Lowline are an

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band from

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England.

History

Lowline formed in their home town of Manchester in late 2007 releasing their first single "Monitors" through 1234 Records early 2008 with producer

Owen Morris Owen Morris (born in Caernarfon, Wales) is a Welsh record producer who has worked with rock bands including Oasis (band), Oasis, the Fratellis, Ash (band), Ash, The View (band), the View, Loso and the Verve. Biography Morris started working in t ...

. Both "Monitors" and the follow-up single "Sound Of Music" (also produced by Morris) reached number 6 in the UK Indie charts. The band formed after a chance meeting at a fall show. With a similar predilection for

Krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments ...

and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

including

The Chameleons The Chameleons are an English rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1981. The band's classic line-up consisted of lead vocalist and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarists Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever. The ...

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

and Echo and The Bunnymen, the band soon won a reputation as ‘the black sheep’ of the Manchester music scene – eschewing traditional venues preferring to set up their own shows in semi-derelict warehouses in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

and

Ancoats Ancoats is an area of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is located next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre. Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has ...

. Lowline soon counted Morris as well as

Mani Mani may refer to: Geography * Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia * Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad * Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece * Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...

and

Nick McCabe Nicholas John McCabe (born 14 July 1971) is an English musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Verve. Early life McCabe is the son of a bus driver father and a social worker mother and has two older brothers, Alan and Paul. When asked ...

among their supporters. With two Morris-produced, self-released singles selling out by word of mouth, subsequent airplay by Radio One’s Zane Lowe and Huw Stephens, as well as playlists on

XFM Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2015 ...

and

6Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

, tours with The Enemy,

The Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

and The Charlatans followed as did a burgeoning interest from record labels. Left contemplating the band’s future, the members collectively decided to leave the UK for a hectic touring schedule of Europe, the proceeds of which were used to finance recording themselves and on their own terms. The band toured extensively across Europe and the UK before returning to Manchester to start their Deaf Radio label facilitating their own album release. The band released their debut album ''Lowline'' in 2011 through their own label Deaf Radio. The album was recorded in Stockport and was produced by

George Shilling George Edward Shilling (born 1966 in Redbridge, London) is an English musician, record producer, composer and audio engineer. He is the son of Eric Shilling, formerly of the English National Opera and actress Erica Johns. He studied cello at the ...

. The album consists of 12 tracks and 2 bonus tracks-including a

Jagz Kooner Jagz Kooner (born Jagjit Singh Kooner, 1967)Companies House https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07470451/officers is an English record producer who has worked with Radio 4, Manic Street Preachers, Garbage, Infadels ...

remix of opening track "Disko Killers". Their track "Outside" taken from the album was made "Single of the Week" on iTunes in The United States helping the album climb to number 20 in iTunes USA Alternative chart and maintain a position in the top 30 for over a week. All this culminating in the band being named "iTunes USA Alternative Breakthrough Artist of the Year" for 2011.

Releases

Singles

* "Monitors" (1234 Records 2008) * "Last Chance" (1234 Records 2008) B-Side * "Sound Of Music" (1234 Records 2008) * "Wait For Them to Run" (1234 Records 2008) B-Side * "Gun In My Side" (1234 Records 2009) * "Gun In My Side" (Joe & Will Ask? Remix) (1234 Records 2008) B-Side

''Lowline'' (Album, 2011)

# Disko Killers # Monitors # All your Scars # Here I Lie # Blinded # Outside # Gun In My Side # Lost Touch # Army Of Youth # Black Eye # Sound Of Music # Wait For Them To Run ; Bonus tracks # Suicide # Disko Killers (Jagz Kooner Remix)

''The Howler'' (EP, 2013)

# The Howler # Sally Sledgehammer # My Head Explodes # Bury My Soul (feat. Nick McCabe) # Last One Standing

Reviews

* “More Manchester greats” ''NME'' * “Another Manchester success story and their latest stars” ''The Sun'' * "Arguably the most exciting new band to have emerged from Manchester in recent times." ''The Guardian''

Lineup

* Robbie Rush (Guitar/Vocals) * Andy Hewitt (Guitar/Backing Vocals) * Mikey Hosker (Bass) * Sam Clarke (Drums)

References

External links

*
Live4Ever presents Lowline
{{Authority control English indie pop groups