Hip hop’s little brother lo-fi is seeing a resurgence in the post-pandemic world, thanks to YouTuber Lofi Girl. Indian artistes experimenting with its soft sounds, say we need it to escape from chaos
Mumbai-based Sahir Nawab, who has been churning out lo-fi music, feels it works because it’s simple and dreamy. Pic/Atul Kamble
In times of deep despair in the pandemic, this writer has reached out to the YouTube account, Lofi Girl. As the animated loop streams lo-fi beats—almost meditative in nature—our breathing returns to normal, and a certain calmness takes over. Lofi Girl has managed to touch many more around the world in the same way. In the last one year, her channel has amassed over 930 million streams, according to a YouTube Culture and Trends Report. Lofi Girl is a YouTube channel and music label established in 2017, which streams lo-fi hip hop music 24/7, accompanied by a Japanese-style animation of a girl.
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With the Lofi Girl at the centre of this phenomenon, lo-fi music, which was first recognised as a legitimate form of music in the 1990s, has now seen a resurgence. The playlists are made “to chill, study and sleep”—with the “study girl” animation loop and its many versions filling up the screen. “The anime aesthetics combined with lo-fi hip hop [or chillhop] are meant to invoke an emotive experience for the audience. Lofi Girl has become a symbol for shared experiences and digital proximity, representing the welcoming kinship of like-minded peers around the world who can connect with each other at any time of day in her live chat,” a YouTube spokesperson tells mid-day. “That the accompanying music features no lyrics or vocals could be another reason for her appeal; the lack of a backstory also allows the viewer to project their own lives onto her.”
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Lofi Girl’s account amassed 930 million streams in the last one year. Pic/Instagram
Lo-fi music basically means low fidelity music, the opposite of high fidelity, and was regarded as imperfect—characterised by undesirable elements, such as misplayed notes and environmental interference.
It has been made by artistes in their bedrooms, and early proponents of it include the Beach Boys, and even Paul McCartney. One of the most popular lo-fi artistes was American J Dilla, who made underground music in Detroit. It was also widely used in the anime that appeared after the 2000s. The genre really took off when Japanese music producer Nujabes redefined the sound for the popular anime Samurai Champloo in 2004. Much of the animation that accompanies lo-fi borrows heavily from anime culture. Our in-house tech expert and anime fanatic, Jaison Lewis, tells us that “even now, musicians recreate lo-fi versions of popular anime theme songs.”
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Visual artist Rushil Bhatnagar says listeners identify with the lo-fi animated character seen in the videos
In India, it’s also given rise to a nascent lo-fi movement. Mumbai-based Sahir Nawab, who has been dabbling in hip hop for a while now, and founded Mumbai’s Finest, one of the OG hip hop acts, has been churning out lo-fi tracks for the past one year. These include Deja Vu, and Table for Two—both in Hindi. The 27-year-old does cite Dilla as an influence, and describes lo-fi as a genre “where the drums are lazy, they are not on time, and it gives a head bobbing feeling”. “Lo-fi has been the little brother of hip hop—but more melodic and less harsh.” For Sahir, singing in Hindi means he has to look for softer words; this is why he chooses Urdu. “It’s the kind of music that doesn’t complicate it for the listener. I search for words that are round in nature. Hindi has very square words, Urdu is more poetic.”
His views find resonance with Benagluru-artiste Smokey the Ghost aka Sumukh Mysore. The 30-year-old has been doing lo-fi music for a while now, and his album The Human Form, is a good example of his aesthetic. “I came across this music when I was in a sad place, and it helped me heal. For me, it’s unploughed music—I can record it in my mum’s wardrobe. It has a vulnerable feel to it, not swaggish like hip hop.” Mysore feels that lo-fi is here to stay. Spotify India confirms this, when a spokesperson tells us, “A few labels have started releasing lo-fi versions of their popular Bollywood tracks, and overall, there’s definitely an increase in the lo-fi versions of film and non-film Punjabi music. Another trend we’ve noticed is slow + reverb, wherein music producers slow down the tempo and add reverb on the track, often promoted as midnight/sleep versions.”
Smokey the Ghost aka Sumukh Mysore, Bengaluru artiste
Plainly speaking, lo-fi music is a vibe—one that you can indulge in, in your own home. The mellow beats are only elevated by mellower animation. Visual design artist and album art creator, Rushil Bhatnagar, says there is a reason why lo-fi music is usually known as an AV genre. “These are singular scenes, where you can see yourself as the main character—lying in bed, books open, with the TV on—it’s immersive. It eventually succeeds as it gives us a cinematic view of our own lives.”
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