Lowrider (Swedish band)

After releasing the Nebula/Lowrider Double EP in 1999 (split with psychedelic stoner rock band Nebula), the band embarked upon a European tour in 2000, when they played fourteen venues in eight countries, co-headlining with Dozer and once with Spiritual Beggars.{{Cite web|url=http://hem.bredband.net/rocjoh/olddates.html|title=::: www.dozermusic.com :::|date=12 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312025247/http://hem.bredband.net/rocjoh/olddates.html|access-date=17 November 2020|archive-date=12 March 2007}}

Their debut album Ode to Io was released in 2000. The release was hailed as "Sweden's answer to all that is rocky, funky, gritty and downright rock n' roll" by Critical Metal in 2001.{{Cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/underground/2649/meteorcity.html|title=METEOR CITY RECORDS REVIEW PAGE|date=26 May 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010526075709/http://www.geocities.com/sunsetstrip/underground/2649/meteorcity.html|access-date=17 November 2020|archive-date=26 May 2001}} Metal Hammer in a 2022 article listing the album among the most influential stoner rock albums stated, "If any band can casually encapsulate their entire subgenre, Sweden's Lowrider are probably it."{{cite web |last1=Lawson |first1=Dom |title=The Top 20 best stoner metal records |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/20-stoner-albums-that-make-a-blazing-soundtrack-for-420 |website=louder |access-date=25 February 2025 |language=en |date=20 April 2022}} In 2001 MeteorCity Records released the album, I Am Vengeance: Original Soundtrack featuring songs by fellow stoner rock artists including Eternal Elysium, Sheavy and The Quill with the Lowrider track described as a "feedback-filled dirge" entitled "David William Hughes".{{cite web |last1=Hundey |first1=Jason |title=I Am Vengeance - Original Soundtrack {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-am-vengeance-mw0000005292 |website=AllMusic |access-date=26 February 2025 |language=en |date=22 May 2001}} Released on 22 October 2002, the band contributed a cowbell featured version of Leaf Hound's track "Freelance Fiend" from the 1971 album, Growers of Mushroom to the album Sucking the 70%27s released by Small Stone Records which was composed of modern rock bands covering hard rock songs of the 1970's.{{cite web |title=Freelance Fiend - Lowrider {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/freelance-fiend-mt0002062181 |website=AllMusic |access-date=26 February 2025 |language=en |date=22 October 2002}} It received a "Bell Score" of 4.0262 out of 5 at the Ultimate Cowbell Database.{{cite web |title=Lowrider - Freelance Fiend - Ultimate Cowbell |url=https://www.ultimatecowbell.com/songview.php?idsongperm=920 |website=www.ultimatecowbell.com |access-date=1 March 2025}}

The band unofficially broke up in 2003 with Bergstrand stating in a 2020 interview about the reasons about why

they broke up when he said "we never really split up, we just stopped rehearsing as much and then even less."{{cite web |last1=Blanc |first1=Liam |title=Lowrider – An Interview With Peder Bergstrand |url=https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/interviews/g-q/lowrider-an-interview-with-peder-bergstrand/ |website=The Sleeping Shaman |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=19 May 2020}} They were invited to reform for performances at DesertFest Berlin and London in 2013.{{cite web |title=Astra Berlin {{!}} DESERTFEST |url=https://www.astra-berlin.de/events/2013-04-26-desertfest |website=www.astra-berlin.de |access-date=29 December 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Edwards |first1=Lee |title=LOWRIDER Reform For Desertfest 2013 |url=https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/news/lowrider-reform-for-desertfest-2013/ |website=The Sleeping Shaman |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=2 October 2012}}{{cite web |title=Lowrider - Flat Earth, by Lowrider |url=https://desertfest.bandcamp.com/track/lowrider-flat-earth |website=Bandcamp |access-date=29 December 2024 |language=en |date=24 January 2014}}

