Protected: Lo-Fi Culture Presents: BSD.U [roughdraft]
Protected: [working] Visualizer — Jeff
Protected: Lo-Fi Culture Presents, Axian! The Curator and Producer [unreleased]
Lo-Fi Culture Presents: Linanthem!
Welcome back Lo-Fi listeners! 🙂
This week’s feature is special as it includes a mid-decemeber present by Linathem called the “Enlightened EP”. Linathem had his start in lo-fi in 2016 where he grew fond of the lo-fi music scene. Fast forward to today, he’s garnered up over half-a-million monthly listeners on Spotify and has been featured on many Youtube channels like Yotsu, Black Lotus, and Ryuzy Music where many chill vibes like Linanthem can be found. He’s been around the scene and has worked with many great lo-fi producers like bsd.u, sleepdealer, and many more!
I invite all of our readers to give his music a play while learning about his background, some music production tips, and his general opinion on lo-fi production.
Linanthem Soundcloud (our private playlist)
LINANTHEM
Found on Linanthem’s Twitter
BEGINNING OF INTERVIEW
“…
What is your name? Would you like to share your ethnicity?
My names is Esaias, it’s kind of an unusual name, as far as I know its Greek for Isaiah. As for my ethnicity, i’m pretty much black and a little bit of white.
What is the back story behind the name “Linanthem”?
I get asked a lot about the name I choose and where it comes from, but there’s no grand story behind it unfortunately. I was watching an episode of Regular Show where [the character] “Rigby” was coming up with his artist name and put the first two things he saw together and that was his name. My first two words were lint from my pocket and “Gotham City” from Batman. I just rearranged it to Linanthem.
How long have you been doing music as Linanthem?
I started Linanthem during the summer of 2016. Before then I was still around in the scene, I just wasn’t actively making lo-fi. I was making music under a different name before then, but i was really inspired to start making lo-fi beats because of how unique the music was and how the producers involved were constantly pushing boundaries and were just doing their own thing.
What is your daily schedule like? How does lo-fi hip hop fit into your schedule?
As far as my daily schedule, I’m in college right now, but I still devote a large amount of my time to my productions. As soon as I’m done with class, I’ll usually go digging for samples, finish up beats or start new ones. It’s like that almost everyday.
What’s your favorite thing about the Lo-Fi hip hop genre?
My favorite aspect about lo-fi is the community around it, it’s unlike anything else in music. Everyone pretty much knows everyone and we’re all like-minded individuals. Most days i find myself talking to them more than anyone in my real life.
What got you started into Lo-Fi HipHop?
I got introduced to lo-fi through a group called the coast crew, they’re all well-known artist like datfootdive, [ocean jams], and a couple other members. I found them because they were really connected to future funk and vaporwave which was the type of music I made prior to devoting my effort to lo-fi.
How did you grow your audience to what it is today? Do you have any advice for future/current artists in lo-fi?
There’s no such thing as a self-made person. I’m not going to take full credit for what I have now, even though I’m not the biggest lo-fi artist, I’m thankful for what I have. It was a joint effort between every person I’ve met and connected with through music. I’m very thankful I’ve gotten to work with people who I look up to a lot and even be able to call them a friend. My advice would be to connect with people and create bonds with them.
What do you think about the future of Lo-Fi? How will you transform with it?
Right now I see the lo-fi scene as the wild west in music right now, kind of an anything goes attitude, my hope is that it will always be like this, but that’s naive to think. The trend at least for now is soft repetitive music perfect for Youtube streams and Spotify playlist. Instead of pushing boundaries, a lot of producers are becoming complacent, trying to get a large audience over becoming a unique artist. For me I’ve always had a unique take on lo-fi, I like music that can tell a story without uttering a word. That’s my goal for every beat I release, in addition to collage artwork, I try to deliver an experience with every beat.
Do you feel like experimenting with other fields of lo-fi music?
I do experiment a lot, that’s what making music is all about. I make electronic beats for fun sometimes although they don’t get released, but for my upcoming project, I took everything I learned from making electronic and integrated it with some really chill lo-fi I’m excited to release it.
Do you have tips or tricks on finishing beats?
You can’t rush the process, if it’s not meant to be, then it’s not meant to be. A lot of my projects can go unfinished from a couple [of] days to over a year. I usually just work until I feel like I’ve hit a roadblock and come back to it whenever i feel the vibe.
Is there a certain process or ritual you have before you get in your creative zone? What is your process (if you have one)?
Well when i really became serious about making music, I would channel my negative feelings into the music I made. So now whenever I’m feeling some kind of way, instead of sitting in those feelings I will just start making music.
