Hypoluxo is a band on the move.
Born on the mean streets of Lake Worth and currently based in New York, the young indie rockers have already completed two excellent EPs -- It's a Beautiful Day to Leave and Feelings -- that they will promote with an East Coast tour beginning February 2 at Radio-Active Records in Fort Lauderdale.
Samuel Cogen, the band's singer and guitarist, explained Hypoluxo's origins to New Times. "I was playing bass with a few other local bands [Novajoven and Paleo Eskimo]. I started playing guitar on the side. Never performing in public or in a band. But I wanted to develop the songs."
Conveniently, he ran into an old drummer pal, Marco Ocampo, on a sojourn to Tennessee for Bonnaroo, where they quickly bonded and decided to make music together. Inconveniently, Ocampo was moving to New York.
But what's a thousand miles between friends and musical soulmates?
"I started writing songs and arranging the strings, and I would send him the demos every week which he would add drums to. We liked how the sound was coming, so I moved to New York too," he explained.
Cogen was joined on his move north by two friends, bassist John Arphuelta and guitarist Anthony Tredenick, who will also be accompanying the band at its Fort Lauderdale show.
In spite of working day jobs at restaurants, clothing stores, and coffee shops to cover New York rent prices, the band members make sure to find time for rehearsal and to play two or three shows a week. Most crucially, they find the inspiration to write and record new music to follow up their aforementioned debut EPs. Cogen gave all the credit for their high-quality sound to their old friend, Delray-bred, Phoenix-based engineer Eamon Ford. "He mixed it, mastered it, and got the gear to record."
Cogen credits many of the ideas for those albums as coming from a few directions. "Lyrically, I got a lot from Trevor Powers of Youth Lagoon. Deerhunter gives us a lot of inspiration with their pedal work." But the most glaringly obvious touchstone of their sound is the National. When asked, Cogen readily admits to it. "I tried to do the voice of the National as a little guy. As I got older, I tried to sing higher, but it wasn't working. Eamon suggested I sing on the lower register, and all of a sudden the songs worked."
As the band gears up for this February tour, which takes them up the coast starting locally and playing 11 shows in two weeks, you'd think it would be eager to kick up its feet when it returns to New York. But Cogen sees more miles in their immediate future. "I'm working on the songs for a full release, which hopefully we'll be recording in Phoenix." Very far away from Hypoluxo Road.
Hypoluxo, with Washa. 5 p.m. Monday, February 2, at Radio-Active Records, 845 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale. All ages. No cover. Visit Facebook.
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