Q&A: Under High Street on “Lifestyle” and the Life Cycle of Discovering their Sound
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KATELYN BERBERICH ☆
Photo Credit: Dan Ways
UNDER HIGH STREET HAS WON US OVER WITH THEIR NEW SINGLE — This rising indie rock band from Nashville, TN, has just released the first song in their upcoming EP. Titled “Lifestyle”, this track offers a blend of playful, poppy and personified envy. Although the band has released previous originals, these unreleased gems take Under High Street in an exciting new direction.
Originally from Ohio, Under High Street started as a group of friends who met in college — a tale as old as time. The difference is, Under High Street has mastered the fine line between not taking themselves too seriously, while taking their craft very seriously. Don’t let their fun, playful social media content fool you — Under High Street is committed to growing within the Nashville music scene and beyond, with listeners as far as Australia, Canada, Brazil and Germany.
If this is your first time hearing of them, prepare to be entranced with the pop-rock, indie-rock medley that is Under High Street. They have generously shared insights on their journey of growth, self-reflection and creative collaboration. I’d recommend buckling in for the long haul, because there’s more music to come from this up-and-coming artist.
Read Luna’s interview to discover what this new EP means for Under High Street’s creative career.
Photo Credit: Dan Ways
LUNA: Can you tell us about this EP you’re releasing? Take us through the creative process and inspirations for the new music.
DYLAN: It’s a collection of demos we’ve recorded over the past two years, all the way until now. It’s about this character who has become increasingly more self-aware. We’ve been collaborating really well for these songs.
EVAN: We start with the skeleton. We have a space in our house where we record the demos, but recording the in-studio version is when we add layers to each song. Our newer stuff on this EP has been a lot more of a collaborative project, in the sense that we’re each coming in with something that changes the sound and direction; we’re playing into each person’s strengths for every track.
LUNA: Can you tell me about the song you just released, “Lifestyle?”
DYLAN: “Lifestyle” is an amalgamation of all of us into one character. This character is someone who wishes they were in the shoes of another. More specifically, another who is doing a little bit better in life. It’s kind of a drag of a topic, which is why we chose to put those lyrics over something fun and poppy. It’s a song where we’re embracing the idea of not taking yourself so seriously- it’s one of the most fun songs to play live.
EVAN: It has this dichotomy between a lyrically heavy topic, and a song that gives you a ticklish feeling. The recording of lifestyle was the one that we did the most layers on in the studio — just a field day with percussion instruments and vocal harmonies.
LUNA: Tell us about your experience playing these new songs live while you were on tour with BabyJake. How did the fans react?
DYLAN: People tend to like “Fool” a lot. That’s a fun one to play live because it’s really punchy- it has the build, the peak, all of it. People were really messing with “Lifestyle,” as well. It’s a lot less rock, with a quirky chord progression.
LUNA: Can you speak more to how you feel your sound and the band has evolved since moving from Ohio to Nashville?
EVAN: Most of the shows we were doing around Ohio were cover songs. That was a really great place and time for us to get used to playing longer sets and build chemistry with each other, but since we’ve gotten to Nashville it’s been much more focused on strictly playing our original music. Defining the set completely around our own sound and developing our own songs has pushed us forward a lot.
LUNA: Do most of the songs stay true to your sound? Should we expect indie rock, or are there any curveballs?
DYLAN: Our unreleased song “Tattoos” leans into other-ness; it’s the most genre-bending song.
BEAUMAN: “Persephone” has some moments that are heavier than anything we’ve done before, but we also have some tracks that are softer than anything we’ve played before. You can expect a little bit of everything with these new songs.
LUNA: If there is one thing that readers at Luna Collective Magazine should take away from this article, what would you hope that is?
DYLAN: It's the best live. We are a live band, that’s our element.
EVAN: The songs on this upcoming EP serve as a great benchmark of the new direction we’re headed. If you can be encouraged to catch a live show, you’ll get to hear them in an individualized way. We truly never play a song the exact same way at each show.
Photo Credit: Dan Ways
