Lowly
A truly experimental pop band, Denmark's Lowly combine their formal training with an insatiable curiosity and a sense of warmth and wonder that can't be taught. The group's 2016 debut album Heba combined silky vocals, guitars and electronics in lush yet surprising ways, while their second album Hifalutin suggested they had only begun to push themselves.

Lowly formed in 2014, when keyboardist Kasper Staub, vocalist/guitarist Nanna Schannong, vocalist Soffie Viemose, bassist/keyboardist Thomas Lund, and percussionist Steffen Lundtoft met at the musical academy in Aarhus. They soon attracted attention with the single "Daydreamers" and the 2015 EP Sink Way Into Me, their debut release for Simon Raymonde's label Bella Union. Late in 2016, the single "Deer Eyes" hinted at the majesty of the band's first full-length, Heba, which featured tenor saxophonist Jacob Danielsen and soprano singer Anna Maria Wierød, as well as co-production by Efterklang soundman/engineer Anders Boll.

While preparing to make their second album, Lowly performed a concert at Brønshøj Water Tower, a venue in suburban Copenhagen with so much reverb that the band had to streamline their music to avoid a muddy sound. This approach influenced the creation of Hifalutin, which they recorded with Boll in a huge warehouse with a wide array of microphones. Arriving in April 2019, the album found Lowly incorporating spoken word and R&B into their expansive sound. (Heather Phares, AMG)