What kind of instruments, tools, equipment, programs, and inspiration do you use when making your music?
For the most part, everything I do is digital, all the melodies, sampling, etc. all digital. I have made beats on a sp404sx and messed around on a Korg, but everything I have released has been completely digital. I think that I have gotten really good at achieving an analog sound digitally and anyone can do it as long as they keep at it. Some of my inspirations are artist like j^p^n, and Nujabes, they’ve been such a blessing in my life.
[…]
“The number one resource that I would give people are the lofi.hiphop forums, it has so much valuable information about everything from production tips and tricks to sample catalogs, drum kits, instruments, and much more, even if you’re looking for a friend to talk to chances are you can find someone on there. I’m really thankful to have had the opportunity to work with bsd.u with helping out on the forums. “-Linanthem 2018
Would you ever think about having another interview with Loficulture?
Of course, I’d love to come back and talk again about anything really. It’s been a pleasure.
…”
END OF INTERVIEW
That’s all for this week’s guest interview 🙂
If you guys liked this week’s guest be sure to follow-up by showing some love on Linanthem’s social media and bump his tracks if you’re feeling that lo-fi vibe. Another thank you for Linanthem for joining the site, sharing his time, and thoughts on the entire genre. Follow him on the links below!
Linanthem Social Media
More Lo-fiCulture!
Thank you all for stopping by this week to catch up on your favorite lo-fi artists 🙂
Expect many more to come for the 2019 year! Be sure to stay in the loop by clicking the top left folder tab (top folder tab on mobile) and subscribing to our notification list in the side bar or by following us on our social media platforms below. Happy holidays everyone!!
Loficulture’s Instagram
*Note* 15% of Lo-Fi Culture’s revenue provided by the amazon links above will be donated to GridAlternatives, a renewable energy charity focused on providing alternative energy for lower-income communities and more.
Lo-Fi Culture Presents: Rook1e !
Lo-Fi Culture invites you to listen to some of our personal favorites by Rook1e!
Spotify (Spotify pays your favorite artists!!)
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/05cJC8Czpmo9KYT3wTjSQS
SoundCloud
Intro of Rook1e
This week’s Lo-Fi artist has been featured on Youtube’s music promotion channels like Ikigai, Ambition, and SteezyAF. This artist runs with the alias “Rook1e”, and is also the starter of the Dream Easy Collective. This is a group of over “twenty-something” musicians and artists who have a kick out of making lo-fi beats for our happy consumption. I’m glad to have Rook1e featured on Lo-Fi Culture since i first stumbled upon his work in 2017. After reading and listening to the song titled, “Grape Soda” I was instantly taken back to days when my cousin and I obsessed over Welchs’ Grape Soda. It’s songs like these that don’t wear out on me very easily which is why I’m glad to share this artist with all of you.
Rookie’s Discography 2017, which includes the song “Eden”.
Interview
”
….
What is your full name? Do you have a picture of yourself you’d like to show viewers?
My first name is Brandon as many people know – only a few know my last name but if you know, you know.
What’s your schedule like on a typical day?
My summer schedule has been pretty relaxed and dull to hear about. I’ve just done a lot of going to Portland & local events, finding new places to eat, new shows to watch, and all other things in that lazy category. There were some somewhat cool things I did like camping, hiking, swimming, etc. but the absolute highlight of my summer would have to be Disneyland with my girlfriend. It was a dream of mine that I’ve had for over a year and it was only possible thanks to the support & love from my music that I cannot express in words how much I appreciate.
2018. Rook1e wishing Instagrammers a “happy valentines day” by dropping some beats.
How old were you when you found a passion for creating lo-fi beats?
I would say when I was around 16 since I started making beats roughly two years ago.
Who helped you pursue your lo-fi music career?
I first discovered a video of “two sleepy” on Twitter live-performing a track with his beatpad. Immediately I knew I wanted to do what he was doing. My dad bought me my first and only MIDI keyboard, the AKAI MPK Mini which I remember being so vividly excited about.
In addition (after finding two sleepy), discovering the great classics like tomppabeats and jinsang really got me into the genre as a whole that I didn’t know existed before.
How long does it take to make one of your tracks if you really focus? How long does it take when you collab?
If I procrastinate a track it could take me months. If I really focus on a track but I’m struggling, it could take me like two weeks. If I’m really digging how a track sounds and everything goes smoothly maybe a day or two. It all depends, really.
When you collab with other artists, how do you tend to divide the workload? How do you handle musicians/artists when they tell you how to produce your music?
Collaborations with other artists usually consists of finding a sample, looping or chopping it, adding a beat, and other sounds & details. How you split that up just depends.
