Hypnogaja @ SXSW 2010

Hypnogaja is not the first band you’d expect to cover Donna Summer. They’re not even the first band at SXSW 2010 you’d expect to cover Donna Summer. But cover Donna Summer they did, and to blogosphere-wide acclaim at that – their version of “On the Radio” has quickly become one of the most buzzed-about songs of the year from one of the savviest bands on the scene.

This LA-based quintet, whose 2009 sci-fi-tinged concept album Truth Decay was widely branded as one of the most well-produced and expertly crafted albums of the year, has over the past few years gained a huge and well-deserved exposure thanks to its own unique and compelling brand of electro- and retro-infused theatrical alt-rock, a sound that earned the band the Best Alternative Artist honor at the 2009 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

Originally conceived as an electronic studio project by Jason “ShyBoy” Arnold and Mark Nubar Donikian, Hynogaja has toured in support of such acts as Shinedown and Saliva and has seen its music featured in such hit shows as Sex and the City and Las Vegas, but where the band is really establishing itself is in the realm of social media. The band, which devotes several hours online each day to reading messages and replying to fans is seeing that interaction rewarded in a huge way – Hypnogaja has reached a massive 1+ million followers on Twitter, and in 2009 they were invited to perform at 140tc, Twitter’s first annual development conference. They’ve also been featured by AOL music and by Apple, who released an in-depth interview and feature about the bands use of Macs in recording and touring.

LP33.tv was lucky enough to catch up with Hypnogaja, who are performing in Austin this week – check out their interview above!