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History

Toner Low are a doomstoner band from Leiden (Netherlands). They are one of the oldest bands of the Dutch late 1990s stoner scene and in their early days did gigs with contemporaries such as Celestial Season and Candybar Planet, while the band's bass player was in 7Zuma7's final lineup. Starting off as a more or less traditional, yet quite directionless stoner, space and guitarrock band Toner Low gradually evolve into doomy psychedelic droners that emphasize on repetitive riffing and minimalism with an overwhelming massive and heavy sound. This sound is first heard to its fullest on the band's debut cd, that appeared in June 2005. So far Toner Low have released two more studio full-lengths, 'II' (November 2008) and 'III' (April 2013), the latter being hailed in reviews as 'a landmark release'.

1998

March 18 Toner Low have their first rehearsal. At that time the band members include Deef (guitar, vocals), Daan (guitar), Miranda (bass) and Jack (drums). In April Willem joins as the third guitar player. June 30 this five-piece lineup records the demo 'Aqui'. In August Toner Low do their first gigs, opening the Vlietpop Festival in Leidschendam on August 22 and opening the Drydock Festival in Amsterdam on August 27. After a third gig in September the band concentrates on writing new songs, which are recorded December 5 and 6 and mixed around X-mas.

1999

January the 'X-mas Downer Sessions' demo gets released. Throughout the year the band plays some local gigs and works on new songs. The final gig as a five-piece is done September 24. In December bassplayer Miranda leaves to join retrorockers 7Zuma7 until their break-up in August 2000. December 20 Toner Low rehearse for the first time with a four-piece lineup. Guitarplayer and vocalist Deef moves to bass and vocals.

2000

January 22 the first gig is done with the new lineup. The following gig on February 5 is recorded and gets released in March as the 'Low Live' live demo-cd. Throughout the year new songs are written. Up from October for the first time Toner Low begin a period of monthly gigs, starting with their abroad debut on October 7 in Leuven, Belgium, with I$I$ (NL). Two weeks later they share the bill in their hometown Leiden with Celestial Season (NL). December 7 the band supports Karma To Burn (USA).

2001

Toner Low continue their string of regular gigs until mid July, taking the band to various parts of the Netherlands and playing with Dutch bands such as Candybar Planet, Orange Sunshine, Stone In Egypt, I$I$ and Lawn. April 21, 22 and 23 a lot of new songs are recorded for a first cd. Not too satisfied with the recordings, little is done with them for many months and plans to release the cd are abandoned. During spring the change to a more defined, less ordinary stoner sound sets in. Still having to shape their new style, on September 28 Toner Low record one of their earlier written songs for the Motorwolf Volume 1-sampler cd (Motorwolf Records). After July only two gigs are done in November/December.

2002

Early 2002 finally three songs of the 2001 recordings are selected to release on a promo cd. February 2 those songs are finished with the recording of some guitarleads. June the untitled fourth promo cd gets released. By this time Toner Low rehearse without guitarist Willem (due to circumstances) and do their first gig with a three-piece lineup on June 27. The last gig as a four-piece is done May 4. With a sound getting looser and rougher, August 13 the decision is made to continue with just three bandmembers. In September recordings are done for a split 7-inch with the band Fal-Tor-Voh (NL) and a new promo cd. November 16 the 7-inch gets released, followed by the Motorrock Volume 1-sampler cd in December. During those months a few gigs with Fal-Tor-Voh are done.

2003

In January the promo cd recorded in September 2002 gets released. March and April Toner Low play around the Netherlands with bands such as Fal-Tor-Voh (NL) and Desert Sons (NL). July 19 the band has their first gig in Germany, at a small open air festival near Göppingen. After some more gigs in the Netherlands Toner Low start working on new material and refining already written songs to prepare for their first cd recordings.

2004

Throughout the year gigs are done across the Netherlands, including a two-dates tour in May in Friesland, in the north of the country. May 29, 30 and 31 Toner Low record the drum-tracks for their first cd. Over the course of the following months, while playing gigs continues (with Dutch bands such as Astrosoniq, Orange Sunshine and Heavy Lord), the other instruments are recorded. In September the band has a first weekend tour abroad, with dates in Luxemburg and Germany. Late November Toner Low have their two final gigs for some time, to focus on the completion of the debut cd. At the last of those they play the four main tracks of the forthcoming cd for the first time live, albeit in a different song order.