File:HF2022Lowrider_2.jpgWith the original lineup intact they released the album Refractions on 21 February 2020 through Blues Funeral Recordings.{{cite web |title=Refractions - Lowrider {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/refractions-mw0003340072 |website=AllMusic |access-date=29 December 2024 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Refractions, by Lowrider |url=https://lowriderofficial.bandcamp.com/album/refractions |website=Bandcamp |access-date=29 December 2024 |language=en |date=21 February 2020}} The first single released was "Ode To Ganymede" with Metal Injection noting the progression of the band in that "so many of the classic Lowrider tropes are there. You get the sense though that the band has tapped into something more."{{cite web |last1=Injection |first1=Metal |title=LOWRIDER Bring The Riffs On A Brand New Song! |url=https://metalinjection.net/new-music/lowrider-bring-the-riffs-on-a-brand-new-song |website=Metal Injection |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=10 February 2020}} Their performance with songs from Refractions, which was held at the Electric Ballroom for the 2022 version of DesertFest in London was observed as a being "a momentous psych celebration for the stoner world."{{cite web |last1=Castles |first1=Emily |title=Desertfest @ Camden Town, London - 29 April - 1 May 2022 |url=https://themidlandsrocks.co.uk/desertfest-camden-town-london-29-april-1-may-2022/ |website=The Midlands Rocks |access-date=29 December 2024 |date=14 May 2022}} During this year the band began to be joined by keyboardist/Hammond organ player Pelle Andersson for appearances ranging from some songs of the set to entire performances.{{cite web |last1=Cedric Le Marhollec |first1=Par Asukero |title=Lowrider - "On ne prend rien pour acquis, c’est superbe si on peut influencer n’importe qui." |url=https://www.soundbather.fr/interviews/lowrider-on-ne-prend-rien-pour-acquis-cest-superbe-si-on-peut-influencer-nimporte-qui |website=Soundbather |access-date=21 February 2025 |language=fr |date=13 July 2022}}

===The Long Forever and collaborations with Elephant Tree (2024-present)===

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| alt1 = Guitarist Niclas Stalfors, drummer Andreas Eriksson and bassist Peder Bergstrand performing in Clisson, France in 2022.

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}}A split/collaboration album titled The Long Forever with the band Elephant Tree was announced to be released on 25 October 2024 through the record label Blues Funeral Recordings. Each side ended with a song where members of the other band play as guests on it. These were Lowrider's "Through The Rift (feat. Elephant Tree)" and Elephant Tree's "Long Forever (feat. Lowrider)".{{cite web |last1=Kennelty |first1=Greg |title=ELEPHANT TREE & LOWRIDER Announce Long-Awaited Split |url=https://metalinjection.net/video/elephant-tree-lowrider-announce-long-awaited-split |website=Metal Injection |access-date=16 August 2024 |date=23 July 2024}} The combined effort songs were described as being produced by a "stoner/heavy psych supergroup for the ages" by Distorted Sound Magazine.{{cite web |last1=Fordham |first1=Tom |title=ALBUM REVIEW: The Long Forever - Elephant Tree & Lowrider |url=https://distortedsoundmag.com/album-reveiw-the-long-forever-elephant-tree-lowrider/ |website=Distorted Sound Magazine |access-date=19 December 2024 |date=21 October 2024}} The album was the first collaborative release from Lowrider and Elephant Tree to chart in the UK peaking at number 80 on the UK Album Downloads Chart.{{cite web |title=Official Album Downloads Chart |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-downloads-chart/20241101/7003/ |website=Official Charts |access-date=19 December 2024 |language=en |date=1 November 2024}} They released their first official Bergstrand produced video for the track "And The Horse You Rode In On" featuring a T-shirt worn by Stalfors with imagery promoting the band endorsed message "to take care of your pets and not eat them."{{cite web |last1=Kennelty |first1=Greg |title=LOWRIDER Streams Perfectly Riffy New Single "And The Horse You Rode In On" |url=https://metalinjection.net/video/lowrider-streams-perfectly-riffy-new-single-and-the-horse-you-rode-in-on |website=Metal Injection |access-date=19 December 2024 |date=22 September 2024}}

