Goth rock duo Hypnagogia is here to soundtrack your journey through the beautiful abyss between wake and sleep. Elijah and Nickey speak on the breadth of their inspiration, favorite venues and the benefits of collaboration.
Jay: Walk me through the process of choosing your artist name.
Elijah: I first came upon the name when reading about the hypnagogic state. Essentially, it is both the frame of mind you are in when you are being hypnotized and that feeling of being on the cusp of consciousness; a transitional phase between wake and sleep. I found that headspace intriguing and I thought it was an interesting commentary on the type of music that we make. A state in which the sound and vibrations hug your mind and body.
Jay: What or who drew you to become an artist and where does your inspiration come from?
Elijah: This is a hard question to put my finger on as there have been many in different forms. I remember that one of my first musical experiences was hearing the song ‘Stripped’ by Depeche Mode when I was very young. That definitely laid some important foundations for me. I am also a visual artist as well as someone who writes a lot, so my inspiration comes from not only music, but art as a whole. I will say it is relatively uncommon to hear a song and have that be a direct inspiration for me to write a song. Those influences are absorbed more subconsciously for me.
Nickey: I grew up in a household that was very passionate about music, specifically in the alternative community. My earliest memory of musical inspiration was definitely when I was young, around the age of 6 when my pa could still hold me and dance to Guns N’ Roses or Santana 😆. Neither are very goth groups but that put teenage me on the path of musical exploration when I had full access to Spotify. From there, I found groups like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Scary Bitches, 45 Grave, etc; all of which have talented, empowering female vocalists. That was definitely a turning point for me when I had the notion of; “Wait, I can be that too?” At that point, I was gifted my first guitar at 14 and I sort of just upgraded from there!
Jay: What is your go-to cover song and why?
Elijah: I can't really say that I have a go to cover. I tend to not really focus too much on cover songs, unless I can change them up a bit and give them a different take. Hypnogia has covered songs like ‘Atmosphere’ by Joy Division, ‘Gods Gonna Cut You Down’ by Johnny Cash and ‘I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry’ by Hank Williams. But, I would say my favorite cover by a pretty wide margin is one that we’ve recently done, ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie. We have just incorporated that into our set occasionally and it's really stripped down with a gothic take that I love.
Nickey: ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie has definitely been my favorite song to cover so far! It was an incredibly fun project to work on with my partner. Being able to build a gothic take on a Bowie song was something we both took seriously. Bowie as an artist means a lot to us, the song is very synth driven which I spent a lot of time perfecting. Paired with Elijah’s vocals, I think we definitely do it justice!
Jay: Some musicians create music for people to dance to, some make music for people to heal to. What moments of life do you make music for?
Elijah: I think once music is made, how people listen to it and use it is kind of up to them! That’s one of the cool things about what music does, it can mean different things to different people. With that being said, I think the type of music Hypnagogia creates can be a little melancholy but tinged with hope. It is often danceable, in some way, which I think is a good juxtaposition for how I see life in many situations. There is beauty in darkness, because without it you wouldn’t know what light is.
Nickey: The music we as Hypnagogia create is crafted with emotion. I like to think our music is something people can escape to, where they can just stand, dance, close their eyes and feel the sound rather than just listen to it. It’s meant to be perceived in limitless ways. Each song, whether it’s upbeat to dance to or solemn to sway to; either way, we want our listeners to know they are never alone in any of these emotions.
Jay: Collaboration can bring out the best in us and is often one of the greatest keys to growth. How do you push each other and help each other through moments of artistic struggle?
Elijah: Nickey and I have a very close connection which is an amazing thing to have in this kind of endeavor. I think collaborating on this project with her has really fired up my creativity. Nickey is extraordinarily talented on many levels and has brought out some inspiring ideas; that in itself is such a motivation to keep growing, improving and creating. When things become a bit of a struggle, the person she is both personally and artistically has been amazingly helpful, her perspective and ideas make for a really great pull through with any type of struggle.
Nickey: When it comes to artistic struggle, one thing I will say is that Elijah and I as a duo almost never practice alone. Even if we just stand around, I’m pressing keys and he’s strumming a bass or guitar, we just keep going, bouncing sounds and ideas off each other until we have that light bulb moment where the ideas align and there’s a feeling of brilliance! This is both motivating and inspiring. Elijah as a partner makes this project easy with his perspective and creative sense of sound. He is definitely being far too kind to me! Maybe it is a collaboration of talent together.
