by Lo-Fi Culture

LofiArtist:「Ｃ Ａ Ｎ Ｔ Ｉ」,

Its a pleasure to have the one and only 「Ｃ Ａ Ｎ Ｔ Ｉ」interviewed by Loficulture today!
「Ｃ Ａ Ｎ Ｔ Ｉ」’s work is most notable on soundcloud for his song “Human music” which currently has over 600k views. On YouTube, the same song has 3 million views!! Talk about amazing.
*Fun Fact: The 10 hour version of “Human music has over 1 million views.

Here are some of Loficulture’s favorites from CANTI.
Soundcloud

「Ｃ Ａ Ｎ Ｔ Ｉ」
human music pic

Current Soundcloud average plays per song: 45.9k plays
Keep listening the works!

Lets begin.

INTERVIEW

”
…

What is your full name? Do you have a picture of yourself you’d like to show viewers?
[*] My name is Kai. i’d like to remain largely anonymous as I like to keep my ego and my music separate as to prevent interference.

Why did you decide to pursue your lo-fi music career?
[*] I think to some degree I always liked the lo-fi aesthetic. I grew up with gameboy chiptunes out of a tiny speaker and poorly recorded VHS tapes of cartoons that I’d rewatch at a later time, so the aesthetic of imperfection and a more bare bones approach to music was really natural. My background in production before I began this project was largely focused on complex synthesis and technical precision. I decided to try my hand at hip hop beat making as kind of an exercise in songwriting and sound composition, and Lo-fi sounds were something I really liked. I started putting out a few songs and people liked them, so I decided to make more, and here we are today.

Would you ever perform a life show?
[*] I would love too, but only after I’ve made more music. I have only about 40 minutes of music, and want to do an all original set. I have high hopes for 2018 though. 🙂

How many people ask you for your beats and to use them for raps, songs, and other forms of creativity?
[*] So many, it’s kind of insane. It’s difficult to keep up with people. Tbh i don’t generally respond to any interactions unless it’s through my email//management, due to the volume. I really appreciate the interest, and am almost always okay with people using my music as long as i’m credited, but please reach out to me first so I can lay down my conditions.

I would like to say that you have a lot of “woke” clips/lines play in a lot of your tracks(woke in this context meaning that you are highly aware and well informed). What inspired you to make this move as lo-fi artist? Do you have people you’d like to give fair recognition to?
[*] I think sampling is a good way to make music more interesting. A lot of my
favorite producers include clips that sort of “set the scene” for the composition. Madlib, Flying Lotus, Nujabes, Burial, who are some of my main influences for this project, are some of the many who use this to add a different level of significance to their music. Despite this, because a lot of these beats 2 minute beats that are made today don’t have anyone rapping over them, so these little pauses and scenes can have an impact on keeping what might essentially be a 32 bar loop interesting.

How old were you when you found a passion for creating lo-fi beats? How did you find that out at that age?
[*] I started “seriously” making beats at 18, (although i had been messing around for a while before that), and I started making hip hop somewhere between 23 and 24.

Where do you see the genre of lo-fi going and how do you think you’re going to transition with it/from it?

[*] I believe that in a year or two, mainstream pop-music culture will have adapted to the genre. I’ve had friends who major labels have already been hit up, and asked to make pop music, but in that aesthetic. At the same time, I see it creeping more and more into other underground music. Look at guys like Tsuruda, his music fits well within the lo-fi sound palette, but is also firmly within the realms of bass music.

How have you grown by being 「Ｃ Ａ Ｎ Ｔ Ｉ」 and what has been the biggest change in your life from being this personality?
[*]it gave me the drive to place all my energy in making music. I also am
beginning to understand the value of art and hard work. I’ve been in the scene for a while, and now have a small, but dense group of friends I work with, and it’s been exhilarating watching them gain momentum and have it pay off.

“…I’ve been in the scene for a while, and now have a small, but dense group of friends I work with, and it’s been exhilarating watching them gain momentum and have it pay off.” – CANTI

Do your friends treat you differently now that you’ve hit over 500k on human music?
[*]God I hope not. I want people to be honest with me.

What kind of instruments, tools, equipments, programs, and inspiration do you use when making your music?
[*] Laptop + Ableton live 9 + moog mother32 + record player + youtube video ripper + cartoon streaming sites + as many free drum samples you can find (or make) = canti

Would you ever think about having another interview with Loficulture? 🙂
[*]yeah this was fun, I hope I didn’t ramble on too much.

