to be extremely eclectic. We’ve spoken to deathcore bands influenced by rap and EDM, and to techno DJs who were heavily inspired by blues. Could you talk a little about the music genres that inspire you? But I mean, the ones that really inspire you, the ones that are on your Spotify’s most-listened list!

ANAIT: I am melomane. We all are. Personally I grew up on heavy metal and rock bands, such as Slipknot, Bring Me the Horizon, Bullet for My Valentine as well, Avril Lavigne. I also like DnB, EDM, and other genres. Now some of my favorite bands are HIM, Korn, and Guano Apes. As you can see, these all are different and with different moods.
I am sure, that the more music you listen to, the more inspiration you may have. It's not about “stealing” ideas and so on. It is about feeling and getting more inspired. Still, there are many things, that can inspire too.

CONCERTY: The coldwave and post-punk scenes in Europe have always been huge. There were and still are some great bands coming from there. But I see that you guys are making a huge impact in other countries as well, like China. How is that for you? How do you feel knowing that people from a completely different culture and background identify with your unique style?

ANAIT: Yes.. this is very interesting, our listeners are from all over the world. I receive messages from different countries - Brazil, Spain, UK, USA, Germany, China and many other places. These are indescribable feelings. When you see, that your art and lyrics found a response in the heart of many people. And for me it means that we do something right. Music unites people. And we are very happy to see, that our music unites people too.

Composing and creative processes

CONCERTY: So you guys just released “По воде” a few days ago, which we found to be an extremely well-produced and composed song. It really takes us back to that 80s vibe. With that said, I’d like to explore your creative process a bit. How does that work for you? Do you just get in the room and start brainstorming until you have a song, or is it a mixture of ideas that you put together to form the song?

ANAIT: The process of creating is unique for each song. It is divided into 2 stages - what you lived through and the second is to write a song. The first stage takes the most of time. Sometimes it can be a long time for the first stage. When you are living through some life moment and you are writing a song, while recording takes not that much time. And of course, there are songs, that are making super fast, but it doesn’t mean that it is easy, because all real, alive songs require pain experience, life experience.

CONCERTY: Could you talk a little about the process of creating “По воде” as well?

ANAIT: Exactly this song was written and made quickly. Thankfully to our genre, we are not limited by any rules and frames. We are doing music how only we want and feel.

CONCERTY: Speaking of well-produced and composed songs, we know that it’s extremely hard to produce good tracks in this genre. Another song of yours that we found very well mixed and mastered is “Пустота,” which happens to be your most-streamed song on Spotify (over 1 million streams, congratulations!). So my question is, how perfectionist are you when it comes to producing and composing songs?

ANAIT: Each musician is a perfectionist. But it’s not always about clear sound and so on. Sometimes you are making a “dirty” sound, but it contains its own atmosphere. Sometimes you can reach quality accidentally. We are making unconventional music. When we record something, we try to make it sound good even without any interventions. Then we select the right space for the song, and the balance of instruments and create the necessary quality of perception as accurately as possible.

2025 and last questions

CONCERTY: As we approach the end of our chat, we’d like to ask some questions that we ask all the bands we talk to. Could you name three bands that are the biggest inspiration for you?

ANAIT: I would say, that now mostly it is: PLOHO, Guano Apes, and HIM

CONCERTY: Could you share with us one place you would love to perform live and why?

ANAIT: I wouldn’t say, that there is a particular place where we want to perform. It’s all about people, you know. We want to perform a lot, traveling to different cities and countries. Because each audience and each place gives you a unique exchange of energy. Can’t wait to see you at our concert, friends.

CONCERTY: Thanks for chatting with us! One last question: what can fans expect for the rest of 2024 and the beginning of 2025?

ANAIT: Thank you too! Well, in autumn we will have a few new songs, as well as our album. It will be a whole story, where songs are intertwined with each other. We did huge work to make this album and hope you will enjoy it! We will also have theatrical production for the presentation of the album. This is a new experience for us.
Before that, we will have 2 live shows. In 2025 we will perform and we are waiting for a moment to announce our live show list.

We wish the band all the best for their 2024 tours and upcoming projects!