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Low | |
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![]() Low in 2013 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Duluth, Minnesota, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1993–2022 |
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Past members |
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Website | www |
Low was an American indie rock band from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993 by Alan Sparhawk (guitar and vocals) and Mimi Parker (drums and vocals). The band was a trio from 1993 to 2020, having featured four different bassists. Low disbanded following the death of Parker in 2022.
The music of Low was characterized by slow tempos and minimalist arrangements. Early descriptions sometimes referred to the band's style as a rock subgenre called "slowcore", and Low were often compared to the band Bedhead, who played this style during the early 1990s. However, Low's members ultimately disapproved of the term.[1][2]
Parker and Sparhawk's vocal harmonies represented perhaps the group's most distinctive element; critic Denise Sullivan writes that their shared vocals are "as chilling as anything Gram [Parsons] and Emmylou [Harris] ever conspired on—though that's not to say it's country-tinged, just straight from the heart."[3] Low's style grew experimental over time, gradually incorporating elements of electronica and glitch on later releases, while retaining their minimalist approach.
Sparhawk: What's the cheesiest? Slow-core. I hate that word. The most appropriate is anything that uses the word minimal in it, but I don't think anybody's made one up for that.
Sparhawk: This friend of ours in a record store was always joking around ... and he said, 'I got it! You should call it "slowcore"!' ... It was a total joke, and I think I mentioned it at one of our interviews.