*song and required evidence below text
For this three-minute piece I have created an ambient lofi beat, made from vocal chops and programmed drums using the different sampler elements in logic.
The process of making the initial rhythm was relatively simple. The vocal “flutters”, heard throughout the beat on 1/8 notes are all taken from an earlier demo I scrapped, but was able to repurpose elements of. This use of cutting syllables in this form of vocal manipulation was an idea I’d taken from Clams Casino’s “I’m God”, which uses samples from indie songwriter Imogen Heaps’ “Just For Now” by adding vocals chops to a sampler. Similarly, the EDM track “Where Are Ü Now”, a collaboration between Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber, uses samples in a similar way; by time-stretching and pitching up a vocal from an earlier track, the songs develops a simple House beat into a mysterious “future-bass” pop track.
Whilst this song is sonically very different, I wanted to explore how I could use what are essentially found-sound samples in a more lofi style. I chopped clean sections from the original demo, and created a melody that I used as a loop.
I time-stretched the vocals to a rhythm, and then doubled this up in Logics multi-sampler. This required bouncing each sample in place to create 4 new audio tracks (one-per beat), and importing the files into the “mapping” section, to assign each sample a note.
To prevent the notes overlapping and to create some sonic variation between the tracks, some of these notes were pitch enabled to make them harmonise with the original sampled melody. After adjusting their fade ins/outs to create a smooth pattern, I triggered each note on a midi sequence and added an arpeggiator to create a consistent stutter across each note, creating a syncopated hi-hat like rhythm with the vocals. To add more variation to these samples, which I knew would be the basis for the track, I doubled the arpeggiated channel and used an autotune plugin to reharmonise these samples again. Adding a reverb to both of these allowed them to sit slightly further back in the mix, and panning them slightly created a wider stereo field. Triggering them on the off-beats created a “ping pong” effect between the original, clean sample, and the two panned channels that sit either side of the stereo mix.
Once this rhythm was in place, I created a harmony sample stack that I could use almost as ear candy for the chorus, as having a chorus centred flow makes it much simpler to find structure for a more ambient-focused track. This stack also came in four parts of a repeated vocal line “What can you do for me? I’m locked on your bruises”, which makes up the chorus/hook of the beat.
I also added the “ah-na” vocals, which serve as indicator phrases between the verse and choruses. I added the “ChromaGlow” saturator here, as the cutoff of the initial vocal is quite harsh, and the plugins EQ and reverb make the vocal diffuse into the mix of the other vocal samples.
I then added drums to the beat to create a hip-hop rhythm I could add lyrics over. The structure is made from 3 separate kits to diversify the quality of each rhythmic element, and as the effects were preset, I have only balanced the levels of each sample.
I then added drums to the beat to create a hip-hop rhythm I could add lyrics over. The drums are taken from logics preset library, so to maintain the lofi atmosphere, aside from level balances, I made no changes to the effects chains on each kit. By using different kits, I have diversified the quality of the rhythm though, as each element is atypical from a typical drum structure.
To add to the beat, I added vocals, creating a story around the hook sample I had created earlier. The initial demo was recorded in a very lo-fi setting, using an SM58 to deadden the vocal by not adding any high/low end boosts, making them sit comfortably in the mix with little adjustments. I used a neve EQ for the final take to high pass everything above 180hz, preventing the mix from getting too muddy. These were then comped together to find the correct tonality that suited the song. I compressed the takes to level each section after bouncing the comp I was happy with.
Adding vocals helped line up the songs structure, and the surrounding rhythm is repeated, I added some more synth layers to support each section of the instrumental. These had to stay subtle to not impose on the lo-fi quality of the track, so I began by adding chords to sit just under the verses to support the vocal section.
I used a stock alchemy wurlitizer, and adjusted some elemetns to add some slight distortion. I changed the hold and decay of the trigger, and added chorus to slightly detune the sustained chords.
These chords are relatively prominent in setting the emotional tonality of the song, which I wasn’t initially super happy with, but decided to lean into the softer ambient lo-fi elements after adding.
I used the “Faded Keys” Alchemy preset, which has a subtle pitch bend and reverb tail making it harmonically interesting without needing to over-complicate the melody. This element only plays 1-2 chords that harmonise with the vocal chops, but the delay and EQ I’ve added slightly texturise the transitions.
The final element in the track is a 1-bar bass section that comes in after the second verse, gluing the second prechorus to the second half of the song. For this I adjusted a preset in Logic’s “sculpture” synth, making a sound that mimics the delay of the keyboard synthesiser.
The final product of this song, “Snow and Violets”, is most closely reminiscent of beats found under the “lofi hip-hop to study to” umbrella, albeit slightly more experimental in how emotive the song is. This makes the beat difficult to categorise, but could easily be shared amongst any easy-listening/sleep music category.
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