[*]Final plugs 🙂 Check out my album “only from a dream”. It just came out a few weeks ago as a free download via soundcloud, or streaming via spotify.
If you want to hear weirder stuff I make that isn’t so nice and relaxing, I also just released an ep via the guys at Renraku under the name ALEPH.
Lastly, I really appreciate and am constantly amazed that any of you listen to my music.

I hope I can continue to provide you with as much music as I can. Keep your
eyes out for a new song in the coming weeks.
Thanks,
— -canti//kai-

”

…

END OF INTERVIEW

Thank you all!

*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. Lets 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.

Please share your time and love by
FOLLOWING @CANTI ON HIS SOCIAL MEDIA!

Twitter: @Canti_Beats
Facebook: Canti music
Spotify: Canti
Soundcloud: @「Ｃ Ａ Ｎ Ｔ Ｉ」

by Lo-Fi Culture

LofiHipHop’s Wave onto Instagram~

Also known as the artist “Capotal”, Instagram’s official @LofiHipHop page is a feature we’ve been only hoping to have!

Lofihiphop

Instagram Followers: 9.5k

Loficulture’s Favorites

Lets get started!

INTERVIEW

…

What is your full name? Do you have a picture you’d like to share?
[*] My name is Rocco “Capotal” Vitolo, and here’s a picture of yours truly (this is promo for my latest music video, Don’t Work).
Catopol.jpg

Could you explain all of your identities on soundcloud and instagram briefly?
[*] So besides my personal music pages, I run The Lofi Hip-Hop Blog (@lofihiphop on Instagram, @lofihiphop on SoundCloud, and The Lofi Hip-Hop Blog on BandCamp), a group of social media pages centered around music curation (specifically Lofi Hip-Hop) and, in the case of my SoundCloud and BandCamp, featuring of compilations that I hold twice a year!

You seem to have multiple talents you are able to tap into such as making lo-fi beats,, being a social media handler, and being an all around producer. What advice do you have for individuals who want to pursue multiple creative paths just like you?
[*]Thank you, and while this may seem like back pedaling, I’d say the most important thing is start small and don’t spread yourself too thin. I’ve been a producer and musician for over 10 years so that all comes naturally to me now, allowing me time to be able to handle other projects and endeavors. That being said, even at this level I still wouldn’t be able to do it without careful planning and strict organization, my next word of advice. It’s always important to keep a disciplined mind and focus your time. Half of the work I do on the blog is studying the trends of my audience (through detailed analytics) and of the industry. If Instagram drops a new feature tomorrow I need to know how to use it by yesterday or else I won’t be prepared for it! Tl;dr create schedules and do your studies!

Out of all your talents as a creative mind/producer, which one of your personalities do you like to indulge in the most? Why?
[*] That’s a hard one, but I’d say the avenue I put the most work and time into is myself as an artist. I’m a trained singer (and still train) and a rapper, so I’m pretty much studying two (almost whole) days a week with my teacher and practicing on every other day. I also spend the most time developing myself and my sound. My ultimate goal is to be a well known artist, but even a solid following that I could make a living off of would be great. Otherwise, I usually do freelance producer work (making instrumentals or as a traditional producer) for side money and I work as a recording engineer at a studio in NYC, so I’d say those two come second and third, but are still very close to my heart.

Since this is mainly a lofi-themed blog i’ll ask about your current tracks that are “Lo-Fi Hiphop”. Who do you give credit to for giving you inspiration to create these tracks?
[*] That’s a tough one as well! So the easy answers are the Lofi cats; bsd.u, [slr], chuckee., motion. (the skate tape is my favorite lofi project of all time), the homie Kriracha, the guys over at Cozy Collective, Sabata, Yxng Cxmo, etc etc. There are a lot of names to drop, but those are some of the few Lofi cats off of the top of my head. Non-Lofi acts would definitely be Tribe, De La Soul, pretty much anything Motown, Brother Ali, Big L, Takako Mamiya, Junko Ohashi, and a lot more!

As Lofihiphop on IG, how do you decide on what artists and what label gets featured? Do you have a process?
[*]So my choice of features have been quite controversial at times! I do two things; I study my analytics to see what my audience likes the most and what attracts the most new followers and then choose based on those results and what I feel is up to par with my audience’s tastes. As a side note, I, along with many in the community, have been getting a bit worn down by the tropes that have been starting to develop in the community, and have been trying to feature more experimental or at least more artistically interesting Lofi, so I’d say my bar is definitely being raised. I sometimes may really enjoy an artist’s music, but if I feel it’s not what my audience would enjoy/isn’t necessarily great for the community I probably won’t feature it. I will bump it heavy, though.

