小简介
风格: Alternative Pop/Rock(另类流行/摇滚) Christmas(圣诞音乐) Dream Pop(梦幻流行) Indie Rock(独立摇滚) Slowcore(慢核)
相信每个人的心底都会珍藏着某段音乐,它能立即勾起人的最深远、最美好、最难忘、最模糊、最琐碎的回忆,或者引发人的最无拘无束、最诗情画意的想象。Low的音乐对我就具有这种难以用文字表达的意味。I Could Live In Hope,Low的首张专辑,它把许多无意义的回忆碎片嵌进我的心底,那寂静无人的山丘小径,那反射在湖面的落日,那些影影绰绰的树木,那些橙黄色温暖的路灯,那些入睡之前的漫长黑夜,Low引领我离开了狭窄的空间,穿过屋檐,穿过树的枝枝叶叶,穿过云朵,一直飘升至地球的平流层,我躺在云端,放眼是无边无际的蓝天,在那里我不必担心会缺氧而窒息,因为我正在呼吸着音乐......
Low是Vernon Yard旗下的三人乐队,其音乐如其名字,是我所听过的最简约、最低调的摇滚乐,最大的声响也不超过古典音乐中的室内乐。他们有意地在音符之间留出空隙,把悠悠的时间和空间一并编织入他们的音乐中。简洁、恍惚的吉他和贝司,若有若无的鼓点,Alan Sparhawk和Mimi Parker伉俪吟唱出梦呓般的优美旋律。他们好像用神奇的 棱镜,将各种复杂的声音分解成稀疏的、最简单的乐韵,安静如幽幽森林里微风的呼吸,清澈如缓缓溪水中蓝天的倒影。Low每一首歌的歌词都不长,就象几行意识流诗韵。
别误会这是不痛不痒的轻音乐或催眠曲。用心聆听,Low能带给你忧伤、不安和沉思(甚至失眠),Alan也承认他们的音乐有时会使人联想起The Cure早期的晦暗、压抑的作品,比如Seventeen Seconds和Faith。不知道是不是巧合,事实上有很多Low的乐迷同时也是The Cure的死硬派拥趸。在芝加哥的Michael十几岁就开始迷恋The Cure的音乐,现在他既是The Cure的huge fan,又是Alan和Mimi的亲密朋友(多么令人羡慕)。他告诉我一件有趣的事:他的一个朋友的女友,在听Low的音乐时竟入迷得忘了呼吸,等那首歌结束时她都快窒息了,这才大口地喘气。
我笑了。有什么理由觉得孤独呢,在地球上有这么多心有灵犀的人在听着相同的音乐发出相似的感叹。“over the oceans, over the hills, over the dell, over the fireline....over the sand, over the plan, over the empire....”
Low的歌词有不少是在无意识的状态下写就的。有时我不禁惊讶:怎么连这么琐屑的事情也值得Low充满感情地吟唱?“The sea is a long long way, I'd go there if I had the time, but lying here will be just fine...The sea is a long long way from me.”然而当你听着Low的音乐的时候是不会想这么多的,你只会在莫名的幸福感中陶醉,仿佛服用了大麻或LSD。
One More Reason To Forget是Low在罗斯威尔一间教堂里的现场录音,空旷建筑物的隐约回声使Low的音乐显得更悠远、静谧。这张唱片的题献,是纪念一位年轻的艺术家和作家Phil Perry,为了从令他心烦的城市、人群和工作中暂时逃避出来,他独自到广阔的大自然中旅行,在大自然中寻找困扰心头的问题的答案,找回内心的平静,追逐心底的梦想...当他乘独木舟荡漾在湖面时,不期而至的可怕风暴卷起凶猛的湖水连人带船吞没了......
唱片名取自长达17分16秒的Do You Know How To Waltz?中的乐句。Low用大篇幅的Sonic Youth式的吉他噪音渲染了令人不安的气氛,而短短四句歌词淋漓地表达了短暂而简单的欢乐之后的彻骨悲凉。而当Over The Ocean氤氲地沁入心田的时候,梭罗笔下的瓦尔登湖、缅因森林和梅里马克河若隐若现。唱片中还有Be There、Venus和速度放得更慢的Shame等歌曲,使人在淡淡的怅然若失的情绪中不酒自醉。
某夜我梦见自己从什么地方起飞,一阵快速飞行时离心力作用下的眩晕之后,我发现自己很安稳地漂浮在高空,俯瞰下面是一片湖,我从未见过这一景象,但我知道那是XW湖。如果当时耳边会响起音乐的话,那一定是Low。
Low. A band from Duluth, Minnesota, formed in 1993. Featuring Alan Sparhawk on vocals and guitar and Mimi Parker on vocals and drums and Matt Livingston on bass and vocals. Sparhawk and Parker are married with two children; they first met in fourth grade in rural Minnesota. Livingston, the latest addition to the band, replaced longtime bassist Zak Sally who previously replaced original bassist John Nichols.
Low released its first album, I Could Live in Hope, in 1994 (producer by Kramer) on Vernon Yard Records. Pegged as "slowcore," due to the band's minimalist soundscapes and the beautiful harmonies of Sparhawk and Parker, which stood in stark contrast to the era's fascination with "grunge." Low continued to work with varied producers and released a constant stream of critically acclaimed albums (e.g., Long Division, Curtain Hits the Cast, Things We Lost in the Fire), one-offs, collaborations and other miscellany, including a classic Christmas album, aptly titled Low Christmas. Throughout, Low toured the world and eventually found themselves in the company of acts such as the Dirty Three, Radiohead and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
Sparhawk has formed a few side projects, notably the dirty punk blues band, The Black Eyed Snakes and, most recently, the rock trio The Retribution Gospel Choir. Low's latest album, The Great Destroyer (produced by Dave Fridmann), was released in 2005 on Sub Pop Records – the Seattle indie label known for bringing Nirvana to the masses.
To this day, Low continues to create and record interesting and unique music.