Low: Mormonism Shapes Our Music

Speaking to Gigwise, Low frontman Alan Sparhawk has admitted that his strong mormon faith helps shape his music.

Sparhawk together with his wife and bandmate Mimi Parker are devout Mormons, and he says that he often writes with God on his mind.

He told us:  "In a way, I've always felt like these songs were written and performed in the presence of God. If you keep that mindset, it'll definitely keep your ego and your selfishness a lot more in check."

The singer added: “Mormonism in many ways defines who we are before we're even defined as musicians.

“It's always been an influence - some of the language and some of the subjects come up, and songs that stem from a personal conflict or darkness...  when you're dealing with those more serious things, more personal things - whether you feel it or not - you’re dealing with your own spirituality, relationship with God.

“I guess for me the relationship with God is a struggle.  I think the struggle is a very desperate, dark, scary struggle sometimes, and it doesn't mean it’s negative it’s...  I think coming through those things is what makes us better and therefore, closer to God.” 

Sparhawk suffered a crippling emotional breakdown in 2005, but rubbishes the idea that helped artistic creativity on the band’s latest album ‘Drums and Guns.’ 

He says: “Coming back from there, is where the creative process is. When you get sick, there's no creativity going on. You're barely able to put two rational sentences together.

“We wrote some songs before that [breakdown] and some songs afterwards - I don’t necessarily see any distinct line.  Dragonfly maybe refers a little bit to the question of mental health - the mind, chemicals and easy answers."