Why did you start Lofihiphop on IG?
[*] So this is a complicated one. When I joined the community we were just seeing the dust fall from the Late Night Bumps era. It was right before the current boom, but it was starting to build in popularity. Oddly enough, the community was beginning to become stale, though. Not long after I decided to host the first r/LofiHipHop Presents: tape, “Rainy Night Blues”, to get people involved and discussing in the hopes of creating a cycle that could help build up more artists (a community that is connected can help make artists known, and those known artists in turn help the community become known). The second part of the plan was to start introducing the world to the community to build it up and make it more accessible. Granted, I had high hopes and didn’t expect Chilled Cow to do it for me not long after, but alas I created the Instagram to handle that front. Funny enough, my goal wasn’t quite met, but a lot of people daily tell me I’m how they found the sound!

What is your typical schedule like on any given day?
[*]So besides the madness that is being an engineer, a freelancer, and trying to build my brand as an artist, I tend to end every day by going through my submissions and listening to a lot of Lofi. I always make my videos when I get home (usually about 10-11pm every night) as to be able to check as many submissions as possible. As you can probably imagine, I have little to no social life outside of the music world anymore!

How many and what type of people message you on Instagram and Soundcloud? How do you deal with these different types of viewers?
[*] Oh man, a lot. On average I get at least 15-20 Instagram DMs a day. That’s not counting emails and SoundCloud messages. Usually everyone is really awesome and enthusiastic about the page, but every once and a while someone gets out of line. Overall I’d say my followers are the best! It’s also very important to me to interact and get to know my followers, I’ve even made a lot of friends!

In regards to your Lo-fi tracks, what kind of instruments, equipments, and software did you use in making your sounds?
[*] When making my Lofi tracks I try to tow the line between experimenting and making accessible enough music for new listeners to enjoy. I intend on being the artist that people get into before jumping down the rabbit hole. That being said, I’ve molded my set up around that. I sample off of vinyls and have various instruments, all are implemented to varying degrees when making tracks. When it comes to software I mainly use Logic Pro 9 to make the beats and Pro Tools to mix/master. I also use Pro Tools to record vocals and such over them, but y’all haven’t really heard any of my Lofi tunes with vocals yet, as I’ve either not released them at the moment or have been slyly dropping them here and there for you to find!

Would you consider doing another interview with Loficulture again? :^)
[*] Of course!

I’ve had a great time answering these, it was a lot of fun and I really appreciate what you’re doing for the community!” -Lofihiphop

…

END OF INTERVIEW

Thank you for that LofiHipHop! I’m glad you had as much fun as we did while interviewing you. These interviews have been nothing short of great so I’d also like to thank all those people who’ve been checking it out lately! Loficulture will always welcome all Lo-Fi heads.

*Note* 1.5% of all sales provided by the amazon links above will be donated to a Renewable Energy Charity. I believe that the sun can be the source for music someday. Lets 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.

IF YOU LIKED OUR INTERVIEW WITH IG’S LOFIHIPHOP THEN BE SURE TO FIND HIM ON HIS OTHER PLATFORMS!

Lofihiphop
Ig: lofihiphop
Soundcloud: lofihiphop
Bandcamp: lofihiphopblog

Capotal
Soundcloud: Capotal
Youtube: Catopal
Instagram: Capotal
Facebook: Capotal

by Lo-Fi Culture

Elijah who welcomes whoever!

I think it’s safe to say that a song with almost 3.5 million plays on YouTube, “sad and boujee” that elijah who is clearly the MAN! THANK YOU ELIJAH! Having your own sound must feel pretty nice.

