# Lo-Fi — Genre

> "Low fidelity" production aesthetic. Vintage feel, vinyl crackle, warm imperfection.

## Defining elements

- Deliberately less polished production
- Tape saturation / vinyl crackle
- Mid tempo (70-100 BPM)
- Jazz / soul samples often
- Hip-hop influence
- Bedroom production aesthetic

## Sub-types

- **Lo-fi hip-hop** — chillhop (J Dilla legacy, Nujabes)
- **Lo-fi indie** — bedroom indie (Mac DeMarco, Clairo, Rex Orange County)
- **Lo-fi jazz** — chill instrumental
- **Vaporwave** — slowed nostalgic (lo-fi adjacent)
- **Bedroom pop** — modern lo-fi pop

## Typical instrumentation

Sample-based beat (often jazz/soul samples) + drum machine + bass + occasional live instruments + lo-fi vocals (sometimes)

## Production characteristics

- Tape saturation
- Vinyl crackle (intentional)
- Sidechained compression (subtle)
- Less compression overall
- Reverb / delay
- Imperfect quality (intentional)

## Lyrics direction (when vocal)

- Casual, conversational
- Bedroom relatable
- Modern life
- Often sparse vocal use
- Sometimes wordless

## For Suno

```
[Style: lo-fi hip-hop, 80 BPM, F major with 7th chords, jazz piano sample 
loop + soft drum machine + bass + vinyl crackle + tape saturation, no 
vocals (instrumental), warm vintage chill atmosphere]
```

## Examples

- J Dilla (pioneer), Nujabes (Japanese lo-fi pioneer)
- Modern: Joey Pecoraro, Idealism, Saib
- Lo-fi indie: Mac DeMarco, Clairo, Boy Pablo
- Lo-fi YouTube channels (study music)

## Avoid

- High polish modern production
- Auto-tune
- Big radio sound
- Crisp digital cleanliness
- Aggressive dynamics
