Written by Imani Wj Wright
There are artists you listen to, and immediately realize their sound is unique. You may not be able to put your finger on what exactly makes them stand out in that manner, but it's evident. That's the feeling I received while listening to producer, Crossmoth. His Lo-fi production, sense of percussion, and melody development are all key to his sound. Isn't that what we appreciate in our artists? A sound that speaks truly to them... It’s why we have a difference is taste, debates about who's better, and why.... we want to feel what each individual musician is trying to convey, and then match, or accompany that displays with our lives.
With the emergence of figures like Shiloh Dynasty in 2017, via XXXTentacion's album, 17, Lo-fi as a genre has become more prevalent and listened to in the music world. Being that the style of Lo-fi is inherently less "professional" and less "standard" in sound, in regards to its engineering, we asked Crossmoth how one maintains the genre's staple, while still creating a high potent sound.
Crossmoth told SwanoDown:
"I think the key of constructing Lo-fi music is having intended low quality. You know? Having a good recording, but not actually using the good quality. When you use low quality samples that were [naturally recorded with low quality], you always have mixing problems, and an issue you will repair in the process. The key is having "good" samples and knowing what elements are key in Lo-fi music... Distortion, maybe some dark noise, things like that."
Crossmoth followed his statement, mentioning that at times, a piece can have a clean sound, and he'll work with it to intentionally create that Lo-fi atmosphere.
His style can clearly be heard on tracks like, "Refugee," and "ping pong play." He spoke to SwanoDown a bit about the process of creating "Refugee."
"Me and my brother released a track before "Refugee," called "Stones." Stones was created with the help of a Grammy-Winning audio engineer. He helped us a lot with Mixing & Mastering. He really taught us how to have a better Mix & Master. This was my first time applying everything I learned." Crossmoth Stated.
He continued:
"The idea of making "Refugee," was adding a lot of song elements that everybody likes. For example, the chords are a very simple progression of chords that are in a lot of songs. But, I wanted to give this song special character. I wanted it to have a Super bass, Romantic style, and "Refugee" is the product of that."
Take a listen:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1tjwwyTHt88f1xM4BKwAQx?si=nAPfEWUdTj-jvunFkTRQqA
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