Lo-Fi- Hip Hop

[DouglasKnight]

Hey guys,

I'm new to this genre and would appreciate any feedback before submitting this track for the listing below: https://s.disco.ac/bsedlwextmyv

https://www.taxi.com/industry#listing-S231214LF

LO-FI HIP-HOP INSTRUMENTALS and/or INSTRUMENTAL CUES are needed by a Great Music Licensing Company with lots of Film and TV placements. They need a bunch of great new tracks to meet increased demand in this genre!

Please submit top-tier Lo-Fi Hip-Hop Instrumentals that have a mellow and relaxing sound and vibe, and could be heard on a playlist along with the reference tracks! Your submissions should have warm and melodic motifs, Lo-Fi Hip-Hop-style drums, and dynamic arrangements with plenty of forward motion and interest throughout. Instrumentation that's in the general ballpark of the references will work best (think warm keys, guitar, bass, drums, etc.). Please be sure your production is polished and any virtual instruments or samples you may use are not dated-sounding.

Your submissions should be roughly 90 Seconds long for Cues, and about 2 to 4 minutes long for Instrumentals, give or take.

Thank you!
DK

[eandersonmusic]

Hey Doug!

Cool track, I think for the most part it's a good fit. Some things could still be worked on, mostly pertaining to the mix and the drum part.

Overall your track sounds clean and bright, kinda pretty sounding. The listing asks for warm sounds so I feel your track needs a little more grit and filtering of sounds. Blending mostly 'muffled' sounds with one or two cleaner, more high end sounds, is a great way to create the desired effect and balance of a typical lofi track. For example you can have most of the track filtered out and then just add a hiss or crackle track and it totally opens up the high end spectrum and balances the muffled parts out. The examples aren't heavy on the hiss, but it's still there. Also the beats seem to be almost disjointed, not quite perfect or completely quantized, which is typical in lofi to create that sorta off-kilter groove.

Personally I would get rid of the high 'pitched percussive' sound(s), I don't think it's necessary. You could always just really kill the high end on them and tuck em away in the mix, but I still don't think they're needed. Your hi hat pattern is good, it adds a little bit of that disjointed feel to the groove, but I would definitely kill some of the high end on them, like everything above 2k.. see how that sounds a maybe adjust it from there. I would also filter out just a bit of the high end on the main snare track as well, maybe everything above 4k or 5k. I like the groove you have, it's unique and attractive, but I would consider adding some more kick hits (in the of the open space spots), maybe 16th or even 32nd note kicks here and there to create more of a typical hip hop beat. Also the examples, and typical lofi, is heavy on the bass track, often a little blown up and over exaggerated, not where you would normally put it in the mix. Try increasing the bass level, making the kick hit a little harder, filter out some of the drum sounds and add a bit of hiss and see how the mix sounds at that point. It should be less 'clean' sounding and more lofi sounding, at which point you could make further adjustments.

Other than that I think the arrangement, melody and development are good. Hope this helps!

-e

[DouglasKnight]

Hey Doug!

Cool track, I think for the most part it's a good fit. Some things could still be worked on, mostly pertaining to the mix and the drum part.

Overall your track sounds clean and bright, kinda pretty sounding. The listing asks for warm sounds so I feel your track needs a little more grit and filtering of sounds. Blending mostly 'muffled' sounds with one or two cleaner, more high end sounds, is a great way to create the desired effect and balance of a typical lofi track. For example you can have most of the track filtered out and then just add a hiss or crackle track and it totally opens up the high end spectrum and balances the muffled parts out. The examples aren't heavy on the hiss, but it's still there. Also the beats seem to be almost disjointed, not quite perfect or completely quantized, which is typical in lofi to create that sorta off-kilter groove.

Personally I would get rid of the high 'pitched percussive' sound(s), I don't think it's necessary. You could always just really kill the high end on them and tuck em away in the mix, but I still don't think they're needed. Your hi hat pattern is good, it adds a little bit of that disjointed feel to the groove, but I would definitely kill some of the high end on them, like everything above 2k.. see how that sounds a maybe adjust it from there. I would also filter out just a bit of the high end on the main snare track as well, maybe everything above 4k or 5k. I like the groove you have, it's unique and attractive, but I would consider adding some more kick hits (in the of the open space spots), maybe 16th or even 32nd note kicks here and there to create more of a typical hip hop beat. Also the examples, and typical lofi, is heavy on the bass track, often a little blown up and over exaggerated, not where you would normally put it in the mix. Try increasing the bass level, making the kick hit a little harder, filter out some of the drum sounds and add a bit of hiss and see how the mix sounds at that point. It should be less 'clean' sounding and more lofi sounding, at which point you could make further adjustments.

Other than that I think the arrangement, melody and development are good. Hope this helps!

-e

Hey Erik! Thanks a million for taking the time to listen and for such detailed and helpful feedback - I truly appreciate it

I'll work on this some more, and you've given me lots of great suggestions!

All the best -
Doug

[Paulie]

Fun track Douglas, but not lofi. Too bright and clean, and there's no shuffle or swing feel at all. All three of the references have shuffle or slight swing feels, and lofi is known for sometiumes having two slightly different feels (or even tempos) going on at the same time.

If you want a quick fix from an EQ perspective, purchase XLN Audio's RC-20 ($99) and add it to your master bus. Or you can try Cymatics free Vintage plugin found here.

The kick is usually more muffled, so try removing a ton of the high end with an EQ. And the snare needs to be a little more crispy, or more muffled (either direction is fine). Listen th te three references and then go snag some Lofi kick and snare samples, tons out there.

Hope this helps!

[DouglasKnight]

Fun track Douglas, but not lofi. Too bright and clean, and there's no shuffle or swing feel at all. All three of the references have shuffle or slight swing feels, and lofi is known for sometiumes having two slightly different feels (or even tempos) going on at the same time.

If you want a quick fix from an EQ perspective, purchase XLN Audio's RC-20 ($99) and add it to your master bus. Or you can try Cymatics free Vintage plugin found here.

The kick is usually more muffled, so try removing a ton of the high end with an EQ. And the snare needs to be a little more crispy, or more muffled (either direction is fine). Listen th te three references and then go snag some Lofi kick and snare samples, tons out there.

Hope this helps!

Yo Paulie! Thanks a million for your help with this and the plug-in suggestions. I've re-worked the track a good bit -- rolling off highs, adding saturation and some off-kilter claps, and throwing a vintage tape plug in across the master buss, so hopefully it's sounding more on point. Thanks again for taking the time

[eandersonmusic]

Be careful with using claps or snaps for lofi, I've gotten returns for doing so. You may be able to find alt snare sounds in your percussion bank, for example a doumbek or similar perc can work, can also work if you layer it with another snare.

[DouglasKnight]

Be careful with using claps or snaps for lofi, I've gotten returns for doing so. You may be able to find alt snare sounds in your percussion bank, for example a doumbek or similar perc can work, can also work if you layer it with another snare.

Okay, that's good to know, Erik -- thanks again!