PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR US WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.
Hello! We're a nerdy pop punk band called Hyperspace. We formed back in 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. Jason Kochis plays guitar and sings, Ryan Paul is on drums and backing vocals, and Kayvan Sarikhani slaps the bass.
TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?
To celebrate our eleven year history, we released the career-spanning compilation vinyl record "Retrograde." It was released exclusively on 180 gram orange vinyl and is limited to only 100 copies, although it's also now available for streaming, digital download, and cassette. "Retrograde" compiles all of our hits and fan favorites from the first four Hyperspace albums; highlights include classic cuts like "Winnie Cooper," "Cheerio," "Christy," and "The Borg." It also includes staples of our live shows including "What Oh Oh," "New Wave Girl," and "Goonies."
Basically, we feel it's a great introduction for anyone curious about who we are and what we're about.
WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE?
Jason: What originally sparked the idea was before we recorded our fourth album "Emulator," I was collecting session files from all our previous sound engineers and Joey Jones showed me a remix he did of our song "Barbara Gordon" and it had a fresh new feel to it. I remember it sounded like "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots to me. At the same time, we needed to find someone to mix the next record and I had received an email from a guy in Scotland who goes by SAW. We asked SAW to remix "Barbara Gordon" and his mix sounded amped up so we ultimately hired him to mix the "Emulator" album. I knew the 10 year anniversary of when we formed the band was approaching and I always wanted to release a vinyl record of our music. I figured we'd have to have someone new remix and master the songs since we recorded them at different times and with different engineers. I pitched the idea of remixing and remastering a few songs off each of our previous albums, sort of like a greatest hits record. The guys agreed and we set out selecting what songs to put on the record. A few of the older songs we felt needed a refresh and we wanted the songs to fit together collectively so we had SAW remix all the songs on this record from scratch. We also had Will Borza (Andrew W.K., Deftones, Foster The People) master the record. This collection of songs celebrates the past and present members of the band and I wanted to make sure everyone who has been a part of Hyperspace was represented on the album.
CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS?
Classic Hyperspace with a fresh new mix and master available on vinyl for the first time.
WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?
Jason: Releasing "Retrograde" on vinyl was definitely a bucket list item for me. I always wanted to release our music on a vinyl record. After releasing the record, we decided to hit the road for a small tour to promote the album. To our surprise the crowds we played to really dug us.
Kayvan: One of ours or from another artist? "Emulator" will always be a special one for me, as it was my first record with Hyperspace. If we're talking about other artists...wow, that's a tough one. There are several that changed my life. But I guess if I go way back to the very beginning, it would probably be Black Sabbath's "Paranoid." That record just mesmerized me and I spent a lot of time trying to play along to those songs.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?
Jason: We released a music video for our song "Barbara Gordon" to coincide with the album release. That video was fun to make! Our friend Evan Brewer filmed it and it really turned out well. Another friend of mine knew an actress Madeline Brumby, who cosplays as Batgirl. Somehow we convinced her to be in the video. With Madeline's and Ryan’s performances, the video was everything I imagined it to be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnh1MLIGXxI
Ryan: Both "Barbara Gordon" and "Episode 7" were really fun to create. Regarding other artists, one of my favorite music videos as a teen was Unwritten Law's "Holiday." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KltNk1xtobM
Kayvan: Our video for "Barbara Gordon" was definitely the most fun. As far as other artists, I always liked the humor of Suicidal Tendencies' "Institutionalized" and Anthrax's "Madhouse." And Radiohead's video for "Paranoid Android" was really interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoF_a0-7xVQ
WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?
Jason: When not playing music you can find me creating art, drawing and reading comic books, or watching YouTube.
Ryan: Spending time with my family, cooking, or some random DIY project.
Kayvan: Well...I'm usually always working on songs in some form or fashion, but I seem to spend a lot of time fixing this or that around the house or working on whatever various project I'm into. I love to read books, but if there's time then I'll watch some stuff to wind down.
DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?