It was too easy to make a “favorites” playlist this time. So many tracks that are so solid! I’d encourage our viewers to just listen to all of the music and to find out just what you like. Here’s ours.
Lo-Fi Culture’s Favorites Playlist

Elijah who
maxresdefault

39.1k Followers on Soundcloud
SoundCloud plays per song average: 85.5k plays per song.
33k Subscribers on Youtube
Numbers are subject to change

Let’s begin the questioning! 🙂

INTERVIEW

…

“What is your real name? Do you have a photo that you’d like to let your fans see?
[*] my name is elijah ! i’d rather not give out a last name :^)
Photo on 9-6-17 at 10.35 PM

How would your schedule be on a day you’d consider as “normal”?
[*] i’m always up late since im currently unemployed and dating someone
in a different time zone,, so i usually wake up late (around noon my time) and go downstairs to figure out what my family is doing for the day,, and then i’ll base my plans around that. usually i come back up to my room and make music for a few hours and text/facetime friends and respond to work emails or play instruments to stay in practice. i really don’t do much haha sometimes i’ll go shopping or hang out w irl friends when they’re not busy,, but

95% of my life is spent in my room making music,, responding to people, talking to friends, or watching movies right now.
– Elijah who

When people listen to your music there’s a very distinct harmony of vocals and melody you play with. I think it’s safe to say that you have a “sound” that is fundamentally unique and good. How long did it take you to get to where you are in terms of skill and in popularity?
[*] hm … as far as “skill”,, it didn’t take long haha maybe 2 months? i’ve
always liked composing (i want to use my own instruments in my music very soon)
and sampling isn’t very hard to get good at :^) it only took a week or two to figure out how to use the software lol i really wasn’t popular until i got on the animevibe youtube channel (february 28th,, i think the day was) and i hit 1k followers on march 1st of this year so it’s only really been a few months.

Why did you decide that this “sound” was something you could pursue as something more than a hobby?
[*] i’ve kinda been forced to pursue this as a job haha im from a *very*
small town with almost no opportunities for jobs and i can’t find an employer. i’ve been trying to get a practical job or start college but neither have been working out so music is the only thing i’ve got going for me as of right now :^)

How old were you when you found out that music meant something more to you?
[*] i think i was like 4,, i was riding around with my dad in his truck and i
grabbed a cassette from the glove box and put it in the deck and “close to you” by the carpenters started playing and i was humming it all day and i took that tape and played it in my walkman all day every day when i got home from school haha either that,, or when i was 7 and got my first guitar and learned blackbird by the beatles !

I understand that you’re a very social-able person. How many messages do you generally go through in any given week?
[*] i try to be sociable online haha im very shy irl but i honestly cant
count them all. its an average of 5-6 soundcloud messages per day,, 7-8 instagram
dms every day, 2 or 3 twitter dms daily, 4 or 5 emails each day, and probably around 30 snapchats a day … so… it adds up very quickly and i havent been able to get to everything lately oof

Even though you are social-able, is there a certain type of people you try to avoid talking to?
[*] i honestly try to talk to everyone at least once but i wish i could ignore
the people that ask for things like trading reposts or people who get angry at me when i tell them im too busy to have full,, two-hour-long philosophical conversations with them haha

Who are your biggest influencers in music and how did they help you become the musician you are now?
[*] i’d note tomppabeats as a big influence in the way i make my lofi instrumentals ! his music influenced how i eq and mix my songs,, and how i leave my samples very untouched as far as compression and bitcrushing and warping and things like that. driver is another influence,, he made a song called “the way i’m supposed to feel” that mixed a jazzy charlie brown sample and a Waka Flacka flame acapella and that juxtaposition made a big impact on my tastes in vocals. i love meltycanon so much,, his soundfont choice and melody choices are so beautiful and i want to make music as beautiful as his,, but in my own way.

What kind of equipment, tools, and programs do you use in your process of making music?
[*] up until literally a few days ago,, i was only using a 2009 Toshiba Satellite and fl studio 11, but now i’ve got a new laptop haha same program and setup tho, just the laptop and fl studio 11 !

Would you ever consider doing another interview with us again @Loficulture?
[*] yea definitely :^)) ”
(end of interview)

Thank you so much for letting us conduct this short interview Elijah! The time you offered us at Loficulture has truly been a pleasure. Stay posted with us to see more interviews with interesting artists and find out more about their personal life.
Thanks for taking a minute to find out more about our favorite musician. Email me @loficulturenow@gmail.com and let me know what you thought about it.

*Note* 1.5% of all sales provided by these links above will be donated to a Renewable Energy Charity. I believe that the sun can be the source for music someday. Let’s get technology for it!

