Kansas City synthwave/metalcore band Young Medicine unveils one of their most unique 80's imbued singles to date "Hot Chocolate."
Something is rewarding about coming across incredible bands that refuse to be pigeonholed, and Young Medicine has constantly broken down the walls to those notions within the world of metalcore.
“We’ve stuck with it for so long that it’s not a matter of having a music career or not, it’s just a matter of “We’ve come this far and done some of these cool things already, what’s our next move?”. We all play music because it’s essentially part of our DNA and who we are, so even without Young Medicine, it’s pretty much a given that we’d continue doing music in some aspect, but luckily YM is doing well and we definitely want to keep it going for as long as we can.”
A stunning blend of impassioned multi-range vocals, retro-synths, towering guitar riffs, and prodigious percussive energy, Young Medicine have constantly defied the odds of what it means to be a metalcore band. Their sonic depth with no limits and wide-eyed belief in wanting to create something new has been not only the driving force behind what makes such a unique band tick but also why each release is so different from its predecessor.
2019's release Interlinked sparked something atypical and fascinating within the metalcore genre that would ultimately trailblaze their careers to the synthwave-metal luminaries in the scene that they are today. While Interlinked kickstarted their path to signing with record label FiXT, their creative drive still burns brighter than ever before. Other singles such as "Winter Soldier," "A Lesson In Futility," and "Ignorance Adrift," only showed Young Medicine further step into their technical prowess and a larger, more atmospheric soundscape than we had not previously experienced before. Their new single "Hot Chocolate," is proving that we have only begun to get to know their sound at its collective core. It's the beginning of something special within the scene and metalcore, something exciting and unpredictable, and "Hot Chocolate" is but a fun taste of that new experience.
Thank you so much for taking the time to be here on INTO THE VOID. It's very much appreciated. I know the last time we spoke was on Scene Daddy (Much Love!) It was for your single "A Lesson In Futility." I feel so much has happened since then.
So happy to be featured on the new site! Always love to see our friend’s work expanding and doing well, so much of the music scene exists and grows because of people helping each other up.
With having 100K listeners on Spotify and counting, does that ever get to you in a sense having that happen so quickly? Having so many people looking in your direction now, where it wasn't really like that in the past? Or has that not really set in yet? Congratulations on that, by the way. Well-deserved.
It’s an awesome feeling seeing our music doing well, especially after years of working on music, videos, and touring to help promote it. We also hope it’s rewarding for people who’ve been with us since the beginning. We’ve been lucky to have a small following with us for a long time and hope that we can share each accomplishment with them as well. Our job’s never done though. There is always a bigger milestone to hit, so we’re always looking ahead to how we can grow even more.
I know we are here to talk about "Hot Chocolate," and we will get to that in a bit, but since we did key in on the subject somewhat for the recent question, Can we talk about "Ignorance Adrift" a bit? I know this was slightly heavier in terms of personal meaning. You're at a crossroads between choosing what is safe, what is easy, or the unknown. It's a lot to balance, especially when you're in the space you're in now. What was the creative process like for that? Where was your headspace when you were writing this?
This one just came out of the many difficult choices we all have to make every day, and at every turning point in our lives. Whether it’s planning out a shift in careers, finding a new place to live, or even smaller decisions like who to talk to or spend time with, oftentimes we just want to stick with a safer choice and not go down the risky path. This song definitely shows how we can let ourselves end up in a position where “ignorance is bliss”.
Was there ever a point where you felt music was not on the table for you guys as a career? If not, what was the alternative goal if that had not worked out? I feel like this is going outside the box of the original conversation, but that's okay, we will get there haha.
We’ve stuck with it for so long that it’s not a matter of having a music career or not, it’s just a matter of “We’ve come this far and done some of these cool things already, what’s our next move?”. We all play music because it’s essentially part of our DNA and who we are, so even without Young Medicine, it’s pretty much a given that we’d continue doing music in some aspect, but luckily YM is doing well and we definitely want to keep it going for as long as we can.
I feel with you guys as a band, there is so much genre-wise we still have left to unpack because there is a lot sonically that is left unrestrained when it comes to your work. I think that is partially the reason why you guys are so fun to listen to because you never know what to expect. When we come to your new single, "Hot Chocolate," we are still operating under a metalcore vehicle per se, but the 80's soundscapes instrumentally and fun factor are at an all-time high on this one. This almost also feels less heavy in terms of your predecessor as well. Is that fair to throw at you? In what were the writing and creative process different from "Ignorance Adrift?"
"Hot Chocolate" was definitely the kind of song that when we started putting it together, we could tell this one would be even more fun. Not only in an energetic genre but in a lyrical tone as well. Once that was established we just took that concept and ran with it. Sometimes you gotta let the song tell you what it needs and keep working from that.
What do you want people to take from this new release that was not present in the last?
We hope people are more impressed by this one than the last, but that’s our goal with every release. We know how our growth as songwriters and performers has been but we hope people on the outside can tell too, our favorite song is usually whatever we’ve released recently.
You have released quite a few singles, gained more fame, and even had the chance to go on a small mini-tour this year with the hopes of possibly going for another in the fall, bearing that all holds up positively this year for shows. In what ways has this changed you as an artist creatively and personally?
The challenges of being an artist during the pandemic have made us more thankful that we still get to do this. We appreciate all our fans and supporters even more as well. Every show and every new song is a win for us. We know no one gets to do this forever. So we’re doing our best to not take it for granted and enjoy as much of it as we can.
What is next for you guys?
Touring is back, for the most part. So we’re trying to get in on that as much as we can while keeping the new music and videos coming at a steady pace!