Jason: I always get nervous when we play live. I usually can't even eat anything before a show and half the time I don't remember the chords or lyrics to the songs until we start playing them. I try to just breath deep and stretch before going on stage.
Ryan: With as much as we practice collectively, and myself independently at home, once I sit on that drum throne everything just feels natural.
Kayvan: I actually have terrible stage fright, but I find it gets easier the more I'm in front of people. Before shows I try to warm up and practice whatever seems to give me the most trouble; I think really the more confident you are with the material, the easier things will go.
HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?
Jason: I moved back to Atlanta in 2009 and wanted to reform a band I had previously but the other guys were too busy with family and work so I placed multiple ads on Craigslist for a drummer. Eventually either I replied to an ad from Ryan or he replied to mine and we met at Taco Mac, a restaurant in Decatur, Georgia, and we discussed what I wanted to do with the band. We got together a week or so later and practiced the songs I had previously written. Ryan was a great drummer and he agreed we should get a bass player. A few weeks later we met David Tock and he joined on bass. A while later David decided he wanted to switch to playing second guitar so we placed another ad and found Todd Ensworth to play bass. Eventually David left the band and after a number of years Todd did too. Kayvan joined on bass when Todd left the band.
HOW DO YOU WRITE? - DO YOU HAVE A KEY SONGWRITER, OR DO YOU ALL WORK TOGETHER?
Jason: When we started the band, I wrote most of the songs. David wrote a few like "Amidala," "Jennifer," and "Goonies." After we released our third album "Delusions of Grandeur," Ryan and I would jam before Todd showed up to practice. A lot of songs came out of those jam sessions like "Baby Baby," "Halle Berry," and "You Think You're Right." After Kayvan joined the band, he started bringing in his song ideas like "Do Or Do Not," and "Valentina." So it's turned into more of a collaborative effort. We all feed off each others' ideas and make various suggestions. How to start a song, how to end it, which chord to go to, how does this lyric fit there, harmonies, etc.
Kayvan: When I joined there were already several songs written for the album "Emulator" at the time; some were fairly complete and some had the overall structure but still needed work. I was late to the table since I was new, but I voiced different ideas on how to start or stop songs, or ideas for vocals, and I think some of my basslines changed the feel considerably (for better or worse). I brought in "Do Or Do Not," which was modified along the way. I've probably sent more than an album's worth of songs to Jason and Ryan, but some things work and some things don't. But I don't have the impression that songwriting is just a singular person's role in the band; we all contribute to everything, whether it's melodies or lyrics or beats. Ryan even starts new songs with beats he's working on, and we build around them. It's definitely a collaborative effort in my experience.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Jason: Inspiration comes from many different things for me. Art and pop culture definitely influence the subject matter of my lyrics. Sometimes I find a new band and that inspires me to write a song or an idea for a music video. Bands that inspire me are Superdrag, Matthew Sweet, Fountains of Wayne, Hüsker Dü, and Nerf Herder.
Ryan: My inspiration started with many late nights of watching MTV, and liquid television. After watching Nirvana Unplugged more times I'm willing to admit, a few of us in our neighborhood started making music in our garages. The bands that I was in all shared the same circle of friends. Many I still keep in touch with today! Now everytime I play the drums I'm transported back to those garages when I was rocking out on a beat up Slingerland with a Coleman cooler as my drum throne.
Kayvan: So very many things; I find inspiration in many forms and it's difficult to pinpoint. A lot of times I might read something or come across a cool piece of history or a quote, and the ideas start flowing. It could even be walking around and just taking in the world. Sometimes I'll listen to something and ride that wave of nostalgia for times long passed. Really though, things just come to me at times and I'll immediately hear arrangements in my head and it'll drive me crazy until I get a rough draft recorded or written down.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Recently, we've been writing several new songs, probably enough for a small EP or an album. For now, we hope to record everything in 2023 and go from there. We're also booking shows for next year and looking into whether or not a record label is a good fit for us. We're just going to focus on playing more shows and see where things lead!
PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE.
Our physical media like records, cassettes, and t-shirts are available through our Bandcamp page:
Our music is available on all the major streaming platforms: