Low - London, UK, Winter 2001
By: Toby L
Subtlety can often create more of an impact than grand proclamation. And - in the example of Low's music - this seems to be a very true statement.
Whereas their early-to-mid 90's contemporaries would focus on producing a grungy, noisy affair, this Minnesota act made it a prerogative to write songs in a slower and more emotive structure. Sadly, such emphasis on this specific style enabled the media to brand them the pioneers of 'slow-core', a musical movement devoted to playing tunes in a less-than-raucous tempo. Still, years on, they're now producing their finest work.
2001's 'Things We Lost In The Fire' is possibly one of the finest released all year; far from monotonous, the opening delicacy of 'Sunflower' to the growling 'Dinosaur Act' - their most commercial track to date - as well as touching 'Laser Beam', showcased a group that had truly obtained a sound distinct to themselves and no one else, whilst keeping the quality-control sky-soaringly high.
When playing live, however, none of the beauty fades - in fact, some may say that it's enhanced. Indeed, such is the intensity and wonderment of catching them at a show that it's become a commonly known fact that audiences witnessing Low in concert - whether it is in a building possessive of thousands of people, or just a busy bar - are possibly the quietest and intently-listening you'll ever observe in such a setting.
Who are the people that comprise such a thrilling and fascinating combo, then? There's guitarist/singer, Alan Sparhawk, drummer/singer, Mimi Parker - wife of Alan - and bassist, Zak Sally. However, the latest arrival to the group is Alan and Mimi's baby daughter, Hollis, who could be the most rock 'n' roll kid alive, thanks to her track-record of accompanying her parents on the road, no matter what country they're in.
Incidentally, today is no exception. Low are playing the final night of a brief UK tour in London's Union Chapel and, during the course of this interview, Hollis makes numerous gurgles and noises that accompany Mummy and Daddy's, plus Zak's, responses to questions. Indeed, conversation is shared on the venue that they shall be gracing this evening.
'We all like this place a lot,' comments Alan, almost fervently. 'It's the perfect balance of intimacy, and the sound is good. A lot of the time with bigger places, you're detached from the audience so much because the sound that you have going onstage is this little world that you have and you trust that the sound-guy is making sure that what comes out of the speakers is some sort of representation of what you're hearing onstage.
'However, here, you can hear the sound that you're making and feel like you're actually in the room, and it almost makes you feel like you're experiencing the same thing that the audience is experiencing. I guess, by doing that, there's a connection that perhaps makes the audience feel a little closer to experiencing what you're doing too.'
How would you say a Low live performance compares to hearing you on record?
Zak dwells on this thoughtfully, before answering. 'They're like two different animals... The things that you're trying to accomplish in recording and playing shows probably have ideas in common, but - in general - it's such a completely different experience. When you're in the studio, you're trying to get the most accurate representation of the song and actually be faithful to what it is live. When you're live, you're acutely aware of all the people listening and it's a lot different to setting up in a solitary room, trying to get a good thing out of it.'
So, when you make records, what is it that you want to get across to the listener?
Zak sighs, struggling to find a suitable response. 'Oh boy...'
However, Sparhawk attempts a reply. 'I dunno... I don't think we ever really expect to get anything across to anybody. It's hard enough getting something we, ourselves, can live with. It's really nice if it becomes something which people can take to themselves and enjoy, but I think if you start thinking about that before you start thinking about whether you're happy with your music, you're just gonna run into problems.'
'We've been lucky to get a lot of dedicated fans over the years and it's more honest to those people that we just continue to do things the way we always have, which is just doing the best we can, and that's what we're doing... I dunno, I'm just rambling!'
Seemingly, something must be getting better, what with critics widely regarding 'Things We Lost in the Fire' as your best work to date - do you think that you progress with every passing record?
'I think so,' utters Alan, prior to rubbing his eyes in an effort to liven himself up. 'We try to push our little borders out more and more with each record and there's a million different ways to do that.'
'I don't feel like we change, so much as we expand,' rationalises Zak precisely. 'It still sounds like the band that made the first record, but I agree that it's different... Not in the way that we're gonna break out into beats and everything!'
Well, when you work on an album, are there any specific aims that you're trying to reach for?
Zak smiles and puts it honestly. 'We just really want it not to be bad!'
Mimi laughs. 'Yeah, that's our main objection, I think!'
'We always have things that we want to try and accomplish, but it's always - in a lot of ways - dictated by fear,' remarks Sally truthfully. 'Like, 'Oh boy, we don't want to make a bad record!' There are so many bad records in the world already!'
Luckily, Low are able to avoid the 'bad records' out there when it comes to their preference of cover-versions. As their next single-release, they've chosen to give their own working of the classic Smiths track, 'Last Night I Dreamt Somebody Loved Me', which works as an inspired and aurally-enriching choice. In fact, such is the group's strong ability to record renditions of other people's songs to a fine standard that their version of 'Little Drummer Boy' was featured in a past TV advertising-campaign for Gap - and coverage doesn't get more widespread than that.
However, why cover that Smiths song?
'I had never heard that until it was played onstage one night and I was like, 'Who the hell is that,' because it was such an amazing song,' recalls Zak affectionately.
Alan tries to put his finger on why he favours that track. 'I like a lot of their songs, but it's just kind of...'
'... Classic,' interjects Zak.
On hearing the word he was looking for, Alan nods assertively. 'Yeah! We're kind of closet fans of classic pop, like Phil Spector and stuff like that... The Righteous Brothers could have done a song like that actually, as it has that sort of element. It's simple, and a lot of the time where we're in a position to pick a song, we usually have to choose something that we can slow down, but that song just stood out as it's so direct and something we all like.'
Another form of experimentation for the band is their dabbling within outer-group side-projects - apart from Mimi. So, what's the reasoning behind Parker's lack of urges to perform outside of Low, and why do the guys want to try out different things?
'I don't know,' thinks Mimi. 'I just don't have a huge drive to go out and perform... I'm happy just with this band. I can't really imagine another band that I could be in, I guess.'
Alan describes his and his fellow bandmate's reasoning for working within other projects. 'We like all kinds of music and, once you've played a certain style for a while, you can't help but be curious about doing other things. You can start to consider the different possibilities of what you could do and - if the occasion presents itself - sometimes it's interesting to just give it a whirl and try something new.
'The Hospital People thing that Zak and I did was just a single years ago, and was done because we were interested in 80's new wave at the time, and thought it would be fun to do a couple of songs to see what they sounded like.'
In addition to this, on record as Low, you've collaborated with such underground luminaries as The Dirty Three and Springheel Jack - how do these arrangements come about, and what makes you want to do them?
'With The Dirty Three,' starts Zak, 'They're friends of ours, and we thought that we had some commonality there and that it would end up being really cool if we tried doing something together. With them, it was really exciting, and an experiment to see what this would sound like.'
'It is a good way to experiment, and a good way to get a different experience,' justifies Alan. 'The Dirty Three thing was really, really great and the Springheel Jack thing was so quick and easy to do that it turned out to be so much better than expected!
'We don't step into doing such things lightly... There have been a couple of other occasions where people have come up and said, 'We want to participate in this collaboration and tribute,' and whatever, but if we don't feel strongly about it, we usually just don't do it.'
If you could choose to collaborate with anyone you wanted - dead or alive - who would you go for?
The group pause excitedly, deciding the prospects.
'I always think it would be fun to have Phil Spector slap us around the studio,' envisages Alan fondly.
Zak perks up in agreement. 'Yeah! There's always that one part of your brain that wonders what that would be like! Apparently, he's just a horrible son-of-a-bitch, and we would just like him to rule all over us!'
'Yeah, just let him do whatever he wants to do, as it would be so great to see how it turned out,' throws in Sparhawk enthusiastically.
Zak summons up alternatives in his imagination. 'Other than that, though, there's stuff that would be interesting, like George Martin, or Brian Eno...'
Alan proceeds. 'It would be fun to be a back-up band for someone, but I dunno who... Maybe Otis Redding, Or Morrissey...'
Well, one combination that you've become known for is working with legendary producer, Steve Albini, the man behind some vital Nirvana and Pixies material. What is it that makes the man so special to join forces with?
Mimi grins and answers sharply, 'Probably in the sense that he's not a producer!'
Zak tries to explain this logic. 'His recording-technique is an extension of his personality and the way he does it is like: 'This is your band, and I record sound, and I'm a person that makes music and loves music, and my job is getting your music and sound on tape: I'm here to help you with that process,' and that's it!
'He's really knowledgeable, though, so if you go in there knowing exactly what you want and Steve's there, then you're gonna get the sound you want.'
'Yeah,' reminisces Alan. 'There are no games or processes or some sort of miracle-working! You're kind of left to your own, which is actually a kind of freeing thing for a band, because you then need to figure it all out. It forces bands to be better and work a little harder, and be a little more efficient with what they're doing.'
Luckily, thanks to such a striking talent transmitted when recording, you've managed to receive high accolades from top musicians; more recently, Thom Yorke has revealed that he seriously enjoys what you're doing. How does it feel to hear that you've influenced people with your music?
Zak smirks and jokily rasps, 'We hate it!' Continuing, he says, 'Yeah, it's like they are the most famous band in the world and we're just, 'Oh, you guys like us?!'
Alan shakes his head, indicating how surreal it feels for him. 'It's weird; it's really nice, though. We're big fans of Radiohead, so to have someone who's that great and so famous, it's... It's just another form of compliment, I guess... Influence is a weird thing; there are things that have influenced me and I don't necessarily feel like we're doing a similar thing... But it's cool!'
Reaching such a cult-status and rising to a considerable level of respectable prominence - all whilst successfully maintaining a songwriting skill for so many years - is something that most in the industry shall never achieve; so where next for Low?
'We don't like to look too far forward,' returns Alan, for a concluding comment. 'At this point, we've got half a dozen songs we've written that we'll probably record for the next record. So far, at least, some of them are a little darker, a little more direct, though they're hard to describe. We're still trying to figure out what form it's gonna take as far as recording.
'The most recent one was fairly orchestrated, with lots of instruments, lots of layers and I'm not sure if we're gonna push that again or maybe go in a different direction... Maybe a little more simple. However, there seem to be some decent things on the new songs that are gonna come and we'll explore them a little more. We usually know what we're trying to do before we go in the studio, and I guess... Well, I wish I had something more specific to say!'
No need, Alan: your collective words today and the music thus far into your career has already assured us that wherever Low go next, things will only manage to remain on an unmistakable high.
Artists in this article: Low, Low vs Diamond, Lowfive, Lowgold