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Duluth’s Alan Sparhawk and his late wife, Mimi Parker, first sprung onto the music scene in 1993 with their band, Low. Their harmonies and minimalistic instrumentation defined them. 

Parker died in 2022 from ovarian cancer, and Sparhawk reemerged last year with a sound completely unfamiliar — “White Roses, My God” features a drum machine and his voice through a processor.

Quickly on the heels of that record, Sparhawk has yet another new album with a band also born out of Duluth, Trampled by Turtles. 

Stranger by Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles

Sparhawk spoke with MPR News host Clay Masters about both albums.

Press play above to listen, or read a transcript below, edited for time and clarity.

How would you characterize the transformation between these two albums? 

Well, first of all, it was pretty unintentional. I mean, I didn’t set out to go like, “OK, what am I going to do next?” and, “Time to make a new record” or anything like that. 

I mean, I was doing music. I was playing some music with my son and stuff, but I was still kind of struggling with Mim passing and the end of the band and the sort of the question of, you know, “How do I feel about music?” It was music was difficult. It was weird and seemed strange to sing. Part of me just didn’t care to write, and was probably a little frustrated, and in some ways, it almost felt like an insult to sit down and go, “OK, well, I'm gonna now write about this.” 

I’ve never really sat down or written about anything. For me, writing is more just opening up the window and try to make sense of what comes in, and trying to be true to that. I guess I was kind of messing around with some equipment that was not as familiar to me, and kind of the same time stumbling on the vocal effect and the way that that took me away from hearing my own voice and yet, gave me the permission to sing — gave me the permission to let some things out.

Does it feel like there was a big disconnect between what was on ‘White Roses’ and what’s on this new Trampled by Turtles album? Or does it feel like it all comes from the same place?

Well, it comes from the same place. The “White Roses” stuff was all improvised. What you hear there is it coming out of my mouth as it’s being written, whereas the stuff with the Turtles was more intentional. There’s a few songs on there that are old songs that I’ve had for many years. Some of them were songs that, despite the weirdness, they did come out of me in the wake of grief.

Trampled by Turtles invited you out on the road soon after Mim’s passing. How did that help you with the healing process?

Yeah. I mean, how can you say no when your friends are asking to sing with them? You know, it gets you a little bit away from grinding away at yourself and overthinking things.

When I first heard ‘Not Broken,’ I didn't realize that your daughter sang on it, and I was totally caught off guard in just the similar timbre that she has with Mim. What was that like to make that song with your daughter?

It was a tender subject. That was a song that Mimi and I were working on at the end there, and it remained kind of unfinished. And then after, after she passed, I looked at the song again and thought, “Well, I should at least finish this before it drifts away.”

Not Broken by Alan Sparhawk and Trampled by Turtles

I’ve done some recording with Hollis already, and some shows with her, and I know she’s a good singer and I had already experienced being in the studio and having her sing and sort of it just really hitting you in the face with how close her voice is to Mim’s. And I knew that connotation was there, but I felt it was appropriate, because that was the part that Mim had come up with, and would sing.

And at the same time, I saw you open for Godspeed You! Black Emperor in St Paul, and you’re performing with your son, Cyrus as well. You’ve been touring with him.

It’s really enhanced our relationship. You know, music was already a pretty sacred thing in our family and at home. And, you know, it’s another layer to your relationship. It’s like a whole nother language.

And as far as what’s next for you, you just kind of leave the window open and see what blows in? I mean, it’s not like you’re calculating down the line of what comes next?

Yeah. Essentially, you know, I’ve been on the road a lot. I mean, I’ve got a handful of songs I've been sort of writing and kind of looking toward finishing and seeing what I want to do next. But then I’m also pretty excited about how I made “White Roses, My God.” And I might keep doing stuff like that, and we'll see what happens. I never know beforehand, anyway. Not much of a planner.

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Alan Sparhawk reemerged last year with a new sound featuring a drum machine and his voice through a processor. He has another new album with a band also born out of Duluth, Trampled by Turtles. Sparhawk spoke with MPR News host Clay Masters about both albums.

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