Tehran, Iran: Meet Hypernova

by Liz Ohanesian

Usually, when we put together these spotlights, we try to find someone traveling through one of L.A.'s sister cities to write a few observations on the scene.  This time around, our Sister City Salute takes place on Fairfax Boulevard, where I met Raam in front of Molly Malone's before his band played its second gig in Los Angeles. Dressed in jeans, a non-descript shirt, a cap and glasses, Raam doesn't look any different from most of the other guys in Los Angeles.  In fact, he doesn’t even look like he's in a band.  However, Raam is the front man for Hypernova, a group whose pogo beats and pop hooks who could easily bring about comparisons to Arctic Monkeys, except for the fact that Hypernova is from Iran, not England.

"People seem to like our story," says Raam.  "I guess it is a cool story.  I should probably be writing a book right now."

The tale begins roughly seven years ago when Raam, who lived in Eugene, Oregon until he was 10 years old, went to a camp "for kids who could afford to pay off the exemption" for Iran's mandatory military service.  There he met drummer Kami, a rock and roll fan who had never traveled outside of his homeland.

"When I met him seven years ago," Raam begins, "he told me that 'My only dream is to make it to the States.'  I said, 'You know what?  I will make that happen.'"

Joined by guitarist Kodi and bassist Jam (who recently left the fold and has been replaced by Sina, who played with the band in Iran until he moved to the U.S. a few years ago), Raam and Kami began experimenting with the sort of music they heard on CDs brought back to Iran from abroad and music downloaded from the Internet.  Ramones, NOFX, the Strokes-- these bands informed Hypernova's sound.  The band played underground parties, gathering a few hundred kids at a time inside private homes, parking structures and villas outside of the city.  No member of Hypernova, Raam claims, had played on a proper stage until traveling to the United States.

"It's pretty difficult," says Raam of life as a musician in Tehran.  "Obviously, there's an element of danger in what we do.  For us, everything is pretty normal back home.  We're used to the way we live."

He is quick to point out, though, that Iran's notorious anti-rock and roll laws are not necessarily enforced.  "Sometimes, if you are really unlucky, it might fall into the wrong hands and with the wrong people and you might get into some serious trouble, but we've been really fortunate and really cautious."

Hence Raam and his band mates use stage names.

"There's really no need for anyone to know what our real names or last names are," he adds.

Despite the difficulty involved with playing music in Iran, Hypernova isn't as subversive an outfit as one might think.

"We're not out there to change the world," says Raam.  "We're not trying to change people's minds.  Our priority is to have fun and to show…that rock and roll has no boundaries; that music will bring people together."

Raam may claim that the band's mission is a humble one, but there is no doubt that Hypernova is making an impact both in Iran and the U.S.  The singer confesses that, as one of very few Iranian rock outfits to make it out to the States, the band is in a "unique position" and has received an onslaught of emails from fellow Iranian musicians seeking advice.

"It's just a matter of time for them," he says of the musicians in Tehran, "to learn how to get the word out and communicate what they do, which they are slowly learning how to do."

Here in the States, word of Hypernova has spread since its first gig in New York last spring.

"It was just some small show on the Lower East Side," Raam recalls.  "Not a lot of people showed up, but we didn't care because it was mission accomplished for us just to be there."

That one performance led to stories in the New York Times and on MTV and soon the band ended up in Los Angeles, where the members have been working on new recordings.

"These past few months, we've been so inspired," Raam proclaims.  "We have so much new material.  The new stuff is so insane.  It's so good that we don't even believe it's us."

He concludes, "I want to just do this for the rest of my life.  There's nothing that I love more than playing music.  Hopefully, we'll be fortunate enough to just do this and see the world."

Hypernova plays the Roxy on October 6.