With a vast array of influences, from 1970s occult rock through to thrash metal, glam rock and retro wave, Sinoptik deliver a fresh yet nostalgic, stadium-ready sound on their latest album The Calling. We caught up with the Ukrainian trio following the release, to discuss their formation, ambitions, first musical memories and more.
Firstly, tell us a bit about yourself and your band.
Sinoptik is a band from Donbass, Ukraine, a region which was founded by a Welsh engineer and businessman John Hughes. In the year 2014, during our album recording and Ukrainian tours, the war was started in our region. We still continued to cross newly formed security check points between Ukraine and the captured territories and after seeing the face of war, and when our studio was damaged by the missiles, we decided to finally leave the city and move to the capital, to continue creating music and touring worldwide.
How did the band form and how long have you been together?
2015 was a turning point for the band, when we moved to Kiev, and started touring in Europe.
Can you remember the first time you realised you wanted to make music?
I will reply for all of us: that was in the very early childhood. When I was 10 I recorded my first tape with my songs, because that was the moment when a recorder appeared in my house. That happened after my dad asked me to tell a fairy tale so that he could record it on tape, I was four then. After that moment I often kept asking him to record me.
Who and what are the band’s main influences?
ELP, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Uriah Heep, Tame Impala, Muse, Doors, Grand Funk, lots of thrash metal, glam rock, retro wave, we listen to a lot of music in various genres, so it’s hard to make this list short. We have three band members and our music tastes vary a lot. If our drummer Ruslan would be answering now, he would firstly name thrash metal big four bands, and Aleks’s list would last for three more pages!
What do you aim to achieve as a band?
We aim to conquer a stadium in each country of the world. From the very beginning we decided to aim very high and a stadium is a lot people – it’s the best criteria of how our music is important and needed. So we aim to create such music which will gather stadiums.
For those who are yet to see you live, what can they expect from a Sinoptik show?
Our live shows differ a lot from what people hear on a record. We often get very positive reviews about our live shows from various music lovers. We try to express the fullness of the sound which you can hear in our records, which will be complimented by visuals and our live energy.
What’s next for Sinoptik?
We are really looking forward to starting touring in as many countries as possible as soon as the pandemic is over. After that we will get back to the studio and record our next great album. And then – back to touring again! And of course we want to play a show in our native city when the war is over.
Sinoptik‘s new album The Calling is out now via OneRPM, available to stream or purchase HERE.
