Low’s Mimi Parker has died. “Friends, it’s hard to put the universe into language and into a short message, but…” Alan Sparhawk, Parker’s husband and the group’s other half, announced on social media. “She passed away last night, surrounded by family and love, including yours. Keep her name close and sacred. Share this moment with someone who needs you. Love is indeed the most important thing.” Parker was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in December 2020. Earlier this year, the band canceled shows scheduled for this summer and fall as she underwent treatment. She was 55.

Parker formed Low with Sparhawk in Duluth, Minnesota in 1993, along with bassist John Nichols. They recorded a demo with producer Kramer, who worked with the band on their 1994 debut I Could Live In Hope and their 1995 follow-up Long Division. Parker and Sparhawk worked with many different producers, including Steve Albini (1999’s and 2001’s Things We Lost In The Fire), Dave Fridmann (2005’s The Great Destroyer and 2007’s Drums And Guns), Jeff Tweedy (2013’s The Invisible Way), and with BJ Burton on their most recent run of albums: 2015’s Ones And Sixes, 2018’s Double Negative, and last year’s HEY WHAT.

Though they invited many collaborators into the fold, Parker and Sparhawk remained the group’s core, with their angelic dual vocals and Parker’s oftentimes minimal percussion. Low were not afraid of change, continually developing and fracturing and mutating their sound over the course of the last three decades.