Drowse and Lula Asplund collaborate on a new rendition of Low's Hey Chicago, featured on the upcoming tribute album Your Voice Is Not Enough by The Flenser & Friends. The album is a sincere homage to Low, conceived through discussions with Thom Wasluck from Planning For Burial and The Flenser.
Drowse's Kyle Bates comments: "Low’s music has had a profound effect on me during many stages of my life. Their final two records still sound decades ahead of our time and have been direct influences on my recent work as Drowse. I first heard Low through their mini-album, Songs for a Dead Pilot, which I picked up as a teenager due to its striking cover art. The music within reflects that desolate cover image, creating a cold atmosphere that I have been chasing ever since. 'Hey Chicago' is this short piece of beauty that comes at the end of the album as a balm for the preceding thirty three minutes of sparse, sustained darkness. I thought it fitting to cover the song with Lula Asplund, a Chicago-based sound artist who I play in a duo with. Lula and I saw Low play in Chicago in early 2022, their final year as a band, and it was a performance I will never forget; rest in peace Mimi Parker, you live on in our memories."
Lula Asplund continues: “I was excited when Kyle asked me to contribute to this cover because I grew up listening to Low. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen was Low live in Chicago. I was very sad and shocked to hear of Mimi Parker’s passing—weird to realize that that concert in Chicago was the only time I’d ever hear those gorgeous voices together in a room.”
Moreover, Drowse unveils the new book, Overcasts, a collection comprising four short stories and an essay penned by Bates between 2019 and 2023; works which explore the delicate balance between solitude and self-isolation.
Photo by Josias Lopez