Show him support on his Bandcamp and buy some of his “Sleeping Late” tracks for a cost that YOU think is fair.
Bandcamp: elijahwho.bandcamp.com

Keep up with elijah who on his social media!
Youtube: @elijah
Souncloud: @elijah who
Facebook: Elijah who
Twitter: @elijahwhomusic

If you add elijah who on snapchat let him know Lo-Fi Culture sent you 🙂
Show him some love!
snapchat: @wow.elijah

by Lo-Fi Culture

Lofi Artist: Introducing, Mt. Fujitive!

I want to start off this short interview by thanking Mt. Fujitive for taking time in answering my little list of questions! 🙂 Thank you so much. Lets begin!

LoFiCulture’s Favorites https://open.spotify.com/user/loficulture/playlist/71ljSRGm4gyba3fN4Zlza7

mt. fujitive
mt. fujitive’s picture
avatars-000315159478-e7gfbj-t500x500

Spotify Followers ~2,000
Soundcloud Followers ~7,500
Numbers are subject to change

INTERVIEW

…

“What is your real name?
[*]Magnús Valur. Have fun trying to say that name!

How old were you when you decided music was “your thing”?
[*]Music has always been a huge part of my life since i can remember myself. I’ve played bass guitar in bands and all that stuff, but not that much really. But regarding when it became “my thing”. I have to say it was around 2014 after listening extensively to beats by my favorite producers like Pete Rock, J Dilla, Buckwild, 9th Wonder, Vanilla and plenty more.

What is one message that you want all of your followers to feel when they listen to your music?
[*]Good question. I’m a very calm person, almost too calm haha. My message to the listeners is just to take it easy, breathe, relax, and enjoy themselves. No stress.

What is your daily schedule like?
[*]Wake up, eat breakfast, maybe go for a walk, make beats, play video games, meet my best friends. It all depends, really.

Is there a short story you’d like to share with us?
[*]Not really, but i can tell you that i just finished making a bunch of beats this summer that will hopefully be released on vinyl maybe around September, we’ll see how that goes.

How did you become as popular as you are today?
[*]I think a lot of it just comes from working really hard on trying to get “that sound” that i like so much.

How is it like being one of the pioneers of Lo-Fi Music?
[*]Well, to be honest. I think i’m far from being a pioneer of “Lo-fi” haha. Guys like Wun Two, F ro st, Smuv, [csd], even Dilla and Madlib. I might be a pioneer of “Lo-fi” in Iceland, but im only one of maybe 2-3 in the whole country.

What kind of music do you listen to?
[*]Oh man, i listen to almost everything, except for Opera and Death Metal… and Trap music. I love Jazz from the 30’s-50’s, classic rock like Zeppelin and Fleetwood Mac. Metal from the 70’s like black sabbath, dio, judas priest etc. And don’t forget the golden era Hip Hop like Tribe, Organized Konfusion, Blackstar, Pete Rock & CL Smooth etc. The list never ends!

Do you have any advice for up-coming Lo-Fi musicians/rappers?
[*]Beatmakers: Start out by listening to a lot of Jazz, A LOT. Your beats will sound like a bag of shit at first, but these things takes time. Keep grinding and developing “that sound” you like so much. Rappers: Learn how to mix your vocals right with the beat. Try to make it blend together.

How many times a day does someone ask permission to, “rap over” one of your instrumentals?
[*]It’s kind of strange because, sometimes i don’t get any inquiries like that for days, even weeks, and suddenly i get like 2-5 of them at the same time by different rappers. But yeah, 90% of my inbox is people asking to rap or sing over my beats.

What drum kit, instrument, or tools/devices do you use to produce your art?
[*]What i use for almost everything is a software named Ableton Live 9. I also bought a SP404-SX last year too, i mainly use it for certain effects or just to do live shows.”

Software and SP404-SX Links
Ableton Live 9 Intro
Ableton Live 9 Intro Ableton Live 9 Intro DJ and Mixing Software with Sound Library
Ableton Live 9 Standard
Ableton Live 9 Standard Ableton Live 9 Standard Multi-Track Audio Recording with Sound Library
SP404-SX
Roland SP-404SX Linear Wave Sampler with DSP Effects
*Note* 1.5% of all sales provided by these links will be donated to a Renewable Energy Charity. I believe that the sun can be the source for music someday. Lets get technology for it!

Thats 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.

Would Like to keep up with mt. fujitive? Make sure to show some love by clicking mt. fujitive’s Social Media Links! Keep an ear out for new beats and jams.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2V9zpugQCHRiu2lPjsUM6d
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/mt_fujitive/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mtfujitive/