Lowe's Picks For 2023
- Lowe
- Mar 10, 2024
- 5 min read
2023 was another fantastic year for Lo-fi with both well-established and indie artists alike making waves. In this article we will be taking a look at “Lowe’s Picks” for this year. It should be noted that this catalog is non-exhaustive and will include music that has been released prior to 2023, but was discovered by the author in 2023 (i.e. a list of tracks that have inspired Lowe and were greatly appreciated throughout 2023, and of course are still appreciated now). There are plenty of tracks that fit this description but for the purposes of this entry, the number will be limited to twelve mentions. Lastly, the order in which pieces make an appearance is of no consequence and does not stress more or less importance over others.
1. Wild Communion - A.T.P.
“Wild Communion” has been one of my biggest inspirations and was the first song by A.T.P. that I had come across. After listening through his album "Spirits of the Altars" and being very impressed by his understanding and ability to manipulate melody and harmony, as well as his use of compositional techniques like hyper-meter/hyper-rhythm, A.T.P. quickly became one of my all-time favorite artists and his music has encouraged me to shake things up musically while aiming for a luscious and rich sound.
2. End of Beginnings - Satosii
Early on in my own Lo-fi career, I came across Satosii via social media and was made aware of his upcoming album release “STARS”. I mentioned that I was looking forward to it and planned on giving feedback as he had requested, though, late at night, when I started listening to the first song on the album, I was immediately pulled into the music and overall depth of the album as a whole. My pick here really reflects the entire project, but “End of Beginnings” was my introduction and I want to support that here.
3. Convictions - l’Outlander
One of my most prevalent influences in terms of Cinematic Lo-fi, “Convictions”, and again the rest of this album as well, has helped to mould my own taste in music quite a bit. Offering quite a powerful mix of lofi and an emotional, story-telling backing, l’Outlander’s style with this track heavily influenced “Sinking” from my first album release Scenes of Introspection.
4. Been a Minute - Kaizen Vibez (ft. Kay Mogul)
Another artist I met through social media, and by chance and good timing managed to join his YouTube premier livestream of one of his Lo-fi album releases, KV rediscovered his love and passion for Hip Hop while continuing to produce Lo-fi. “Been a Minute” is my personal favorite of his Hip Hop releases to date and is a shining example of self-expression, allowing a deep vulnerability for the sake of art, and a well-crafted unification of musicality, lyricism, and creativity.
5. Even If It Rains - Yotsugi
This track happened to be my first introduction to Yotsugi and I was immediately hooked. The seamless blend of upbeat harmonic progression and melodic choice, production and mixing that keeps the song continuously grooving, and expertly crafted beats has made this one of my favorites over the entire year. This is the type of song that, since its release, I have countless times skipped to it in my personal playlists just to listen to it for enjoyment.
6. lost happiness - Like Saturn
With warm, enveloping tone and saturation in the bass/keys contrasted by heavy use of reverb on atmospheric accents, “lost happiness” creates an emotional environment pushing and pulling the listener from within. This track has influenced my own understanding of key elements for composition and has given me insight into possibilities within production, mixing and mastering as well as a goal to aim for in future productions.
7. Naomi’s Sea - GM Nanashi
“Naomi’s Sea” has been a more-than-solid go-to for my morning wakeup playlist these past few months. The rich and flourishing texture creating an underlying cushion for meaningful, voice-like melodies to float on top of, airy accents coming and going, ultimately constructs a serene, yet pensive, getaway location. With this piece as just one example, GM Nanashi has offered something that brings to the mind’s eye such a strong representation of the nature and spirit of the music, I can only be thankful.
8. Stargazing - kyu
Some of the instrumentation ideas from this piece have also been a rather direct influence to one of my songs on Scenes of Introspection and has remained one of my all-time choices for sonically drifting through an atmosphere. Kyu’s particular style and use of reverb on many tracks within this song have taught me quite a bit about world building through the medium of music.
9. Akane - Yotsugi, MyceliumBug, TonybtM
An absolutely stunning collaboration has brought “Akane” to the table and this song has emotionally moved me time and time again. With an exceptionally powerful melody backed flawlessly by soft yet strong harmonies and ambience, intricate and well-thought out beats keeping the luscious environment moving steadily forward, this track is the epitome of synergy in many ways. If someone had expressed interest in learning about lofi to me, this would be one of the songs I would introduce to them.
10. Sinking Fatigue - Raimu
“Sinking Fatigue” has become a massive influence to me personally and fully aligns with my style of Lo-fi. The tender, sway-inducing tempo, spaces within the texture perfectly fitted with embellishments, fluid and flowing melodies, and orchestrational awareness have all given to me a greater understanding of crafting slower emotional pieces.
11. early sunrise - alcinous
The combination of different voices in the piano and hints of interest from the guitar, in addition to the delicate tines bouncing from left to right to middle and back gives us a glimpse of life and serenity in which we can become lost within. Moving as a river, the harmonic arpeggios alcinous has constructed for this song allows us all to ride through a valley of almost mysticism, witnessing the beauty of a sunrise; effortlessly bringing the scenery to our ear.
12. morning moon - Kansan, Wishes and Dreams
Starting with consistent movement forward in the piano arpeggios, connected by the melodic line during the breakdown, “morning moon” has acted as a shining star to guide me in various ways. The late and wispy touch of a saxophone introduces yet another point of interest and has served as a reminder to me that form does not need to be so rigid and “rules” can and should be broken at times. As the essence of art is emotion, I am thankful to Kanisan and Wishes and Dreams for reminding me of what’s important when I am bogged down by the details and specifics of composition as well as everyday life.
Wrap Up
That about does it for Lowe’s Picks For 2023! There was a ton of incredible tracks to choose from of course, and as previously mentioned, this is not an exhaustive list, rather this is just a handful of personally inspiring, influential, and moving works that I wanted to make special mention of. Special thank you to the artists on this list for putting their work out there; it has been an absolute pleasure listening! Thank you for reading and let me know what you think of these artists and their music in the comments! Here’s to a fantastic 2023 and an even better 2024! Cheers!
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