What To Know About Lo-Fi Music
By ALICE BENNETT
Music
Lo-fi, short for "low fidelity," is down-tempo electronic music with hip-hop beats looped through. Common characteristics include drum loops, jazz chords, and other music samples.
This chill, easy-listening music makes great background noise and can be easily made using basic music production software, allowing it to slowly take over the internet.
Much of lo-fi music's popularity is due to the extremely successful meme "LoFi Girl," a looped animation of a young girl studying with her cat by a window.
The meme originated from YouTube user ChilledCow, who joined YouTube in 2015. The relaxing ambient music and cute video caught on, accumulating millions of hits in a few years.
Following the huge success of the original video, LoFi Girl has spawned many copycat incarnations — and you can even find a unique LoFi Girl for whatever you’re in the mood for.
There are country-specific LoFi Girls, such as Brazilian "Bossa Nova LoFi Girl," and lo-fi videos for your specific interests such as "Medieval LoFi Girl" and "Sci-Fi LoFi Girl."
Those who like lo-fi may listen to it because they find it particularly relaxing, and there is some science to back this up. It can actually boost your mood and reduce stress.
Journalist Amanda Petrusich said lo-fi may be a generational phenomenon — a byproduct of millennial burnouts who need music to get through their day with their sanity intact.