“Lo-Fi” is a relatively new genre of music which abandons the modern sound of digital recordings for a raw, analog vibe. Songs may contain popping, vinyl scratches, and even skipping. It has evolved to include sub-genres such as “Lo-Fi Hip Hop,” and these sub genres have caused it to become moderately popular. Typically, “Lo-Fi” does not include original lyrics, with “Lo-Fi Hip Hop” usually being remixes of Hip Hop songs to make them seem vintage. Instead of lyrics “Lo-Fi” might enlist the use of sounds like water rushing, the aforementioned vinyl scratches and popping, conversations, or whispers.
By Daiki Henderson
Genre: Lo-Fi
Rating:8/10
[Available as a “pay what you want” download at: https://inlovewithaghost.bandcamp.com/album/”healing” or as a vinyl release for 12.00 Euros or 14.15 U.S. Dollars at: bigwax.fr/en/in-love-with-a-ghost/music/healing]
10 Songs, 17 Minutes
This extended project by In Love With A Ghost—which is a mere 17 minutes long—is a well-made production. In Love With A Ghost is a French “Lo-Fi” artist who has become decently popular due to tracks such as “we’ve never met but can we have a coffee or something”, the original version of this single getting six million views on YouTube. In Love With A Ghost has said that s/he records many of the sound effects in his/her songs on his/her own. In Love With A Ghost’s gender is unknown, and the artist refuses to reveal it, with one of the artist’s responses to a question regarding it being “no gender”.
The album is described as “a story about witches, magic, and friendship.” In sequence, the titles of each song tell a very short story, which still leaves much up to the listener to create. Half of the individual cuts here are under a minute long, while the rest of the album contains a one-minute song, plus four full-length songs. The longest track is “healing,” which is four minutes and seven seconds long. The production style is very uniform throughout, but each song is different enough for the tracks to not seem formulaic.
This makes for a very enjoyable listen because the album is neither droning on, nor scattered. There are no words (or lyrics) on the record, save for a few background noises and whisperings in some of the songs. I especially like the door-knocking sound on “welcome to azerty and qwerty’s home,” since no matter how many times I hear this I find myself looking towards a door.
The story conveyed as you listen is very vague, but the arrangements and special effects are descriptive enough to keep it engaging. The music has a very simplistic sound, but evokes a happy mood throughout the whole album. This, coupled with the sounds in the background, gives the impression of a nice, vibrant world where the trees are bright green, and the water is crystal blue.
Overall, healing was very enjoyable and interesting. The simplistic melodies with somewhat complex components made the whole album very delightful. The project being very uniform also made the listening experience more pleasurable. But I would have loved the songs to be longer. Some of the sound effects were unnecessary or too distracting, in my opinion, as well. For these reasons I give this project an 8 out of 10.
