Hypnogaja (pronounced hip-nō-gä-zhä) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, CA. The group is comprised of vocalist Jason “ShyBoy” Arnold, keyboardist Mark Nubar Donikian, guitarists Jean-Yves “Jeeve” Ducornet and Abe Parker, drummer Adrian Barnardo and bassist Bryan Farrar.
Founded by Arnold, Donikian and former keyboardist Sean “Dr.” Brooks, Hypnogaja originated as an electronic studio project but evolved into a live band soon after forming, incorporating rock influences into the group’s initial electronic foundation. The band tours consistently and has performed shows to audiences throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has opened for bands such as Shinedown, Saliva, 311, Cold, Godhead and many others.
GRAMMY®-nominated songwriter Wendy Waldman (composer of numerous hit songs, including “Save The Best For Last” by Vanessa Williams and “Fishin’ In The Dark” by Garth Brooks) helmed production duties for Hypnogaja’s live acoustic album, Acoustic Sunset: Live At The Longhouse. The band previously collaborated with Waldman on two songs - “Killing Time” and “Outside, Looking In” - from the album, Post-Hypnotic Stress Disorder. The latter song was featured as the end title of the NBC Movie Event, Carrie, a remake of the Brian DePalma film based on the classic Stephen King novel.
Hypnogaja’s latest studio recording, Truth Decay, was released by Union State Records in June 2009. The fourteen-track, science fiction-tinged concept album includes the song “Welcome To The Future,” featuring Richard Dodd of The Section Quartet (Decca/Universal) on cello. The album was released to strong reviews, including a 9 out of 10 star rating from Outburn Magazine, which noted it as an “expertly crafted album.” The LP’s first single, “The March,” spawned a music video directed by ASC Award-winning cinematographer, Nelson Cragg (Flash Forward, CSI, 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails) and writer/producer, Marius Markevicius (The Last Supper, starring Eliza Dushku).
Various television shows, motion pictures and soundtracks have featured Hypnogaja’s music, including America’s Next Top Model (CW), Carrie (NBC), Cold Creek Manor (Touchstone), Dirt (F/X), Las Vegas (NBC), One Life To Live (ABC), Roswell (WB), Sex And The City (HBO), Tru Calling (FOX), Valentine (Warner Bros.) and many others.
Author Frank Beddor featured Hypnogaja’s Alice in Wonderland-themed song, “Looking Glass” (from the Below Sunset album) on the soundtrack for the Scholastic-released audio book version of his 2006 NY TimesBest Seller, The Looking Glass Wars. In 2007, the Warner Bros. Interactive game, FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, used the band’s song “They Don’t Care” (another track from Below Sunset), which was also placed - that same year - as the theme song for the Versus network’s Red, White, Black and Blue Summer promo trailer. In 2008, Hypnogaja frontman, ShyBoy, co-wrote and performed two songs (“The Time Has Come” and “Shall Never Surrender”) featured in the Capcom video game, The Devil May Cry 4 (the latter track appearing as the game’s end title and both songs appearing on the accompanying, official Sony Music soundtrack). In 2009, Tapulous featured the Hypnogaja song “Things Will Never Be The Same” (from the Truth Decay LP) in the iPhone and iPod touch game, Tap Tap Revenge 3.
Several technology companies have featured Hypnogaja’s music in noteworthy articles and promotional materials, and have invited the band to participate in events. Apple computers posted an in-depth interview and story on the band’s experience in using Macs in the realms of recording, touring and promotion. AOL Music’s Noisecreep property featured an interview with Hypnogaja about the concept behind Truth Decay, and offered an exclusive, free download of the song, “Worship Me (I’m On TV).” Microsoft Windows featured free downloads of two songs from Truth Decay - “Rusty Moon” and “Cellar Door” - on promotions tied to its Windows 7 release, including a slot in the January 2010 Windows Media Guide.
Hypnogaja performed at the first annual 140tc (Twitter Conference), held in Los Angeles in September 2009. In consideration of the band’s success in utilizing social networking to grow its fan base (Hypnogaja has reached over one million followers on the site), keyboardist Donikian was invited to serve as one of the speakers during the conference’s music panel, which also included Chamillionaire, Curt Smith of Tears for Fears and several notable music industry executives.
The Hollywood Music in Media Awards named Hypnogaja the Best Alternative Artist in November 2009. The band performed “Welcome To The Future” at the awards ceremony. Union State Records released the Hypnogaja digital 45, Welcome to the Future / On the Radio, on January 26, 2010. The single, which includes the band’s cover version of the Donna Summer classic hit, “On the Radio,” was featured in the New and Noteworthy Rock section of the iTunes music store during its first week of release. Hypnogaja is scheduled to perform at the Austin, TX-based music festival, South By Southwest, in March 2010.
