Hypernova (band)

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Hypernova
Origin	Tehran, Iran
Genre(s)	Indie rock Post Punk
Years active	2005 – present
Label(s)	Unsigned
Website	www.hypernovamusic.com
Members
Raam Kami kodi Jam

Hypernova is an Iranian indie-rock band based in Tehran. The band is made up of Raam, Kami, Kodi, and Jam. Raam is the vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Kami is the drummer, Kodi is the lead guitarist, and Jam plays bass.

Like many other Iranian rock bands, the group was formed in the wake of president Khatami's relaxed stance on cultural policies in Iran in the late 1990s and the early decade of the 21st century. Arguably, Hypernova is a the forefront of the Iranian "rock" movement, recently garnering the most attention and press coverage. This is not just due to the novelty of their being a rock band from Iran, but because they are being recognized as a solid rock band, with accomplished musicians, and well-written "real songs" (a term record-industry people like to use when they encounter a band that is actually exhibiting thoughtfulness, skill, and deliberation in their songwriting).

Hypernova's latest Ep is titled Universal and the songs Consequence and Fairy Tales That Dont Have Happy Endings and Universal are available for download on their Myspace page. The songs Fairy Tales That Dont Have Happy Endings and Universal are getting numerous Radio Plays all across The United States and some Countries In Europe.

They recently uploaded two songs of their upcoming album Through the Chaos named Viva la Resistance and Sinners on their MySpace page.

The band were only issued visas after Senator Charles Schumer faxed a letter to the U.S. embassy in Dubai.^[1]

The band performed their first show in the United States at the Fat Baby bar on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, New York City, USA. All of their songs are written and sung in English. According to the band leader, Persian is a really poetic and harmonious language, but not one well-suited to the harsh and really energetic rock sound. The song themes mostly stay off the topic of politics, but amid the hyperpaced lyrics is the occasional reference to world events.

The band members' individual names are derivations of their actual first names, probably to avoid undue attention at home in Tehran, where the rock playing is illegal and may lead to arrest, large fines, and even a public flogging, following the president of Iran's, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ban of all Western music from state-run airwaves in December 2005 in a reversal of reforms made under his more liberal predecessor. However, gigs are still played there but only in private spaces: basements in large homes in Tehran, or villas out of town and ostensibly beyond the reach of a vast and prying network of state agents loyal to the ruling clerical establishment.

They most recently performed at the first Pangea Day festival broadcast from Sony Studios in Los Angeles, California, USA, and their performance can be seen here: http://www.pangeaday.org/filmDetail.php?id=27.