No one really tells me how to produce music but other producers say nice things to me about my beats which I’m frankly surprised about because I think they’re [my beats] only alrighttt. I also like asking other producers about their process and sounds just because everyone’s so talented and I’m curious of how they did what they did.
For people who want to use your music for their own (rapping over it, leasing it, etc) do you normally charge a flat rate? Does it depend on the artist and the project they’re looking to make?
If you want to use it for your Youtube videos/school & noncommercial projects, go ahead just credit me. If you want to use a beat for a rap or song, you gotta lease it and those are $15, fam. (It’s been a while since someone paid for that! I’m generally nice about it though sometimes I think I should just come after everyone who doesn’t *angry face emoji*). The most I’ve ever charged for song use is like $50 and that was to a small company who wanted to use my beats for their new game. 🙂
How have you developed from being Rook1e and what has been the biggest change in your life from being this personality?
Rook1e has been a very big part of my life these past few years and for that I’m forever thankful. It has opened up new connections, ventures, and opportunities. I’ve started an incredibly talented collective and managed a *very* small little business out of it (but hey, it’s something, right?). And I’ve just had a lot of chances to do things most teens wouldn’t be able to. I’m not rich or anything, but monthly Spotify checks let me eat out every week so SHOUTOUT TO THEM and all of my LOVELY LISTENERS. You all look very nice today.
On a more serious note – as some of you may or may not know, I have basically stopped making beats (I may release some periodically, but…eh). I just don’t find myself as passionate for music anymore unfortunately but I will continue to learn music whether it’s through piano, guitar, etc. throughout the rest of my life I’m sure of it. There may be a resurrection long in the future. I also want to experiment with synths and other things when I’m ready to, again
Where do you see the genre of lo-fi going and how do you think you’re going to transition with it/from it?
The lofi community has become very oversaturated in my opinion. There’s so many new Soundcloud profiles with like thirty followers making lo fi beats reusing samples I’ve heard a thousand times (Is that too mean? idk). There’s nothing wrong with sampling, don’t get me wrong – in fact, it’s great! That’s what I do most of the times, too. I’m just saying there’s so many people in it right now. I also like the shift towards non-sampled beats. It’s refreshing and unique to hear!
In regards to the sampling versus non-sampling “debate”, one isn’t really better. Music is music no matter what form it comes from and I enjoy both. I still think channels should support those artists with sample-based beats, though.
Do your friends treat you differently seeing the music you’re able to create? Is your musical talent public in your private life?
Pretty much all of my family and friends know that I *used to* make music and things like that. I used to be scared of showing people but now I actually go out of my way sometimes to show people LOL. They don’t really treat me different except for when they bring up my bank account because my parents like to boast about that. I feel like I don’t deserve what I’ve made sometimes or that’s all people really care about. Oh well.
What kind of instruments, tools, equipment, programs, and inspiration do you use when making your music?
A have an AKAI MPK Mini, a ukulele, melodica, and guitar. The MPK plays piano and everything else super cool in the DAW via plugins so it works out. You can also find and download drum kits pretty easily with a few searches.
Akai:http://www.akaipro.com/products/keyboard-controllers/mpk-mini-mkii
Kontakt (plays a bunch of digital instruments)https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/samplers/kontakt-5/
FL Studio (my choice of interface for producing)https://www.image-line.com/flstudio/
Would you ever think about having another interview with Loficulture? 🙂
Yes, I would do another interview with you guys.
…
”
END OF INTERVIEW
*If any purchase is made with the Amazon link then it will help contribute to GridAlternatives, a charity focused on helping lower income communities switch to solar energy!
That’s it for this week’s interview! Shout out to Rook1e for being a feature at Lo-Fi Culture! I hope we can get another interview some time in the near future– perhaps in person? Thank you for taking part in this project, I’m sure it will help the future of the community.
Let’s discover more about the lo-fi genre together and learn new things on our journey together. Let us know how you liked this week’s guest here on Lo-Fi Culture.
Also, shout out to all of you guys who took my survey on how we can make these interviews more interesting! If you want to help Lo-Fi Culture make better content and earn a follow at the same time, fill out this survey and help me learn more about you. [Link to survey]
Social Media
If you liked the interview and the music, come follow Rook1e and his musical journey! Although he’s taking a little break from music, be sure to keep an eye out when he makes a come back! You might hear from this guy again in the near future…
Lo-Fi Culture Presents: Jinsang! More than just a cup of tea.