Jay: What has been your favorite moment on stage?
Elijah: My favorite moment was definitely in Lexington Kentucky. We played Invocation Of Shadows this past July. It was the perfect culmination of scene and crowd, involvement and location, paired with the current incarnation of the band. It was all very meaningful to me to be able to perform with all of that coming together. It made for an extraordinarily special show for everyone. On stage, there was a lot of emotion as my partner and I collaborated very well.
Nickey: I second that. Invocation Of Shadows has been my favorite moment so far and was actually my debut with the band. Performing with Elijah in a genre we are both passionate about is like magic. On stage together we create this intoxicating static of emotion. We feed off each other as we perform and crowds love that. Kentucky was a show that definitely embodied that passion very well.
Jay: If you could perform at any venue, at any moment in time; where and when would that be?
Elijah: Oh wow, I have a couple answers to this! One that immediately comes to mind is the Batcave around 1983. It was a very specific moment in time with very specific bands and a very specific crowd. It was the birth of a beautiful scene and fashion movement. I would’ve loved to perform and be involved in that moment of time. Another place that comes to mind is Factory Manchester 1989 to 91 that was again a very specific moment in time, scene, movement of music and birth of a whole genre. There was a cultural movement and so much of the music that I love and inspired what I do came out of that.
Nickey: Elijah definitely speaks for us both with his answers. The Batcave was absolutely my first thought. Being a part of such a beautiful subculture with the honor of performing in such a critical period of time for our genre would have been absolutely life changing. There’s also a few local places in present time that are on our list to get to! Sanctum I would have to say is definitely at the top of that list. Being able to perform in an old, gothic environment that holds so much history would be an absolute honor. It’s a moment no one in our subculture would easily forget.
Jay: You’re on stage accepting an award, who are the people you NEED to thank?
Elijah: Firstly, I would like to thank my partner Nickey. Since meeting her, hearing her creative ideas and listening to her play she has been my muse, impacting the ways I view the world and art as a whole. She has been both a creative and personal inspiration to me. Others I would like to thank are our friends who have almost always shown up to support us in our shows, shown up just as our friends, an ear, a drink or a conversation. One friend in particular would be Josh Kreuzman who has his project Twice Dark, which has its own unique and darkly beautiful sound. Josh has been a big support to us, both artistically and personally.
Nickey: I of course, would also like to thank my partner Elijah! He has been such a kind soul since I met him, just as a human being, not to mention an artist. He has guided me through a lot, even through music, he definitely doesn’t give himself enough credit. I would also thank my immediate family, my pa who listened to and shared music with me, my sister Salena who gifted me my first guitar as a kid, and everyone else who supported me in my passion. I would like to thank my friends who always show up for me no matter where I go; Sophia, Taylor, there are others, and again Josh Kreuzman who in different ways gave us that inspiration to keep going, to keep pushing even when shit gets rough.
Jay: Do you have a dream project with an artist of another medium you’d love the opportunity to do?
Elijah: There are all sorts of "dream collab" scenarios with artists of other mediums that I would absolutely love to do. Dream projects that come to mind would be with people like Anton Corbijn who is a photographer, director and artist who has done all of Depeche Mode's music videos. He also directed the film Control about Joy Division, and many other projects. Absolutely brilliant.
On the topic of films, I have always wanted to do soundtrack work, collaborating with someone like Tim Burton would be a dream. I would also have loved to work with David Lynch. It was such a shame to lose such a brilliant filmmaker. I would also love to do a collaboration with visual artists, painters, sculptors, etc for installations. That has always been something I would love to do!
Nickey: The first dream opportunity that comes to mind would definitely be something to do with video games! In my down time, I am very passionate about video games, specifically story driven, ambient games! It would be such an honor to work with someone like Mark Darrah, director of Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age II; to do voicing, sound and ambiance for such brilliant RPGs, it would be an absolute honor! That being said, it is so unfortunate to have to lose a studio like BioWare who has created such amazing video games. They will definitely be missed.