The late 90s and 2000s gave us mainstream acts such as Britney Spears, Blink-182 and 50 cent. Although these acts belong to different musical genres they all reflect the state of the mainstream music industry during the past decade or so. For the past ten years music has been too polished and overproduced making a lot of acts seem repetitive and bland. As a result of this, certain music fans started searching for something else. The musicians they discovered were individuals who created music with very little means. These artists were demonstrating that you didn't need the newest instruments, proper equipment or state of the art recording facilities to make records. Their reason for being was to create records that were different from what was being played in the mainstream and the difference was their lo-fi sound. Lo-fi music has existed for awhile now but this genre is currently experiencing a resurgence. Bands such as Wavves, A Grave With No Name and The Bitters (to name a few) have been getting their first tastes of success. These lo-fi bands are at the forefront of the realness movement in the music industry.
As during most periods, there are a lot of overlapping elements between the fashion (which I mentioned in my previous entry) and music scenes of the late 90s and 2000s. In this case, both of these scenes were overly glamourous and polished. Musically, the pop artists from this era all created music that was layered in unnecessary effects. When it comes to their image, pop acts such as Britney Spears are made up of plastic dolls that do everything they are told, pop punk acts such as Blink-182 are promoting the "punk" way of life while touring in luxury buses and living in mansions and hip pop acts such as 50 cent are trying to play-up the "gangster" (sorry, "gangsta") image while spending too much time smoking weed, insulting rivals in safe interview settings and carrying guns for show. Unfortunately, the mainstream music industry hasn't stopped promoting slightly updated versions of the previously mentioned pop acts but at least this has motivated a new generation of musicians to create more authentic music.
Lo-fi music is defined as "the production or reproduction of audio characterised by an unpolished or rough sound quality." (merriam-webster) Bands searching to create a lo-fi sound pride themselves in making music with very limited tools at their disposal. Wavves started making music in his bedroom using Garageband. The members of A Grave with No Name record in friends' bedrooms if they can't record in theirs. They are making music out of love and are willing to sacrifice a lot to get their music out there. They'll tour endlessly in shitty vans, play in dive bars/clubs and sleep on couches. To a certain extent, it's become cool to do this. As Ben Cook from the Bitters explained to dazeddigital: "I guess even more so now people aren't paying attention to ANYTHING that sounds like it could be played on a radio station. The more shitty and obscure, the more elite and rad you feel, right?" But this doesn't mean that everybody and anybody can produce good lo-fi music. Ben continues by stating that "...the availability of low budget recordings only sets apart the true songwriters from the bored kids with a laptop." You still have to have talent to make lo-fi music.
The lo-fi sound is fuzzy, distorted and rough but underneath it all you will find good melodies and songwriting. That's why it's appealing. It still is good pop music but lo-fi musicians decide to record it in a minimal way. Take Wavves, for instance. So Bored and No Hope Kids are feel good tunes that are extremely catchy. They're simply dirtier and more abrasive pop songs. Lo-fi musicians, like Wavves, are stripping their music down. Keeping it simple. Taking away the extra layers of production. These bands make the best of the few tools they have. In a way, they are showing the world what the music making process used to be like. Lo-fi music is bringing it back to a time when music was raw, natural and organic. A time when the magic happened when you were physically playing your instrument. Not in post-production. In this sense, they are helping make "real" music again. It's for this reason that lo-fi music has reached a popularity level unseen since the days of Sebadoh and Pavement.
The musicians creating lo-fi music today are offering an alternative to young music goers who are fed up with the music promoted by the mainstream media. The fans and bands alike are indirectly rebelling against the mainstream music industry. They want to create and support music that isn't perfect. By stripping down the layers and keeping it raw and simple there's a certain energy to it that you don't often find in mainstream music today. It seems more personal, more honest and more believable. I know that I've used the word "real" a lot and you're probably getting sick of it by now but that's the simple word that fans need to associate with your band in order for you to be successful. And although it's a simple word, it's not a simple concept to grasp. There's no formula for it. It just happens. The best chance you have to be perceived as "real", is to be true to yourself. More specifically, let your music speak for itself because at the end of the day that's all it comes down to.
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