Prior to the release of their debut full-length Heba, out February 10th via Bella Union, Danish band Lowly have premiered the video for the Gertrude Stein-inspired track “Prepare The Lake”. The song flutters along restless and inventive, Soffie Viemose’s soprano carrying the lyrics to a powerful summit, radiating pure and extraordinary emotion. The video, created by Frederik Valentin, examines the nuanced relationship and between humankind and the virtual world, an isolationist lens portraying ubiquitous modern affliction. Valentin remarks: “I have no sympathy for human beings’ collective rape of the world, but I see huge photogenic beauty in the neglected. All the things that have come to a standstill and are left as proofs of an unknown story.”

As remarkable as their music is, Lowly only came together as a band in 2014, having met at the musical academy in Aarhus, Denmark. Despite all five members being involved in different studies, and having their own pre-existing endeavors, Nanna Schannong (lead vocals, guitar), Soffie Viemose (lead vocals, laptop), Kasper Staub (synthesisers), Thomas Lund (bass, Moog) and Steffen Lundtoft (drums, percussion) soon found common musical ground; a restlessly inventive and exquisitely melodic sound that refutes easy categorization.

The band themselves call it “noise-pop, and everything in between”. In this case ‘noise’, explains Kasper Staub, refers to the textures and treatments via laptop and guitar. This gives Lowly songs unpredictable, shape-shifting qualities (brilliantly layered by the band and co-producer Anders Boll, Efterklang’s long-trusted engineer/soundman), though a core of wistful melancholy remains, further intensified by the enigmatic lyrics.

“We think of our music and lyrics more like a painting, we think it should all melt together,” says Staub. “We’re all interested in developing ourselves as songwriters, and working in new ways, with different ideas.”

Lowly
Heba
Tracklisting:

1. Still Life

2. Deer Eyes

3. Look At The Sun

4. Mornings

5. Cait #2

6. Prepare The Lake

7. Stubborn Day

8. Pommerate

9. No Hands

10. Word

11. Not So Great After All