Even though we are in the middle of January already of the year 2022, I believe I drop you an article on lo-fi trends. Or at least from my perspective. Hit play button below and enjoy true lo-fi background music while reading this article.
What netizens say about lo-fi trends for 2022
Let’s start with what I’ve been reading in the past weeks and months. According to one of my fave Reddit group sub-genres of lo-fi and in this case lo-fi hip-hop will be more visible. I mean there has been tons of sub-genres already. I even plan to cover more on my blog in the future. But the borders are not that clean. Or not yet. To my point there will be some growth for lo-fi hip-hop as the general phenomenon, but also lo-fi rap will find its way to the fans. On the other hand jazz elements will also be part of the genre even more. Though the discussion has already started on this matter.
Regardless the results we need to admit that Cowboy Bebop’s live action series on Netflix brought back noir vibe with jazz elements quite suddenly. Regardless we liked the series or not, the impact is inevitable. Those who liked it will re-watch it. Old anime fans to watch the original series again. And The Real Folk Blues is spinning hard along with Tank!
Lofigirl to rule
The ex-ChilledCow page is hitting top for a couple of years now. As the pandemic came and hopefully leave one day. The role of home office became completely different. This affected lo-fi trends generally. Apart from being a pure music genre, it is more a trend adding visual identity more and more.
We can now create our true “Lofigirl avatar” and I guess more will come by fans and companies in touch. Generally I see it as a good idea as more people will be cautious about the genre and what makes lo-fi unique. Yet I have a bit of a fear that the few on top will start affecting and narrowing the genre for the rest. Sharing you an example: lo-fi did not really, or never really intended to be anime oriented. I mean noone carved it in stone. Yet, in the past years we ended up having it because the biggest Youtube channels only feature artists with drawn covers. Again, it has its ups and downs. I find it a good thing on one hand as visual artists are also part of the family (meaning the genre lovers). Yet, there are bunch of artists out there not willing to use anime covers and animations, or not having the financial resource to do so. Are they not lo-fi in 2022 then? Interesting question.
Youtube over Soundcloud, mixes over Bandcamp releases
I am not saying the others will completely fade away. Yet, maybe because of Lofigirl or due to the fact that more people are turning to this genre without knowing much about the roots of the genre. I tend to read more and more about stories how random topics with lo-fi mixes ended up being big. And due to the pandemic, I guess we can expect growth on generic playlists.
Lo-fi trends and Spotify playlist
Another phenomenon that started a couple of years but have been accelerating since. The number of lo-fi playlist has been increasing. More and more upcoming artists believe the best way to pitch their beats is to create an own playlist, where his/her beats to start the list. And in certain cases it does work. Some are to build up marvellous sets, while others. Well, they don’t. Though it is a matter of taste. What makes these lo-fi playlists a bit weird that the artists must like their songs as well as the playlists to get submitted. On the other hand most algorithms are evolving and personally I doubt Spotify (or any other stream platforms) will tolerate fake likes on long term. A playlist with 250 likes and 2 listens will not get supported by the platform.
Personal thoughts on lo-fi trends in 2022
Well, half the article is a personal point of view, nothing more. Even though I added bunch of blogs and articles, still the conclusions are mine. Anyways, I do believe that lo-fi as phenomenon, let it be photography, art or music will increase. More people will seek for the imperfect among the perfect pop, rock and other pieces.
As for the music, I guess the scene will grow gradually. I do not see a reason for 2022 to become exponential (like I believe it was in the past 2 years). So it will do fairly good.
Along with it more and more artists will appear. I guess more PO-33 KOs and other gadgets will be bought. As a result of it e.g. Roland renewed the legendary SP404 after decades last year. This instrument is like a basic for lo-fi and lo-fi hip-hop producers. Novation Circuit Tracks also hit the market about a year ago.
Koala Sampler also getting its well-deserved fame gradually increasing the number of flip fans in their Facebook group, creating videos and promoting artist quite often.
Subsequently I believe the focus will gradually shift toward creating beats on the go. DAWless solutions will pop-up offering more creativity for bedroom producers. It will hopefully become a challenge to the major DAW companies such as Ableton and FL Studio to accelerate their tablet and smartphone solutions to keep up with the lo-fi trends.
Thanks for reading this article. Again, it is more a personal view and expectation from me based on the articles. I guess if would be great if major companies would also add their stats to either strengthen it or let me know if I am completely wrong. What do you think?
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