What's the deal with Christian lo-fi?
And is it any good?
Hello, fellow pilgrim.
I hope this finds you well.
I wanted to use today’s newsletter to profile a very 2020s expression of Christianity: religious lo-fi music (and its accompanying aesthetic).
Let’s go!
Christian lo-fi is everywhere
As someone who often works with instrumental music in the background, lo-fi is an absolute gift.
A three-hour, cosy, crackly playlist? Perfect.
A live, never-ending stream? Even better.
Lo-fi, which stands for ‘low-fidelity’, has been around since the 1960s (or 50s, depending on who you ask). The Beach Boys were one of the first major acts associated with this deliberately DIY, perfectly imperfect sound.
As Isaque Criscuolo writes:
‘While lo-fi music sprang from various sources through the late twentieth century, the genre began to take on its current form in the 2000s, under the influence of Japanese music producer Nujabes.
He redefined lo-fi through his work on the Samurai Champloo anime series broadcast in 2005. Slower rhythms, jazz, and hip-hop sounds made his music a global phenomenon.’
From a design point of view, this is interesting. The anime aesthetic is inseparable from modern lo-fi, with the artwork being almost as important as the music itself.
The classic lo-fi channel, which has exploded in recent years, is this one:
(Incidentally, lo-fi videos have some of the kindest comment sections on YouTube.)
There’s a wonderful variety of lo-fi offerings, from folk to flying to Frodo.
And Christian.
There’s a deep well of Christian music and imagery to draw from, of course. Much of which has been gloriously lo-fi-ified.
So, you can vibe with Daniel and some sleeping lions:
Or Jesus under a tree:
Or Thérèse of Lisieux (inexplicably and wonderfully on an iPad):
Or (and this is my current favourite) Paul under house arrest:
Of course, there’s a huge range in quality.
But lots of this is very good, if you enjoy your beats infused with a Gregorian chant or Hillsong riff.
And I guess I’m learning that, well, I kind of do.
Something for the journey
This poster, which I had fun creating for a local prayer group. I was going for a public service announcement-style design: the kind you might find in a doctor’s waiting room.
Just, you know, about prayer.
Big blessings.
— Sam Thorogood, Pilgrimage Design
(views expressed are all solely my own)
I didn't know it was a trend! Thank you for sharing. I've been using lo-fi music, and the algorithm never showed me one on my feed despite my elevation playlist. It's interesting, and there's a niche for it.