Electronic pop isn’t a genre usually associated with Hospital’s sister label Med School, but the imprint’s latest signees could change all that.
Led by the dulcet tones of Sonya Sukorukova, The Erised’s addition to Med School is somewhat surprising given that it’s a label more synonymous with melodic drum & bass than brooding, vocal-driven electronica.
But the Ukrainian six-piece’s forthcoming debut EP demonstrates that just because it’s not the sound commonly associated with the label, that doesn’t infer a lack of quality – not at all.
With four tracks of sheer beauty and raw emotion, it’s easy to see why discerning music fans have been excited by The Erised’s potential for some time, and easy to see why Med School was eager to add their talents to its roster.
It’s not the best time right now in Ukraine, there are political and economical tensions and there is a very hostile situation in the eastern region. Of course, all of these factors influence the music scene
It’s a label which has carved a name for itself as a hotbed of talent and a platform for some of the most talented drum & bass producers, including Keeno, Etherwood and S.P.Y. So naturally, the group was delighted to hear of its interest.
“We didn’t think Med School would like to publish this kind of music, to be completely honest. We just had a conversation with Tom (the label manager) about our music and sent him our track named Pray” explains Sonya. “At that stage we just wanted to get the opinion of someone in the music industry – our band didn’t even have a name back then!”
“On the one hand we were surprised by their interest, but on the other hand we understood that we had good potential. Thankfully it now seems that we’ve done everything correctly, and we’re really grateful that the label showed faith in us.”
After one listen of their forthcoming EP, you’ll be glad that Med School showed faith in them, too. In fact the beauty of their music is made even more astounding and poignant when you juxtapose it against the crisis currently facing their home country.
“It’s not the best time right now in Ukraine, there are political and economical tensions and there is a very hostile situation in the eastern region. Of course, all of these factors influence the music scene,” says Sonya.
“But despite this, we really love our music in Ukraine; there’s a growing number of decent clubs and the scene changes very rapidly; it’s hard to predict what will happen next, which is always a good thing.”
Although their music is seemingly incongruous with the rest of Med School’s current output, there is, perhaps surprisingly, a strong passion for drum & bass within the group.
“Most of us are huge drum & bass fans and some of us even produce it, too!” exclaims Sonya. “Daniel is already known as a drum & bass producer – Detail – and has releases on Symmetry, Commercial Suicide and Utopia Music.”
“Igor and Nil work together as Hidden Element, and are producing some drum & bass along with other electronic genres. They have multiple releases on labels such as Med School and Translation. So yeah, there’s definitely a soft-spot for drum & bass in the group, which definitely surprises some people.”
With their EP set to drop on February 2, it’s an exciting time for the group, who are still effectively in the embryonic stages of their musical journey.
“We’ve only been together as a group since early 2014” explains Sonya. “An awful lot of that time has been spent rehearsing, planning and recording this EP, so we hope people can hear the amount of work and effort we’ve put into these four tracks.”
Hats must be tipped to Med School for straying from the norm to give this talented group of musicians a platform to flaunt their musical ability. With an EP and quite possibly more music forthcoming, it’s time to get excited by the sound of The Erised. Pre-order available from the Hospital Shop or on iTunes.
