Moosic Entertainment: Do you have a story behind your band name?
Peter W. Bartash: Naming a band usually takes forever – when we rebranded one of my prior bands Moniker as Killer Cortez, we ran through over 500 names in three months. This time, Paper People was in my head within 10 minutes of sitting down to think about it. I think my system knew before I did how much thread there was to pull: who we are on paper is not who we are in reality, and we’re all of those parts we try to hide from.
A few minutes later I was testing the abbreviation. I’m a Between the Buried and Me fan, and I always thought it was cool how “BTBAM” became a word mark that fans turned into a chant at shows – stripping the vowels out of Paper People felt like the same move, and reducing the name felt right for a project about people getting reduced. Then I found out “PPR” also stands for “Prior Permission Required” in aviation, and “Public Performance Rights” in copyright law, both of which felt like new variations of the same theme. I love ideas that work like an onion. I committed on the spot.
Tell us a bit about your music journey. How has it shaped you?
I’ve been playing drums for 30 years. I started at 10, after surgery and physical therapy for severe club foot disorder, and drumming was the first thing my body did the way I wanted it to. I spent decades playing for other artists in New York and around New England — most visibly with The Rupert Selection — while building a career as an architect and entrepreneur. Joining Rupert brought about an important shift – their original drummer Zak is a great player and has such a unique rhythmic vocabulary. I set out to learn the catalogue note-for-note, and trying to speak his language felt like learning to walk again. It was such an incredible experience though because once I got up to speed, it felt like a whole new world of ideas had opened up. I also sang seriously as a teenager, and then didn’t for more than 20 years. Stepping out from behind the kit at forty has changed me more than all the years of playing did.
How would you describe your sound to someone unfamiliar with it?
Cinematic alt-rock – live drums, a lot of atmosphere, a lot of weight. There’s post-hardcore, shoegaze, and alternative metal in it. The songs are compact but cover a lot of territory – the question I kept asking was “what would happen if you tried to arrange a song that has pop sensibilities but the dynamics and constant evolution of a metal song?”
What drew you to the genre/instruments you’re playing right now?
I was really focused on finding a sound that represents how I feel. It’s the thing I get inside a Thrice record, or standing in the crowd at a Deftones show, or sinking into the textures of a James Blake track. Those artists don’t share a genre but they’ve each created a world around their sound, and I wrote toward that feeling and let the songs land wherever they landed. As for instruments. I’ve been a drummer for over 30 years, so rhythm is how I hear everything, but the PPR PPL songs don’t start at the kit. They arrive whole, and I capture them in Reason — programming and arranging the parts one MIDI note at a time — before bringing anything into the studio. The drumming shows up less as a starting point and more as instinct, but it’s embedded into all of the arrangements from the start.
What inspires you to write music?
Full songs arrive in my head — melody, parts, emotion, all at once, like a song you’d swear you’ve heard before and then realize your mind created it. My job is to capture the essence before it disappears. It’s like becoming aware of yourself in a dream – you get a few moments before you wake up and memory starts editing. The songs come from real experiences my mind filed away, sometimes decades ago. I’ve found that the experience of getting to know my children, which has required me to get to know myself more, has brought up a lot of unprocessed energy that I’ve poured into this material.
Would you tell us about your current project, album/EP, or song you’re promoting?
The debut single “Taller Trees” is out August 28. It started with a visit to my childhood home after 15 years away — trees I’d planted with my father when I was six had grown past 30 feet. The song is about time and change. A second single “Ache (Hiraeth)” follows October 2, and the debut EP PPR PPL // 01 arrives November 17 — six tracks, digital and a limited run of 100 hand-numbered vinyl copies, made at Rare Signals in Cambridge with co-producer Brian Charles on guitar, Annie Hoffman of Weakened Friends on bass, and mastered by Joe Bozzi at Bernie Grundman.
What do you want listeners to take away from listening to your music?
I want people to remember who they are underneath all the layers. I really enjoy imagining someone walking down the street with headphones in, their mind swirling about something that is happening in their life, and one of my songs comes on that arrests their attention because it sounds the way they feel. I’ll never forget being in my first year of college, walking to class and tossing “Morning View” by Incubus into my Discman – those “Nice to Know You” guitars kicked in and I literally stopped on the spot.
Who are your top three artists right now? If that’s not a fair question, what’s your favorite song right now?
I’m really into Thrice right now, which has a lot to do with studying Dustin Kensrue’s singing – he’s extraordinary. The other two artists on repeat are Barbarians of California and Pool Kids. My favorite song today has to be “Hurricane” by Thrice — I’m getting a chill just thinking about the first verse. The lyrics, the softness, the atmosphere — and then it erupts into this massive, soaring chorus. It’s perfect.
Who is your dream producer?
Honestly, I’m working with him. Brian Charles believed in this before I fully did, and having Joe Bozzi master these songs at Bernie Grundman was surreal. Though part of me would love to work with Nick Raskulinecz someday — mostly so Brian could focus on playing guitar.
What’s the easiest way for fans to connect with you?
Our homepage is pprppl.com – join The Fold, our mailing list. We’re @pprpplmusic on Instagram, and everything else is at ffm.to/nlo2g5v.
Connect with PPRPPL:
Homepage x Multi-Link x Instagram
What’s next for you and the band?
A second single, “Ache (Hiraeth)”, on October 2, the EP on November 17, and getting the live band on stage in Boston. There’s a lot more written than what’s been released, so expect more new music soon.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
Just that I appreciate the early interest and look forward to sharing more as we go.
