When I heard “Passing Me By” in 1992, I understood the lo-fi aesthetic in the crackling needle and distorted, ghostly organ sample from Quincy Jones’ “Summer in the City”. The saxophone precursor to the chorus also introduced me to a more sophisticated rap-jazz fusion.

Many beat producers like to come up with chord progressions or find a sample first. But if you’re starting out making beats, it’s best to have a solid foundation to build on. Hence we’re beginning with the drum beat.

Ambient Lo-fi is a genre that prioritizes creating soothing and ethereal soundscapes. It often incorporates soft synthesizers, nature sounds, and minimalistic beats to transport listeners to a calm and immersive sonic environment. It is commonly used for relaxation, meditation, or as unobtrusive background music.

Start by laying down the foundation of your beat with a drum pattern. You will need a digital audio workstation (DAW) and a virtual drum machine to do this. Luckily, Soundtrap has an easy-to-use drum programmer called Patterns Beatmaker where you can choose from hundreds of presets and drum kits.

The term “lo-fi music” gained popularity in the 1950s, when recording technology began to be available to mass markets. The low-quality of the equipment stuck in the recordings, and a natural distorted type of sound was present in the tracks.

I still remember the day I bought the crazy fabulous Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde — one of my first CDs rather than cassettes — as a young teen in a big record store out of town.

Plus, it’s “mostly utilized as background music,” says Rinaldi. This can help subconsciously distract the listener from whatever stressors or mental thoughts are getting Music Lo-Fi in their way of relaxation.

We hope that this guide will help you get started on your Lo-fi production journey. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Soundtrap if you have any questions. And once you have that first beat bounced, send it our way! We’d love to check it out!

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Other commonalities in Lo-fi music are the use of sound FX and samples throughout the songs. It’s not rare to hear a voice recording from an old movie, cartoon, or historical speech over a Lo-fi beat.

Don’t feel like playing your own instruments. Then you may wanna choose a sample that fits the mood of your beat. It could be a snippet from an old record, a vocal line, or any sound you find interesting.

Manipulate the sample to match the tempo and key of your track, then layer it over your drum beat. There is a lot that goes into sampling in beatmaking so it will take a while before you get the hang of it. You can read more about sampling in music here.

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