A Chat with Hypheria (01.02.2021)
Mystic rock band Hypheria are fusing 70s psychedelic rock with some modern digital effects for their latest album Eye/See. Their third record and first full-length album, it has been five years in the making and anyone who likes their music will be excited to hear it. The mixed soundscape is also a wonderful introduction for any new listeners. With layers of sound and meaning, there is something for everyone on the album. We sat down with the band member and co-founder James Killian to talk about Eye/See, sonic influences, session players and much more!
OSR: How did the band first get together?
Killian: I formed the band in 2017 with my brother Thomas Killian on drums and our good friend Eric Chambers on bass. At the time, we were playing in a classic rock cover band in Green Bay, WI and gigging 1-2 times a week. I wanted to break out of the cover scene and start writing and performing originals. I also wanted to play the guitar and sing for a band for the first time, before then I had only played the bass guitar.
Over time, the membership of the band has shifted. Eric and Thomas still play on albums and at some shows, however, Thomas battled lymphoma for much of 2020 and I relocated to Madison, WI in 2018. Because of these changes, the band has opened up to new session and stage players who I’ve met through open jams, Craigslist and mutual friends.
OSR: Your music is inspired by 70s psychedelic rock but incorporates elements of jazz, funk and electronica. How did you come to such a blended sound?
Killian: I’ve always loved the guitar and synth sounds of 70’s psychedelia and the energy that a rock show brings to a space. I am also interested in the counter-cultural ideas that this music helped promote at the time. Jazz and funk are the genres that I’ve studied and played the most on guitar, however, so the rhythmic aspects of these styles are always present in my music. While creating this album I dove deep into electronica as a new source of inspiration for sound creation and mixing.
OSR: Your latest album Eye/See is your first full-length album. Why release a full-length album now?
Killian: Now is a great time to release an album! I am releasing it because I feel that it is complete and that it is time for it to enter the ears and minds of other people. I also have not been playing shows due to Covid so it was the perfect time to work on my mixing and mastering skills. I am mailing the album out to my fans so it is a fun way to connect without an album release show.
OSR: Is there a backstory or theme to the album?
Killian: The theme of the album is perception, illusion and reality. I want to challenge listeners to create a new experience for themselves and to realize a new version of their own universe.
OSR: The album was five years in the making, how do you feel this has influenced the sound?
Killian: There are some recordings from when I first started the band and would mess around with guitar pedals for hours and there are some recordings from just a few months ago. I recorded half the drums before it was discovered that my brother/the drummer had cancer so I had to program drums for the rest of the album after he went into the hospital and couldn’t drum for awhile. I also had time to work with several different studios and session musicians which gave the album a diverse feel. Overall, I would say that the album has different sounds and energies from different times and so it is very much a mosaic of interesting styles. I also learned so much about music and production from the time I started recording to the time that I mastered the album. It was inspiring to hear old parts and mix them differently as I achieved more skill with time.
OSR: Many of the tracks use metaphors to get their message across. Was this something you found easy to incorporate into your music?
Killian: I certainly do find it very easy. I enjoy writing abstract lyrics that invite metaphors and different possible meanings. The lyrics often flowed very easily for this album and I still find it interesting to assess the words to try and figure out what the story is behind the album. I find that there are so many interesting possibilities.
OSR: If people could listen to only one song on the album, which would you suggest and why?
Killian: I suggest that they listen to ‘Judgement Day’! Mostly because the bass is bumping. It is my favourite song on the album and I enjoy the simplicity of the lyrics as well as the instrumentation on the track. This is a track where Thomas nailed the drumming and I performed all other instruments myself. It is a good one to blast in your car.
OSR: There are three session players featured on the album, how did you connect with them?
Killian: I connected with them through Craigslist, other bands, mutual friends, local jams and through their discovery of my music. I am so fortunate to have such talented colleagues; the session players on this album are some of my favourite artists on the planet!
OSR: If your music could do one thing for the world, what would you like that to be and why?
Killian: I would want people’s perspective to change. I think that if you can challenge someone’s way of seeing the world, there can be more empathy and compassion which will lead to positive culture changes. I can only hope that my music achieves this in some small way!
OSR: What else can we expect from you in the coming year?
Killian: I have a sick high energy electronic album that I wrote last year as well as a few EP’s and an instrumental reggae album from a few years ago that I might release. In general, this album helped me finalize my mixing and mastering abilities so I am hoping that will lead to more releases! I also have a wonderfully produced music video that will go along with Eye/See. It will be released in a few weeks. It is a music video for the song ‘Blue in the Afternoon’ and it is essentially a short sci-fi film about a young woman trapped in an alternate reality within a computer system in a post-apocalyptic world.
Thanks to James Killian for chatting with us! You can find more about Hypheria on their website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
