Band on the run remains hometown boys
Their latest album, Famous Trademarks, which was released in December 2020. Featuring 10 songs, the album is an apparent departure from the band's previous works.
The title song, Famous Trademarks, was inspired by a lipstick with the same name as the band, which was sold out within minutes during a livestreaming show by Li Jiaqi, a celebrity live streaming host on Taobao, Alibaba's e-commerce platform.
"We registered a trademark for Low Wormwood so we contacted the company, hoping to resolve the trademark infringement matter. There were lots of discussions back and forth and the answer is the name can exist in different categories unless the trademark is very famous," says Liu. "Then I wrote the song to tell the story and instead of being cynical, I tried to make the song fun to listen. We should work harder to make Low Wormwood famous as a band."
"As a singer-songwriter, I show my attitude and views through my songs. As I grow older, the attitude is still there but I express it with easiness rather than anger," he adds.
The band also made a decision to move their studio to Chengdu, Sichuan province, which is described as "milestone" and "getting out of comfort zone".
According to Liu, the band has performed many times in Chengdu but none of the members has ever lived there for a long time.
The main reason for the change is that Chengdu has great soil for indie rock music and live music is booming in the local scene.
"We spent a few months in Chengdu last year to record the latest new album, which allowed us to know more about the city," says Liu. "The city has great food, bars and most importantly, people are patient and live their lives with a slow tempo, especially the local young people."
"Of course, it's a big challenge for the band since all of the members have to move to a new place and start a new life. It's not easy for us because we are all in our 40s and we have our own families. This new lifestyle may be good for the band to write fresh original materials," he says.