Today we got a special feature at Lo-Fi Culture! Jinsang, a staple in Lo-Fi Hip Hop with albums like “Solitude” and “Life” have made Jinsang’s name known within the Lo-Fi Hip Hop community. Featured on channels like STEEZYASFUCK, 1171domino, Axian, and 88 Rising, Jinsang is able to make world-wide influence through his take on music. Jinsang’s “Solitude“, a 51-minute album has over 5 million views and one of his most popular songs “affection” is almost at 8 million– both can be found on the Youtube platform. Jinsang plays a large part of this upcoming musical genre and has a generally positive view on the Lo-Fi Hip Hop culture. According to his Tweet earlier this year, this is the analytical status of his efforts in 2017 (Spotify).
*Listen to Jinsang while reading this short interview!
On that note, let’s begin this week’s short interview!
INTERVIEW
”
…
What is your full name?
My full name is Benjamin Tran
How old were you when you decided your music career was important enough to pursue?
I first started making beats just as I was finishing my first year of high school, so I was around fifteen.
How did you come up with the name Jinsang?
To be honest, It’s probably what you wouldn’t expect, haha. It was really just me reading off the ingredients off a tea and ginseng was in it. I just messed with the name spelling.
What is your daily schedule like?
Nothing special. I usually like to get up in the mornings, (I hate to oversleep) and get some goals done for the day, be it in school or beats. Most of the time I’m just schooling, at home, or just hanging around my city. I don’t really do much outside of that.
What contributed to you and your success as a musician?
I gotta thank the community for putting me out there. All the promotional channels on Youtube along with fans spreading my work has got me where I am today. I will always be grateful for that.
Where do you find inspiration to create beats? What is your creation process like?
I find inspiration in my peers and a lot of the producer greats that I have looked up to since I started. For me, I kind of gotta have to be in a right state of mind and mood. But of course, you can’t always rely on that so I’ve been pushing myself to consistently create things with quality. I hate to put out something that’s like half baked.
What is your current opinion on the genre lo-fi hip hop ?
The lo-fi community is a great one. I’ve never seen a genre where people are tightly knit and people supporting each other as we all grow as artists.
What’s the number one mistake in lo-fi hip hop that you see now?
One mistake I’ve seen with the community is there are some who are too caught up trying to mimic another artist or trying to gain numbers (like followers). It does nothing but saturate the genre and gives a lack of originality/quality. I believe this can apply to other genres of music, not just lo-fi.
‘Thanks for the interview! I’ve got some new stuff coming up soon, stay around.’
-Jinsang
…
“
END OF INTERVIEW
That’s it for this week’s short interview! If you love the sound and want to keep up with great music then you should show Jinsang some love by following him 🙂 Be sure to check out the links below to catch up with Jinsang.
SOCIAL MEDIA
(click on these handles to open a tab to Jinsang’s page)
Check out Jinsang’s social media life!
SoundCloud: Jinsangbeats
Bandcamp: Jinsangbeats
Twitter: Jinsangbeats
Facebook: jinsang
Spotify: jinsang’s spotify (web browser)
Tumblr: jinsangbeats
Latest Move
On April 20th, 2018, Jinsang was featured at a music event in Los Angeles called “On the Pulse” as a special guest. Playing a live performance in front of hundreds of people made it a night to remember. There, he shared the stage with many talented artists at a sold out venue. They even gave out free souvenirs to the music-goers as a special thanks for coming to the show.
Jinsang also just dropped a full album with Juicebox! Listen to it on Youtube here. Give it a listen and feel free to tell us your favorite song from it!
It was an honor to have Benjamin featured on our site so please send some love over to his social media and keep sharing his music with the world.
Thank you all again for stopping by! Let us know who you would like to hear next from in future interviews and we will do our best to make it happen.
Find Lo-ficulture
Loficulture’s Twitter
Protected: Lo-Fi Culture Presents: Dust Collectors!
Protected: Lo-Fi Culture Presents: Sarcastic Sounds
Lo-Fi Culture Presents: “☺KUDASAI☺”(ください )
Let’s welcome Kudasai to our Loficulture page! We’re pleased to have heard many tracks by Kudasai and by the Grape Records Label. Featured on Youtube music channels like Ikagai and DreamWave, Kudasai’s song ,”the girl i haven’t met yet” has reached over 332k views just after 3 weeks of posting it! Its currently at over 3 million views on Youtube and made it’s way to the top chart on the Lo-Fi Hip Hop platform. Come take a listen to find out how this musician fits music in his schedule and find out his opinion on Lo-Fi Hip Hop.
Play some sweet lo-fi hip-hop beats by this artist while taking a quick read! Here are Lo-fi Culture’s favorites for kudasai.
KUDASAI
Kudasaibeats. The phrase written in Japanese means “please” or “(respectfully) give me”.
