Mimi Parker
Mimi Parker | Image: Stefan M. Prager/Redferns

Low Drummer and Vocalist Mimi Parker Has Died, Aged 55

Mimi Parker, one half of Minnesota indie rock group Low, has died at the age of 55 after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December of 2020. The news was confirmed by Parker’s husband and bandmate, Alan Sparhawk. “Friends, it’s hard to put the universe into language and into a short message” Sparhawk wrote on social media.

“She passed away last night [5th November], surrounded by family and love, including yours,” Sparhawk said. “Keep her name close and sacred. Share this moment with someone who needs you. Love is indeed the most important thing.”

Low’s Alan Sparhawk: “Love is indeed the most important thing”

Born in 1967, Parker grew up in the city of Bemidji in northern Minnesota. She and Sparhawk met in primary school and began dating in high school. The couple eventually moved to the Minnesotan port city of Duluth, and – with Parker playing drums and Sparhawk on guitar – formed Low in 1993 alongside bass player John Nichols. He was the first in a long string of bassists the pair would perform with before officially becoming a duo in 2020.

Low’s 1994 debut album, I Could Live in Hope, introduced a songwriting style centred on unhurried tempos, sparse arrangements and Parker and Sparhawk’s sublime vocal harmonies – a contrast to the wave of fuzzed-out, aggressive grunge and alt-rock that dominated the airwaves at the time. Along with the likes of Codeine and Red House Painters, the band are considered (reluctant) pioneers of the “slowcore” genre.

Low went on to release 12 more studio albums over the next three decades. After releasing their first six albums through the independent labels Vernon Yard and Kranky, they signed with Sub Pop in the mid-2000s. The Great Destroyer, their first album for the label, arrived in 2005.

Low's Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker

    Sparhawk and Parker performing together in 2011 | Image: Samuel Dietz/Redferns

Low worked with a range of producers throughout their career, including Dave Fridmann, Wilco‘s Jeff Tweedy and BJ Burton. The final album to be released in Parker’s lifetime was last year’s HEY WHAT – their first as a duo, following the exit of bassist Steve Garrington in 2020.

Parker was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in late 2020, undergoing treatment throughout 2021 and disclosing her diagnosis during a podcast appearance earlier this year. The band cancelled a number of planned tour dates in 2022 due to concerns around Parker’s health.

News of Parker’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from the music world. Steve Albini, Geoff Barrow of Portishead, Mogwai‘s Stuart Braithwaite, Run the Jewels‘ El-P, Okkervil River‘s Will Sheff and Ben Watt of Everything But the Girl are among those who have remembered the drummer. She is survived by Sparhawk and their two children, Hollis and Cyrus.

LOW – ‘Days Like These’

https://twitter.com/therealelp/status/1589322198312886274

https://twitter.com/maryannehobbs/status/1589293207149752320

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