2005

During the first part of the year the cd recordings are finished by bassplayer/vocalist Deef and drummer Jack, adding extra guitars, samples, vocals et cetera, and mixing intensively. June 6 the orange 'Toner Low' cd gets released on Roadkill Rekordz, the DIY-label of the three bandmembers. The cd receives great reviews in magazines and on the internet. In the ensuing months Toner Low play some gigs across the Netherlands with Desert Sons (NL) and Orange Sunshine (NL) amongst others. Meanwhile Dutch Freebird Records (Astrosoniq) shows interest in releasing the cd. Up from November the band starts a series of gigs throughout the Netherlands, playing with Dozer (SWE), Heavy Lord (NL) and others.

2006

January Freebird Records release the debut cd. Until summer Toner Low continue to play live regularly, with bands like AmenRa (BE) and Orange Sunshine (NL). In April they perform at the Roadburn Festival, with Astrosoniq (NL) and others. In May the band has their first week long tour abroad, with gigs in Sweden and Denmark. September Toner Low play the Dutch ZXZW Festival and in October a short tour in Belgium and France is done. Late November Freebird Records, Roadkill Rekordz, Motorwolf Records and Deadlock Records release the first cd on double vinyl. Around the same time a split 7-inch with Abe Diddy & The Krautboys (NL) gets released through Roadkill Rekordz and U-Lit Records. In December Toner Low do a ten-dates tour playing in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland, including some gigs with El Thule (IT).

2007

February the band has a weekend tour in Belgium, coinciding with the release of a compilation cd by Belgian underground magazine Times Of Grace, featuring Toner Low, Stonebride from Croatia and other bands. In May and June Toner Low do a series of gigs again in the Netherlands, amongst others with Boris (JP), and return to Germany in late May for the Swamp Room Happening festival and some more dates. In August a gig at the Sauzipf Rocks festival in Austria is done, with amongst others Orange Goblin (UK), followed in September by some more across the Netherlands and two dates in the United Kingdom in October. A few weeks later bassplayer and vocalist Deef announces that he leaves Toner Low. He performs his final gig fronting the band on November 30. December 17 Toner Low are back to a three-piece when they have their first rehearsal with Miranda on bass. She already played with the band from March 1998 until December 1999.

2008

In April a compilation cd entitled 'One Stoned Decade' gets released on Roadkill Rekordz to mark the band's ten years anniversary. The first gig with the new lineup takes place April 26 in Geel, Belgium. From May until September Toner Low do some gigs in the Netherlands, and in July they play the Stoned From The Underground Festival in Germany and join Monarch! (FR) on their Dutch tour dates. Recordings for the second 2lp/cd are done in summer, with mixing and mastering during summer/autumn. November 28 the album 'II' gets released on Freebird Records (double vinyl) and the band's DIY-label Roadkill Rekordz (cd). Around this date gigs are done with Colour Haze (DE) and with SUMA (SWE). In December Toner Low tour Germany, Austria and Croatia, with Heavy Lord (NL) joining half of the gigs and Stonebride (HR) joining on the Croatian dates.

2009

While the second album is getting very good reviews in the international doom and stoner community, Toner Low are playing gigs in the Netherlands and do a couple of short tours, taking the band to Belgium, France, Germany (a.o. Doom Over Bielefeld), Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Late October Toner Low have their final live dates for the year supporting UK drone/folk artist Rose Kemp and her band on the Dutch gigs of their European tour.

2010

In April some gigs in the Netherlands are done (a.o. Gods Of Groove 2 Festival). In May Toner Low tour Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands, playing amongst others at the Stoned Hand Of Doom Festival in Rome, Italy, supporting UK doomgods Electric Wizard. In September some gigs are done with Pombagira (UK) in Holland and Germany, while in late October the band has another German weekender.

2011

In March Toner Low do a few local gigs and start working on songs for their third album. This continues throughout spring and summer, with some gigs done in the Netherlands and weekend tours in Germany in May and June (a.o. Doom Over Berlin and Protzen Open Air). Autumn and winter the band only plays two gigs in the Netherlands and focus on writing songs for their next album.