The groups continued the collaboration contributing the Jethro Tull song "Nothing to Say" from the 1970 studio album Benefit to the album The Very Best of Jethro Tull Redux which was released on 6 December 2024 through Magnetic Eye Records. Lyrically "Nothing to Say" deals with addressing "those who use social causes for their own ends".{{cite book |author1=Scott Allen Nollen |title=Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001 |date=5 December 2001 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1101-6 |page=55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AsvpFwKVCN4C&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PP1&dq=jethro%20tull%20up%20to%20me&pg=PA56#v=snippet&q=%22nothing%20to%20say%22%2055&f=false |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=en}} It also featured a dual guitar, and bass guitar riff played between vocals sung over a 5-bar Aeolian chord progression.{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Allan F. |title=Rock: The Primary Text - Developing a Musicology of Rock |date=1 November 2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-80771-5 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rock_The_Primary_Text_Developing_a_Music/zlM8DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=nothing+to+say+jethro+tull&pg=PT80&printsec=frontcover |language=en}} One guitar being played fingerstyle and the other guitar using a plectrum.{{cite book |last1=Blum |first1=Jordan |title=Jethro Tull on track |date=28 July 2022 |publisher=Sonicbond Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78952-055-2 |url=http://google.com/books/edition/Jethro_Tull_on_track/QhOHEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22nothing+to+say%22+jethro+tull&pg=PA1958&printsec=frontcover |access-date=17 February 2025 |language=en}} In a statement about the album released through Magnetic Eye Records, the lineup for the track consisted of Lowrider guitarist Niclas Stalfors, bassist/vocalist Peder Bergstrand and Elephant Tree drummer Sam Hart. The drums were recorded at his countryside rehearsal studio using a two microphone setup similar to the Glyn Johns approach to recording method which used few microphones to record drums to create a natural sound of the drum set.{{cite web |last1=Vigezzi |first1=Jacopo |title=[News] Lowrider feat. Elephant Tree released the single "Nothing to Say" from Jethro Tull's tribute "Aqualung (Redux)" |url=https://progrockjournal.com/news-lowrider-feat-elephant-tree-released-the-single-nothing-to-say-from-jethro-tulls-tribute-aqualung-redux/ |website=Progressive Rock Journal |access-date=20 February 2025 |date=21 November 2024}} In review of the album Blabbermouth.net noted it as "crushing, clever and resolutely out-there" with the Elephant Tree/Lowrider song as being a "disorientating, woozy marvel."{{cite web |last1=Lawson |first1=Dom |title=Aqualung Redux / Best Of Jethro Tull |url=https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/aqualung-redux-best-of-jethro-tull |website=Blabbermouth.net |access-date=19 December 2024 |language=en |date=5 December 2024}}

A constant feature of the bands overall sound has been rhythm guitarist Niclas Stalfors "1974 Gibson SG Standard and a 1977 Gibson RD Artist. The RD is all original parts intact with the Moog circuit still working." In an interview about bass gear with Keepers Of The Low End, Bergtrand's main bass played live and on studio recordings is a 1971 Rickenbacker 4001 bass played through a Ampeg SVT bass amplifier. Tunings used include Drop C tuning where the strings are tuned down one full step with "the E string tuned down one more full step."{{Cite Instagram |postid=C062ZdirGX9/?img_index=2 |user=keepersofthelowend |title=Welcome to the final #lowendlowdown Q&A of 2023, featuring Mr. Peder Bergstrand of @lowridergram ! |date=2023-12-26 |access-date=2025-03-02}} Beginning with Refractions the band began to implement electronic instruments beyond just guitars, bass guitars and drums by using electronic instruments including the Moog synthesizer.{{cite web |last1=Momo |first1=Mr. |title=Interview: Peder Bergstrand & Niclas Stalfors - Lowrider |url=https://morefuzz.net/fuzzy-interviews/lowrider/ |website=MoreFuzz.net |access-date=24 February 2025 |date=24 March 2021}} Rock bands cited as influencing them included Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Cream, Black Sabbath and Soundgarden.{{cite web |last1=Schneider |first1=Josh |title=In Search Of Tone: Niclas Stalfors Of Lowrider |url=https://www.thesleepingshaman.com/interviews/g-q/search-tone-niclas-stalfors/ |website=The Sleeping Shaman |access-date=24 February 2025 |date=11 January 2021}}

• Ode to Io (2000) (re-release 2002)
• Refractions (2020)

• Nebula/Lowrider (1998) – split with Nebula
• The Long Forever (2024) – split with Elephant Tree{{cite web |title=The Long Forever, by Elephant Tree / Lowrider |url=https://elephanttreeband.bandcamp.com/album/the-long-forever |website=Bandcamp |access-date=16 August 2024 |language=en}}

• "David Williams Hughes" (2001) – I am Vengeance: Original Soundtrack CD (MCY-016 MeteorCity)
• "Freelance Fiend" (2002) – Sucking the 70%27s (SS-032/2002 Small Stone Records){{cite web |title=Sucking the 70's - Various Artists {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sucking-the-70s-mw0000230395 |website=AllMusic |access-date=26 February 2025 |language=en |date=22 October 2002}}
• "Nothing to Say" (2024) – The Very Best of Jethro Tull (Redux) (2023 Magnetic Eye Records){{cite web |title=Best of Jethro Tull (Redux), by Various Artists |url=https://reduxrecords.bandcamp.com/album/best-of-jethro-tull-redux |website=Bandcamp |access-date=19 December 2024 |language=en |date=6 December 2024}}

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/19981205205016/http://www.meteorcity.com/ Lowrider's record label]

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Category:Swedish rock music groups

Category:Swedish stoner rock musical groups

Category:Musical groups from Värmland County

Category:Culture in Karlstad