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INTERVIEW + STREAM :: Atlanta band Higher Learning – playing 529 in Atlanta this Friday 7/13 + Free Download

by Adam Keen…
 
Bio from https://www.higherlearningmusic.com: “Higher Learning is a musical collective from Atlanta, Georgia formed in 2012. Originally conceived as an instrumental hybrid of electronica and post-rock; their sound has shifted over time, drawing from jazz, jam, hip-hop, and film score elements. Although their influences are wide ranging, Higher Learning maintains a common, bittersweet atmosphere through their music, never fully embracing light or dark, and landing somewhere between dance music and introspection…” TICKETS and DETAILS for their 529 show this Friday, July 13th here.
 
Keyboard, Production / Niles Roberts
Drums / Rohan Prakash
Bass / Ryan Renoud
Production / Adam Chelton
Higher Learning on FaCEBoOk
 
Listening to Higher Learning’s 2017 release “In Anima” made me believe in electronic music again. Its not your run of the mill dub step this, dub step that. In fact there is no dub step. It exudes cool. Its sophisticated; lively but covert, dark, like a mysterious figure wearing a hood and with no face, just a shadow. Featuring full electronic instrumental tracks and electronic songs featuring guest singers and rappers, its an illuminating force that is sometimes dance inducing and always thought provoking. It could easily be the the movie score for the next great Indie newcomer or the next pop culture box office phenomenon. The guest singers and rappers are first class and make you want to seek out their music. You can stream the highly enjoyable and palatable album below. In the following interview the group talks about their much deserved recent show opening for STS9, their history, their future and how they plan to bring the house down at their show in Atlanta this Friday.
 
THE INTERVIEW
 
B: Is the current lineup the original lineup? How did the current lineup come to be?
 
Niles: We went through two drummers before finding Rohan. One lived in Alabama so it made it tough to work with him. The other had personal issues come up and moved to Virginia. Ryan (bassist) and I met at a music festival in Michigan when I stumbled upon his crew asking to use a phone to find my friends. He lived in Baton Rouge at the time but moved to Atlanta to go to school for music and in turn, ended up working on music with me.
 
Rohan – I joined the band in 2012. We met through one of our friends who was managing HL at the time. They happened to be playing a house party in my home town of Auburn one night and I sat in on percussion for a few songs of their set. A couple months later, I got a call from Ryan and Niles about potentially playing some shows with them as they needed a fill in drummer. Things went well and after a couple months of touring I joined the band full time. 
 
 
B: You were formed in 2012 and your bio says your sound has shifted over time…what do you think has been the biggest shift from when you started to now? Why do you think your sound evolved the way it did? 
 
Niles: We started with heavy improv and a novice sense of production on a computer. Our skills have developed all around over the years as well as our musical tastes. We are more trip hop/electronic as opposed to how we used to be more interested in mostly jamtronica.
 
Ryan: Our sound changes in small ways all the time just based on what we’re inspired by at an given time. But on the macro level, I think our sound has become more focused, more electronic and darker over time. When we were starting out, we had a ton of influences but lacked technical knowledge. Making music with samplers, synths, midi clock, etc. is different than being in a traditional rock band. The interconnected machines become like another member of the band, and a really temperamental one at that. A laptop glitch or “stepped-on-headphone-cable” can cause an absolute train wreck on stage. On top of that, you can’t just lock everything down to perfectly automated choreography or else you lose all ability to improvise or have any spontaneity. So trying to walk that tight rope has got us to where we are now.
 

 
B: You recently opened and played some festivals with STS9, and you’re opening for Papadosio’s upcoming tour – how did you land such awesome gigs? 
 
Niles: We are on 1320 Records, a label STS9 helped launch years ago. With that it has helped us connect with some of the artists in that area, as well as STS9 🙂
 
Rohan- opening for STS9 last month in Detroit was definitely a huge honor. We have been in talks with their team about opening for a little while now and when they contacted up about this opening slot, we confirmed it without any hesitation. In regards to landing such awesome gigs, haha – we have played our fair share of shows to almost nobody, as most bands do when starting out. Touring can be very stressful at times but landing shows with your favorite artists is a very rewarding feeling. Networking, lots of practice and having amazing friends and fans as support has been a big factor in playing these bigger shows. We have been fortunate to meet and work with many amazing bands and producers. 
 