2012

March a free download entitled 'Low @ Dynamo' gets released, consisting of the entire gig the band did at Slugfest in Eindhoven (Netherlands) in November 2011. In April some dates with Conan (UK) are done in Germany, and in June Toner Low support US stonerdoomlegends Acid King at their gig in the Netherlands. Late July the band plays in Germany and the Czech Republic (Play Fast or Don't Fest), after which they concentrate again on composing songs for their third 2lp/cd and don't play any gigs for about nine months.

2013

In January and February the recordings and mixing for Toner Low's third full-length album are done, with mastering taking place in early March. The new album, entitled 'III', gets released on cd and double vinyl by Bilocation Records (sub-label of Kozmik Artifactz Records, Germany) and Roadkill Rekordz in late April. Around its release Toner Low play amongst others at DesertFest London (UK) and Heavy Days in Doom Town (DK). The album is received very well in the world-wide doom and stoner community, dubbing it 'a landmark release'. In August 'III' gets its tape release through Dutch label Tartarus Records. Throughout the summer short tours are done that include Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Belgium, while in the final months of the year the focus lies on festival appearances in the Netherlands and Germany.

2014

During January, February and April Toner Low play some more gigs in the Netherlands, amongst others with Pombagira (UK). In May Tartarus Records (Netherlands) release the 2008 album 'II' on tape. May and June tours are done to the south of Europe, with gigs in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Greece and Italy, where Toner Low amongst others play at the Duna Jam beach on the isle of Sardinia. In August the band does some gigs in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany (a.o. Misty Mountain Festival), followed by an appearance at Desertfest Belgium in October and a weekender in Austria in November, playing a.o. the Doom over Vienna festival.

2015

February a short tour is done in the west of France, while in April some dates in Germany (a.o. DesertFest Berlin) are done. After a summer break Toner Low start playing live again up from late August, with gigs in the Netherlands (a.o. supporting Italian psychesludgers Ufomammut), Switzerland and Germany. Late October the band has a weekend tour in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, supported by Swedish doom/sludge band Phant and including Svart Oktober Fest in Oslo.

2016

In February a couple of festival gigs are done in the Netherlands and Belgium. May Toner Low play three times at Doomed Gatherings III in Paris, France, performing a different one of their studio albums each night, and sharing the lineup with bands such as Ramesses (UK), Trouble (USA), Crowbar (USA), Monolord (SWE) and Elder (USA). A week later the band supports Jucifer (USA) on two of their Dutch tour dates. July Tartarus Records (Netherlands) release Toner Low's first album on tape, after which gigs are done in the Netherlands and Germany (a.o. Void Fest). In October and November the band plays some more gigs in Germany (a.o. Keep It Low) and the Netherlands.

2017

In January Toner Low play the underground festival Van Onderen at Paradiso, Amsterdam. April and May gigs are done in Germany, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, followed by some Germany, Switzerland and Italy dates with a.o. Swiss doom band shEver in early July. Late July the band supports Acid King (USA) on one of their Dutch tour dates as well as in Paris (France). From September until December gigs are done in Germany (a.o. Berlin Swamp Fest and Freak Valley X-mas Festival), Belgium, Switzerland (Up In Smoke Festival) and the Netherlands.

2018

May the 2008 compilation cd 'One Stoned Decade' consistng of early recordings gets posted on Bandcamp. Even though Toner Low celebrate their 20th anniversary, only two one-off gigs in Germany and the Netherlands and two trips abroad are done. September/October the band tours Denmark, Finland (supported by Finnish stoner rockers Kaiser) and Norway (Høstsabbat festival). Late November Toner Low do a short tour with gigs in the Czech Republic and at Romania's Haywire Festival.

2019

During the first half of the year Toner Low play in the Netherlands, Belgium and France (a.o. Rock In Bourlon festival). In early July a weekender is done in Germany and Austria (Stick & Stone Fest), while in August the band returns to Belgium for an appearance at Yellowstock Festival XI. September through November the band plays festival gigs in Germany, the Netherlands and Austria (a.o. Dome of Rock Festival, with Swedish doom legends Candlemass).