Lo-fi — from "Low Fidelity" — describes a sound recording which contains unwanted artifacts, like distortion, or noise, or a recording which has a limited frequency response. This stands in contrast to high fidelity or "hi-fi".

In digital audio lo-fi usually refers to an audio file with a lower bit rate, and thus a lower sound quality.

In some cases high fidelity recording is avoided, or the artifacts are deliberately retained or added to all, or part, of the recording for artistic reasons. This decision is usually made by the record producer. Some argue certain unique aural qualities are available only with "low-tech" recording means

Examples of lo-fi include recordings of vinyl crackles on compact discs, as on Portishead's album Dummy, and telephonic vocals on Craig David's track "Fill Me In".

Lo-fi music

Lo-fi music is a musical genre which uses lo-fi recording practices. The aim is often to sound authentic, rather than over-produced. Many lo-fi artists use inexpensive cassette tape recorders for their music.

Lo-fi music dates arguably all the way back to the Beatles or Buddy Holly (Holly recorded some songs in a converted garage). As a genre lo-fi is mainly associated with recordings from the 1980s onwards, when cassette technology such as Tascam 's four-track Portastudio became widely available. Prime early exponents included Sebadoh, Pavement, Daniel Johnston and Tall Dwarfs.

Often lo-fi artists will record on old or poor recording equipment, sometimes out of financial neccessity but mainly due to the unique aural qualities available from the technologies. Many artists associated with the lo-fi movement such as Bill Callahan or Liz Phair have frequently rejected the use of finer recording equipment, trying to keep their sound raw instead, whereas others such as Guided By Voices slowly moved to using professional studios.

See also: Cassette culture, Indie rock, Lo-fi bands

External link

• Lo-Fi: In Search of an Honest Aesthetic by Jonathan Maier