I choose you! A close relative of vaporwave, “Lo-fi Hip Hop Beats” is a postmodern music genre spawned by Youtube algorithims. As I write this, over 15,000 people are are listening to Chilledcow’s stream, an endless melange of anonymous downtempo samples and rain-on-your-window breakbeats, united by a staticy vinyl hiss. From early Fairlight experiments by Trevor Horn (Art of Noise, Yes) to Kanye West and Daft Punk’s pop hit "Stronger", sample-based music has been dominant for decades, appealing equally to underground crate diggers and pop music interpolators. A more recent development in this tradition of musical recycling are Chiptunes, which consists of music inspired by the limitations of the FM synthesizer chips in vintage video game consoles. Poké & Chill is a merging of these two contemporary traditions, featuring smooth takes on BGM from across the Pokemon game series. The sounds here range from up-front Tribe snares, monophonic keyboard lines, and moody Rhodes piano washes, transforming these indelibly nostalgic melodies into something familiar yet new. Pressed on white colored vinyl.

• lo-fi hip hop beats remixes of music from the Pokemon game franchise
• remastered edition
• white colored vinyl pressing
• limited edition
• music label: GameChops 2022

reviewed by philip's seedy eye 04/2019

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