Based in Buffalo, New York, Alpha Hopper is a unique-sounding band that combines elements of hardcore punk, noise rock, and all sorts of other flavors that fall between those styles, into what they do.
Alpha Hopper formed in 2014, and their third studio album, Alpha Hex Index, hit stores late last year.
The album's off-kilter yet memorable melodic lines stay get stuck inside your head from the first listen.
Check out our new interview with Alpha Hopper vocalist Irene Rekhviashvili, along with the new Jessica Wegrzyn-directed music video for "The Goods," below.
Before we set this interview up, I learned that you work as an immigration attorney. Before we get into Alpha Hopper, I was curious to learn what drew you to that side of the profession, and how would you describe what you do in layman’s terms?
My focus is asylum law, which means representing individuals from all over the world while they try to prove to the government that they should not be deported because of fear of persecution in their home countries.
I love my job, but the immigration system is a mess right now. It's all we can do just to keep up and play by the new and arbitrary rules that come out every other day from the Trump administration. As you can imagine, I'm personally very hopeful and excited for January 20, 2021.
In terms of your lyrics, I wanted to ask you about “The Goods” from the album. At first glance/listen, it feels like you’re calling out someone you’re romantically connected to. But then the line "I want the merchandise” gets repeated in the song, making me think my initial feelings were wrong, and there’s something metaphorical at play.
I'm going to seem like a brute but this song is very literally about the competitive spirit, playing games, and wanting to be good at them. Many of my friends and I have a history of playing board games, etc and wanting to come out on top.
It defined a large part of our adolescence and beyond. It's that feeling of wanting to be the victor, that taste of hope in your mouth when you have the right move all planned out, that I wrote this song about.
I’ve seen all sorts of different stylistic tags put on Alpha Hopper on other websites. How would you describe what you’re doing?
You know that feeling of jumping through a window at top speed, with glass shattering all around you, rolling, getting up without stopping and running into the woods? Whatever you call that is what Alpha Hopper feels like to me.
Also, really "weird punk" is also how I would describe us.
Speaking of that stuff, what bands do you feel a kinship with? Is there a community of bands in the Buffalo area that Alpha Hopper is closely connected to?
All our friends are in bands, and all bands have our friends in them. That's sort of the definition of what it's like to live and play in a band in Buffalo. Some bands we love and vibe with are Facility Men and Personal Style. I strongly recommend listening to both.
Alpha Hex Index is available now via Hex Records.
Alpha Hopper on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp
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