INTERVIEW
“
…
What is your name? Would you like to share your ethnicity? Do you have a photo you’d like to share with viewers?
My name’s Christian Songco I’m a filipino/mexican artist from Socal and I go by the alias “kudasai”
How does lo-fi hiphop fit into your schedule?
I really have more time working on music than I should be allowed. I’ll be in my library at uni working on tracks in between classes and sometimes I get too into it while I’m like jamming so people just kind of look at me haha
How long have you been creating music as Kudasai?
I’ve been using the alias “kudasai” for about a year and a half now. I used to make random tracks before that an another account, but it wasn’t anything I took seriously at all.
What’s your favorite anime to watch? I made this assumption since your name is “kudasai”… Also, what’s your favorite anime to use for cover art?
Actually ( common misconception ) I got the name “kudasai” from an old song called “Chotto Matte Kudasai (Never Say Goodbye)
What got you started into Lo-Fi Hip Hop?
I would always mess around with ideas I had for music and a close friend of mine in high school really drove me to continue making music. I just randomly came across lofi hip hop on Soundcloud and I loved the feel of it !! I don’t wanna go into the cliche of how it inspired me to create more than I was comfortable with and explore my ideas, so I won’t but yeah exactly that 🙂
What inspires you to make beats in this style?
Well it’s been a gradual change in style and I think where I’m at now is where I’ve been wanting to be. I can’t say I have a particular inspiration, it’s just been making music track after track I get a little bit more experimental which I think really shows if you were to go from oldest to newest.
What’s your favorite thing about the Lo-Fi Hip Hop genre?
Vibes vibes vibes. It’s a similar template with almost every lofi hip hop song which is great it keeps things simple, it’s a good foundation, and allows people to get into it whether it be producing or just listening to it, but the feel for each song can be unique. Other than that, the community is one of my favorite things. The people in it can be so great especially my Grape Record boys keepin me busy and motivated.
What made you realize you wanted to find your “own sound”? Was it after listening to a particular producer? Was it self-motivated?
WOW. I definitely want to answer this one haha 🙂 !! Like I said before, I like the template we have going in lo-fi. I listen to the classics all the time ( tomppa, jinsang, idealism, luv.ly, etc ) Those guys made a staple in lofi hip hop and that kind of trickles down to us newer artists. I wanted to take that concept and expand on it ( not that I don’t love classic lo-fi I just wanted to do more than I thought I could ).
Why do you think Lo-Fi Hip Hop genre should be taken seriously? Do you feel like lo-fi is under appreciated in current hip hop culture?
I think my biggest concern for lofi hip hop is that there’s a spectrum of musicians from people that actually create to people that just take an mp3 of an old jazz track and put J Dilla
Is lo-fi hip hop transforming the current hip hop culture? What do you think about the future of lo-fi? How will you transform with it?
I think lofi hip hop is branching out into it’s own thing rather than changing hip hop. It’s hard to change hip hop, but it happens (s/o the mumble rappers haha). Lately I’ve been trying to mix in some future sounds into my music like in my track “ginseng&honey” so I’m willing to expand out of the lo-fi comfort zone and I only hope other artists would be willing to also
I’m hoping lo-fi gets more creative, I want to see something new…
-Kudasai
Do you feel like experimenting with other fields(like electronic, etc) of lo-fi music? Do you prefer lo-fi hip hop category over any other lo-fi music?
I did try more future sounds like electronic synths, especially in my song “petals” and my EP “Solicitude” which was more future beats than lo-fi. I prefer making lo-fi over any other genre, not that I’ve tried making a lot for other genres. I love the idea of being able to have a chill, smooth sound from lofi, but also the energy from future/electronic sounds and I think I was best able to capture that in my song “first sight.”
What kind of instruments, tools, equipments, programs, and inspiration do you use when making your music?
As a college student, not much haha. I use ableton
Would you ever think about having another interview with Loficulture? 🙂
Definitely, although I’m quite boring haha. Thanks so much for the interview I sure had fun doing it!!
…
“
END OF INTERVIEW
Thank you all! I hope you guy’s learned a little something from this week’s short interview.
*Note* 1.5% of all sales provided by the amazon links above will be donated to a Grid Alternatives. I believe that the sun can be the source for music someday. Let’s get technology for it!
That’s it for this short interview! Thanks for taking a minute to find out more about your favorite musician. Email me @loficulturenow@gmail.com and let me know what you thought about it. Also, be sure to show some love to artists like Kudasai by catching them on social media!
Twitter: @kudasaibeats
Soundcloud: Kudasai
TrakTrain: kudsaibeats (leasing)
Bandcamp: kudasaibeats
Lo-Fi Culture 