Local live hip-hop band Hiahli is back with a new EP release, “Killer Hiahlife,” a massively merry collaborative project two years in the making.
“Hiahli,” pronounced high-uh-lie, is a play on the name of the sport Jai-Alai, which translates from the Basque language as “merry festival.” With genre-shattering sounds that playfully echo the likes of The Roots reggae and moody Rage Against the Machine, the band is a musical mashup of rock, disco, blues country and jam band—a local gem.
The new EP is classic Hiahli in that there’s a little something for everyone. Like the snack aisle at Hornbacher’s, it can feel overwhelmingly glorious and gluttonous at the same time. From the opening track, “Run With Luck,” to the closer, “Still Burnin,” listeners will get a rich and tasty mouthfeel right to the ears.
“We try to make the genres for the backing music different for each song,” band member Jason Boynton said. “For example, the previous four studio tracks contain pop, hip-hop, disco, and grunge rock musical styles. This new EP contains the same type of variety.”
“Leaves of Autumn,” which happens to be vocal frontman Ryan Tetzloff’s favorite on the EP, withstands the whirlwind of music styles, including a melodic interlude on a little red keyboard that a friend of the band affectionately refers to as “adorable.”
Matthew “Matty” Johnson, vocals and guitar, said his favorite track is “Sunshine In Between,” a song the band almost scrapped until Johnson “rehabilitated it” with “some very tasty and melodic guitar phrases,” Tetzloff said.
For Boynton, “Front Page” is a favorite. “Because of the drums,” he said. “Bhairav Gupta (drummer) played a banger on that one.” The results are a song that moves from a trap beat feel to a reggae stepper enhanced by Mediterranean horn lines.
Don’t get too comfortable. Hiahli is known for sneaking in a few welcome bites of social commentary, but in a funny, lighthearted way. Older works include “Help Yourself,” which received funding from The Arts Partnership to help support video production, It was described as “sincere and realistic” by one listener on YouTube.
By contrast, the 2021 debut of “Toothpaste,” is the band’s attempt to prove that even a good toothpaste swish isn’t enough to wash away mass conformity.
“Nowadays everybody drinks the Kool-Aid/
Wash it down with some peppermint toothpaste/
Fresh breath in the mouth of a two-face/
Man in the mirror telling me it’s too late.”
Hiahli – “Toothpaste” (Official Music Video)
Fan response is as whimsical as the band and their lyrics. One follower on YouTube wrote, “I hope big toothpaste calls you for a collab.” Another (who may not have actually read the lyrics) added, “Possibly a kid bop hit!”
Teamwork makes the dream work
The band boasts four official members consisting of math professors to professional musicians to school teachers, a couple who live elsewhere or have moved away but stay intimately tied to the local music scene. In total, a good dozen musicians contribute to Hiahli.
Also known as DJ Cold Sweat, Tetzloff, who now lives in the Twin Cities, wrote all the lyrics for “Killer Hiahlife.”
Gupta, drums, played a huge role in the new EP, according to Boynton. “In some sense, it is the studio documentation of our time working with Bhairav. Hiahli developed by leaps and bounds as a result of Bhairav’s presence in the group,” he said.
Gupta recently moved to China with his family, leaving the band drumless—at least for a short interval.
“We have already started planning the next EP. Coincidentally, the band has a new drummer, John Kapla (a co-owner of Swing-Barrel Brewing Company). We have played several shows with him, and it has been great,” Boynton said.
All tracks were produced by Boynton and Steve Wallevand at River Wall Studios in Fargo.
Grant recipients
Two band members have received grants from The Arts Partnership. Tetzloff and Johnson are both past recipients of an Individual Arts Partnership grant, which supports local artists and performers in realizing their artistic vision. Artist grants are funded with support from individual donors, the Susie Yakowicz Creative Arts Scholarship Fund of the FM Area Foundation and the Moorhead PEO Chapters.
Connect with Hiahli
Contributors:
Steve Wallevand, vocals, keys, production, recording and mixing
Anthony Price, turntables
Kevin Gastonguay, keys, synth
Bhairav Gupta, drums
Derrick McDonald, congas
Jason Andriano, trombone
Mason Meyers, baritone saxophone
Dante Leyva, tenor saxophone
Ghosty, horns recording
About the author
Lonna Whiting is a freelance writer and owner of lonna.co, a content marketing and communications agency located in Fargo, North Dakota. She is a frequent contributor to The Arts Partnership and also provides strategic communications consultation to the organization.