‘We like to use white noise.’
Hidden Element have discretely dropped the Other Forms ep on Translation. Recent converts to the HE sound – their ‘How Can I trust You’ for example feels actually etched into the soul – will justifiably rejoice. Time to totally, totally get down with their unique world…
Hi Hidden Element, it’s a privilege to speak to you, you’re in the Ukraine?
Yes, we live in Kiev, Ukraine and our people really love music. Different kinds of music are welcome here from rock and jazz, to techno and D&B. All of the artists from abroad who perform here have been totally satisfied.
But right now we’re having economic and political problems. There have been insurgences in the regions that border Russia over the last year, so it’s a difficult time for Ukraine in general. It’s hard for the music scene now too, but we believe that everything will get better soon and we’ll pull through.
You have collabs here on the Other Forms ep, who are they?
This release is a continuation of our Lifeforms EP, which appeared on Translation at the end of 2013. One of the tunes was written together with our friend – Physical Illusion. He’s the owner of Intelligent Recordings and he’s had release on labels like Good Looking, Fokuz, Nexgen and more.
Usually he writes liquid stuff, but the track ‘Understanding’ turned out quite dark and deep.
The vibe of the material is really beautiful and very interesting: what influences you… is it stuff from the everyday life? What other music influences you?
Cool, glad you like it. All life experiences affect our creation–traveling, movies, every day communication, nature etc. We love a lot of different music from heavy rock to ambient and jazz, and it is reflected in our own music. We always try to experiment. We like to use live instruments.
A basic thought: what made you want to create electronic music, to start with?
We just love music. We listen to it constantly, we cannot imagine our lives without it, and at some point we tried to create something of our own. It fascinated us, and we don’t want to stop!
Can you take us behind ‘Faster But Slower’? The creation of this tune?
It’s a Blade Runner inspired track: one of our favorite movies of all time.
We wrote this tune in the autumn and it turned out to be quite atmospheric. It has an unusual rhythmic structure that makes it seem fast and slow at the same time.
And what influenced the creation of ‘Heartbreak Tune’? I hope wasn’t a bad thing?
Ha ha, no it’s cool, no dramas. Life is changeable: you can be sad one day, and then laughing the next. We should find positive in everything! This track is the easiest and lightest of the entire release.
What are some of your favourite sounds that you like to use, and why?
We like to use white noise.
I see Dexta is involved, how did this happen? He’s very active!
He’s a cool guy and we’re excited that he remixed ‘Hot Pants’, as we love jungle music and it’s perfect for the dancefloor. Big thanks to Translation Recordings, this is largely their merit.
Where will 2015 take your music, as it grows and moves on through the year, what goals do you have?
We’ll continue searching for new forms.
We are passionate about experimenting with ambient techno music.
We are also working on The Erised project, which is exclusive to Med School.
The Erised is a live band comprised of a singer, bassist, and drummer. Detail participates in the project too. It’s a completely new experience for us: we combine live instruments with electronics and vocals.
httpv://youtu.be/oJ5L63MkrAY
Two Hidden Element tracks will soon be released on a cassette from multi-genre label Monoclock Music very soon.
And most importantly, we’ve almost finished our debut album, which we’ve been working on for about three years.
Thanks Hidden Element: any shouts?
Thanks for the interview, many thanks to Brian at Translation for supporting our music.
Follow Hidden Element and The Erised, and make love and cool music.