The Lofi Girl phenomenon is, without a doubt, one of those particularly interesting Internet success stories, as it is a reference space for an audience of around thirty years of age and under, and yet it is practically unknown to the vast majority of people who are over that age, despite the fact that his proposal is not really directed specifically at younger audiences, which are the ones that have welcomed it with open arms.
But let’s start at the beginning, Lofi Girl is a YouTube channel with over 12 million subscribers who broadcast live, 24 hours a day, seven days a weeka complete selection of lo-fi music. And what is lo-fi?
Lo-fi music is a style of music production that uses, or emulates, old or low-fidelity recording media, such as tapes, vinyl, or home equipment. Lo-fi, which as you may have already deduced comes from Low Fidelity, as opposed to Hi-Fi, emerged in the 50s as a form of musical experimentation with limited resources and became popular in the 90s as an alternative to the commercial and polished sound. of the industry. Lo-fi music is perfect for relaxing because it uses soft rhythms, simple melodies and ambient sounds that create a cozy and intimate atmosphere.
Lofi Girl emits, as I have already commented, this type of music in combination with an animation of, exactly, the Lofi Girl, who listens to music while writing in the company of his cat. It sounds cliché, I know, but the truth is that both to concentrate on a specific task (like writing this news item, since that’s what I have in the background) and to relax, and even to give in to nostalgia for a bit, the musical selection can be more than successful. Under these letters you can see the live broadcast of the channel:
We have already clarified who is Lofi Girl and what is lo-fi, so possibly your next question is, and who is Synth Boy?, although in reality you already have an idea, and you are not wrong. But first, let’s get to know the chronicle of the events, which began yesterday when Lofi Girl disappeared from her channel, that is, the rest of the elements of her room remained, but the girl stopped being seen, although the music did not stop playing. That sounded, of course, like some news related to the channel.
That has been what has happened today, with the launch of a new live broadcast, within the same channel, but this one dedicated to synthwave music, and in which instead of the presence of Lofi Girl, we will have Synth Boy. I repeat the above formula, and what is synthwave?
Synthwave is a genre of electronic music that emerged in the mid-2000s, which reproduces the characteristic use of synthesizers in the 1980s. He finds his inspiration in great composers of the genre, such as Vangelis, Jean Michelle Jarre, Jan Hammer and many others. Since its origins, it has had a following, which has grown over the years due to its presence in video games such as Theft Auto: Vice City and Hotline Miami, and audiovisual productions such as Stranger Things.
In common, between both channels, we undoubtedly find a direct appeal to nostalgia and the intention to create cozy atmospheres, conducive to the purposes mentioned above. Thus, whether you already knew about Lofi Girl or if this is the first time you’ve heard of said channel, at least I recommend that you listen to its broadcasts to see if it’s a musical proposal that satisfies you. In my case it’s not the music I would listen to all day long, but I do turn to the lo-fi station from time to time, and I think I’ll do the same with the synthwave one from now on.
