Electronic producer Suren Unka became infatuated with the drums at his church when he was a young’un, eventually joining his big brother’s metalcore band. Aged 16, he began dabbling with electronic music, inspired by local acts Shapeshifter and State Of Mind.
The 22-year-old is about to release his debut album El Chupacabra, which brings together party beats, twinkling synths, and slices of dreamlike vocals. Named after a mythical hairless South American creature – literally meaning “goat-sucker”, the album was two years in the making, with liberal usage of his trusty Korg Radius. “It has this sound which is my sound now – it’s part of me. It has this harshness to the sounds which I can work with – if I add lots of layers, it gives this nice sound…”
He says the scene for electronic music in New Zealand is “blooming”, with artists like himself, Totems and Race Banyon pulling bigger crowds than indie bands like the one he plays drums in, Beach Pigs.
This is especially true in the capital, he says. “I love Wellington. I just played there in the weekend, and it was awesome vibes, everyone was just having such a good time, and it was a big crowd.”
Listen to the full interview:
Suren Unka plays an album release gig at 47 Union St in Auckland on April 19th.
