I
n a small cafe in Crouch End, North London, Anteros are plotting the next few months. Laura Hayden and Harry Balazs are already thinking about how they’re going to prepare enjoying some rare time-off to gear themselves up for what’s to come. The main issue though is packing… “I’m waking up every day like - oh my god, I need to do this and that,” exclaims Laura. “Figuring out what to wear for like a month and a half, travelling to Texas too. How do you pack for Paris in February and then Texas in March?! “We haven’t toured this extensively since about two years ago when we went on three tours in a row which is pretty much what we’re doing now. I aged about ten years after that. I got ill; I got up on stage some nights wondering if I was going to be able to sing or not. I’m now mentally preparing, like okay, I don’t want to lose my mind; I’d like to keep my age as it is, I’d like to maintain my mental sanity. “It’s taking the time right now to prepare - seeing family or making sure you’re exercising because you’re not going to get to do that when you’re in a van for 15 hours travelling to Milan! I don’t know how I’m going to do that.” “That’s a long drive,” chimes in Harry. “I haven’t packed anything yet! I’m just so unorganised. I end up spending like £100 at the first services from stuff I’ve forgotten.” Laura points squarely at Harry. “Remember your charger! Shall I write you a list? The one thing I thought of actually is getting water bottles instead of using plastic ones.” “One less thing to forget,” returns Harry. “You’re going to have to pack your own bottle mate,” bounces back Laura. “I’m not going to be taking it about.” Things continue with a potential idea for an X Factor-style tour voting system, where people get voted in and out of bands. Things move quickly on to Harry’s fidgety sensibilities (“you know where a dog has to stick their head out of the car window every five minutes…” jokes Laura) and the topic of doing yoga in a moving van. This is how an evening out with Anteros goes. There’s a palpable energy that jumps out from being in their company, a band bustling with ideas, creative outlets, hilarious stories but also an understanding and perspective of what they want to be and what they want to mean in 2019 - it’s a ride that captures a band on the cusp of a thrilling journey. “Right now, we’re in a blissful inbetween spot,” notes Laura, “because the album isn’t out yet but it is finished so I’m just really making the most of this moment because whatever happens when the album comes out, I feel like we’re proud of what we’ve made. We didn’t want to follow any trends; we wanted to stick to the music that we wanted to make and not try to go, well, what are we? Are we this or that? We were more like, if we want to chuck in weird fucking sounds, then we’re going to do that. Since the beginning, we’ve wanted to make music that’s not going
43