One Dream, Defying the Odds: On Young Medicine's "A Lesson in Futility" and the Journey to Their Signing at Fixt Neon
Young Medicine
When it comes to Kansas City luminaries such as Young Medicine, they make it a point to not only stand out among the crowd when it comes to the current scene, they made it a point with their 2019 release Interlinked to make a permanent stamp in the ground to keep us engaged when it comes to writing music that keeps us on our toes. The band gave us a taste of new experiences when they signed to FIXT NEON with their exciting and impassioned single, "Winter Soldier." We felt all the surprises had stopped there, but boy was there another to come for us this year.
Now, Young Medicine is back and better than ever with their ultramodern and impressive new single, "A Lesson In Futility," their songwriting exploring hard-hitting aspects of the world that are still impacting us at this very moment. While still keeping the foundations of synthwave and metal we all know and love, Young Medicine has matured and stepped up their game, approaching newer and bolder territories to create a unique, mastodonic sound as well in the process.
Young Medicine has always been at the forefront with bands in the current scene when it comes to diversity and lyrical depth. One thing is for certain, if this is the future of multi-genre metal, it's heading in a fantastic direction. The band is here with Scene Daddy to explain more about their new single and the atypical journey that led them to get signed by FiXT Neon.
I know this question may seem redundant for you guys now haha, but for those that don't know you guys yet, how did Young Medicine come to be? What was the scene like when you guys got together?
A few of us (Josh and Bret), had been playing together in a few variations of the same band for quite a while. Young Medicine was a new iteration when we felt our sound, and even the scene we were playing shows in, was getting a little stale. We found Michael in a search to “find the best drummer in this area who is also pretty” and honestly he checked all those boxes and more.
Was the idea initially to be a synthwave/metal band or something else entirely?
We have always had a big focus on the fusion of synths w/ live band stuff, whether it’s more stadium rock or metalcore tinged, but the synths have always been there. Transitioning from our earlier sound to a more synthwave direction didn’t take much change in our writing style because we always focus on big hooks and overall song first, and switching our synths from more contemporary stuff to more retro/synthwave is almost the last step of the songwriting process (though we have been working on including it earlier on in some of our newer tracks)
Young Medicine “A Lesson In Futility” Single Art
What are your musical influences? How did they dovetail their way into your latest single "A Lesson In Futility?" I know there is a lot of them, haha, but it's okay we have time.
Oh man, there are so many! We are all influenced by a combination of the metalcore we grew up with, the retro/synthwave movement that’s making strides now, and even film/video game soundtracks. For this track we wanted it to be mainly synthwave inspired in the moody verses and more “dancey” choruses, but also found room for a breakdown style part in between them. It’s a unique mix but so much fun to do.
I want to dive into this track a bit if that's okay. Lyrically, what is the story behind "A Lesson In Futility?" What sparked this idea?
The lyrics on this one were inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and many other history-making events of that year, the song recalls feelings of frustration while trying to challenge the political status quo, always seeming like the needs and desires of the many are falling on deaf ears of the few in power.
I know you guys recently had a single, "Winter Solider." How do you feel these two experiences differ from one another aesthetically? I noticed there was a splash of a saxophone being added into the instrumental framework here this time. What made you go with that decision?
With "Winter Soldier" we wanted to push the synthwave sound more than we had done on our previous album Interlinked, but with "A Lesson in Futility," we still wanted to keep upbeat and aggressive songs on our roster. A sexy saxophone solo won’t make it onto every song we have, but if the situation calls for it, we will gladly oblige.
What was the writing and recording process like for "A Lesson In Futility?" When going into this, are you able to just focus on the new material and not think so much about past releases, or does that kind of stay with you during the process?
Yeah, we generally take our songwriting one track at a time, putting all our energy and focus into making each song as good as it can be. We want to keep an eye on how our material comes together as a whole but for the most part, releasing the majority of our music in a single format means every song has the opportunity to stand out on its own.
It's been a bit since we last chatted. You guys are signed now to FiXT Neon! Congratulations on that by the way. How did that conversation go?
Thank you! The initial conversations were fantastic and seeing how they operate and their mindset towards releasing modern music had us very excited to begin working with them. Throughout our first year with the label, we’ve had great communication with each step of our career and we all are working towards the same goals.
Coming from the other side perse from being signed to unsigned, are there any noticeable differences between the experiences? How has that been going for you?
Being able to reach new audiences in new countries has been a huge advantage, FiXT NEON has helped open new doors for our music that we would have had trouble with before, and we’re excited to see how it’s been paying off once we can tour and perform live again.
As a synthwave-metal band, I feel like you guys are already confidently bending the genre lines a bit in terms of sound. But as an artist, what more do you feel you are doing to further develop the genre in ways other bands are not?
Modern genres of metal and synthwave seem to have a lot of music producers or instrument-focused creators, but the acts that stand out to us are also strong songwriters. We try to place more importance on the songwriting (vocal melody, chords, arrangement, etc) because we feel that a well-written song will translate great in any genre, no matter what styles we decided to mash up.
What has been the biggest challenge for you as a band? How have you been able to overcome those if any?
Not being able to tour definitely put a wrench in our hopes and dreams, focusing on writing and videos has been fun but we’re ready to get back on the road.
What do you want fans old and new to take from this release that was not present in Interlinked or "Winter Soldier?"
We feel more confident with every new release and hope that people who loved Interlinked can hear the growth and enjoy the new material we’re coming up with!
What is next for you guys this year?
As long as the world keeps improving in regards to the pandemic, our next plans are to hit the road again and perform our new music live, we’ve been ready!