 
B: Why are you a good fit to open for STS9? 
 
Rohan- our style of music is similar to STS9 when it comes to meshing live instrumentation with production, but I feel that our sound has evolved a lot over the years. We definitely have taken a lot of inspiration from STS9 in the past but we also take inspiration from many other producers and bands.
 
Ryan: In my opinion, I think we’re sonically similar enough where the crowd is not going to be completely thrown for a loop… But different enough so it’s an interesting blend. But that’s pretty subjective. I’d like to see The Clash (circa 1978) open for Aphex Twin… but I don’t know if anyone else would see that as a good fit. 
 
Niles: We have similar tastes stylistically.
 
 
B: Describe your music in 3 words. 
 
Ryan: Lots of synthesizers. 
 
Niles: Story, heavy, waves
 
Rohan: Psychadelic , dark , blissful
 
 
B: Describe a Higher Learning show in 3 words. 
 
Ryan: From my perspective, “Don’t fuck up.”
 
Niles: Heavy Vibes bro
 
Rohan- what Ryan said
 
 
B: What do you hope a fan is thinking when they leave a Higher Learning show? 
 
Rohan- To want to come back to another Higher Learning show. 
 
Ryan: I hope they leave happy, tipsy and tired from dancing. But our music is sometimes bittersweet, introspective or straight up melancholy. I hope we’re also connecting with the people in the back, who don’t feel like dancing that night and those who never feel like dancing at all. I’d like to move people emotionally as well as move their feet. But from the stage, it’s much easier to tell if people are dancing, than it is to tell if they are relating to you on an emotional level. I hope everyone feels welcome and feels like they’re in good company. Regardless if it’s they’re first concert or 1000th concert.
 
Niles: When’s the next one haha.
 
 

Daniel Leake Photography

B: What is in store for the future? 
 
Ryan: Trying to sound better… practice… write… out do what we’ve done. We’re always dialing in our sound, diving deeper into more detail. It sort of feels like a Sisyphean exercise at this point. I’m not sure there’s an end point where everyone in the band can relax and be totally content with how we sound. Every show and every practice we try to take note of what could sound better and take steps to make those changes.
 
Niles: More music! Keep pushing and sculpting our sound. Also, a tour with the group Papadosio through Texas and back next month.
 
Rohan- We are playing STS9’s festival in Northern California next month and then the following two weeks we will be touring with Papadosio all over the south in states such as AL, TX, LA, SC and NC. We have more shows on the horizon that we can’t announce quite yet.
 
 
B: What is your favorite thing about Atlanta? 
 
Ryan: The night life, the plants and the music scene. My friends joke that I’m a vampire, and that’s not too far off from the truth. The big trees and parks around the city remind me of my home in Louisiana. It’s comforting. 
 
Niles: Team no sleep. You’ll find inspiration anywhere at any time.
 
Rohan: The music scene and the food.
 
 
B: What Atlanta bands do you recommend? 
 
Ryan: Do Djs/Producers count? (B: Of Course!)
 
Deku/Suede , Ployd , Flohr, Skybison
 
Rohan: Daily Bread, The Difference Machine , I also play in a couple of other bands such as Space Kadet and Hivemind (also with Niles)
 
Niles: Bells and Robes and Modern Measure are the homies. I play in two other projects HIKU and Hivemind (as well as Rohan with Hivemind)
 
 
B: Anything you want fans to know about your upcoming Atlanta show at 529? 
 
Ryan: They just renovated the whole venue. We were there last weekend and the new system is banging. I have some bass sounds to really put it through it’s paces. 
 
Rohan- We have been practicing a lot for this one and we are ready to bring it for the home team. People can expect new songs as well as special guest sit ins.
 
 

 
FREE DOWNLOAD of Higher Learning’s 2014 “Cosmica Sidera EP”
 

 
 

 

 

 
https://www.higherlearningmusic.com/
https://higher-learning.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/higher-learning
https://www.bandsintown.com/a/935175
 
 
photos used with permission from Higher Learning on FaCEBoOk