Lauded Ark of Music alumni Toby Tune returns with yet another intriguing album, and this time, it’s a collection of lo-fi instrumentals that peacefully pluck, chime, hum, and float.
Consisting of 10 tracks – all falling under the three-minute range – Toby Tune’s new collection, Lo Fi Chill, isn’t here to impose or interrupt; it exists to comfort, lull, and carry the listener along a puffy path of floating, welcoming dreamscapes.
If you’re reading, studying, philosophizing, meditating, or simply immersed in the potential shapes of cottony clouds, Lo Fi Chill is the perfect musical accompaniment for those quiet, contemplative moments.
Anyway, you get the idea. So, let’s talk highlights:
The album opens with “LO FI GIRL,” a soft, unobtrusive opener that begins with sustained chimes building patiently with sparse percussion.
The second track, “LO FI HI,” features warbling plucking embraced by a warm, airy synth.
On track four, “LO FI MELLOW,” the usual floaty keys take a short break, making way for piano, flute, and acoustic guitar. Very nice arrangement joined by minimal, tinny percussion.
Track seven, “LO FI CHILL,” features cascading, pulsing chords. If a cloud had an engine, this is what it might sound like.
Track eight, “LO FI CHARM,” boasts almost chiming pipes awash in comforting reverb. No percussion here – just subtle bass notes to give the song a gentle earthy push.
The closer, “LO FI WARM,” kicks off with a harp, and leads into breathy percussion with a glistening synth underneath. The harp returns in accenting arpeggios, granting this song a bit more energy than previous tracks. And at about 1:22, a synth chorus kicks in, empowering the last harp arpeggio as the song lands its final graceful notes.
Toby Tune, from his mountain home in Costa Rica, once again composes, arranges, and performs each instrument for a collection of modern, meditative melodies. And quite honestly, I imagine him looking out his window from that higher elevation, perhaps seeing a beautiful, peaceful world filled with elegant cloud structures. And from that world bathed in comforting stillness, Toby writes the musical language it softly mutters. Highly recommended.
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BELOW: Listen to Toby Tune and check him out on Soundcloud and Facebook. Please support Toby Tune by visiting him on his website, and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
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