Lo-Fi Sundays 084 - Prgmat

One of the more talented producers working in the somewhat strict, traditional lo-fi style is Prgmat from Riga, Latvia. His music is often one giant wash of ambient pads, steered by muffled drums, and punctuated by discreet, well-cut samples. It’s some of the music one would put in a time capsule in order to show someone 500 years from now what lo-fi hip-hop in 2019 sounds like.

This is especially true of his new project, Sentiment LP: The Postscriptum. This 21-track project on Kick a Dope Verse! is a great representation of the producer’s work. Buoyant tunes like “You Are Appreciated” and “hvn blvd” create lovely, open headspaces. When media or labels focus on instrumental hip-hop as “music to study / chill to”, it’s sort of unfair because it characterizes the art as background music - something that shouldn’t be enjoyed to for its own sake but only as the accompaniment to something else. Of course, it’s so much more than that But Prgmat’s music works great in the background or the foreground. There’s more than enough substance to hold your attention for a dedicated listening session, but it’s all smooth and consistent enough to work great as the soundtrack to some other activity.

He’s been featured on compilations from labels around the world including Insert Tapes, Dust Collectors, and Kick a Dope Verse! who he seems to work most frequently with. "Propose to my Drum Machine”, the producer’s contribution to Inner Ocean Records’ Futures Vol. 4 is one of our favorite pieces of work from him. It has an inspirational undertone, and if someone could loop it for an hour straight like those homework edits on Youtube, we’d listen all day.

FOLLOW Prgmat: Spotify / Soundcloud / Bandcamp / Twitter

Inner Ocean Records Drops Futures Vol. 4 Compilation on Cassette Store Day

There may not be a more appropriate way to celebrate Cassette Store Day, October 14th, than pressing play on FUTURES Vol. 4, a two-plus hour tape of scratchy, stoic lo-fi and ambient beats from premiere independent label Inner Ocean Records. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Inner Ocean’s name reflects both the expanse of mountain, sky and plains which surrounds Calgary, and the well of creativity within ourselves that stirs with the experience of music. 62 tracks by 62 artists, most of them exclusive to the tape, spill across the stereo spread on FUTURES Vol. 4, the latest installment in a running compilation series which continues to look ahead, promoting new sounds and new artists through an old but timeless format. 

Conceived by a handful of record labels in 2013, Cassette Store Day is a growing celebration. It lacks the pull or popularity of Record Store Day, but its intention is different. “CSD is focused on celebrating cassettes rather than supporting shops,” according to cassettestoreday.com. While for many labels today is an occasion to reach into the past and re-release classic albums on tape, for Inner Ocean it’s another opportunity to slide into the future, and the future is chill. 

Almost four years ago, FUTURES Vol. 1 was Inner Ocean’s first compilation. “There was always an element of looking ahead when compiling them,”, says Inner Ocean Records founder Cory Giordano, “whether it be new directions in sound, working with new artists or simply a soundtrack for moving forward in life.” Then, the compilation was a vehicle for Inner Ocean to promote its own artists (the label currently has approximately 25 producers on its roster). Now, the compilation is open to submissions, allowing Inner Ocean to work with more artists and connect with more people in the community.  We counted only three cuts from Inner Ocean artists on FUTURES Vol. 4. This is a testament to Inner Ocean’s reputation, and its ability to help foster the lo-fi community. 

FUTURES Vol. 4 naturally embraces more than just lo-fi. The scratchy, stripped down, instrumental style pioneered by the likes J Dilla and Nujabes is a starting point to expand upon. Jazz tropes, ambient textures and experimental tones saturate the compilation and help to refresh or redirect its movement as it rolls along. Experimentation and boundary busting within the lo-fi lexicon has been the calling card of the FUTURES tapes. Yet regardless of how far a song stretches from familiarity, it is the ambience, the chill, delicately put forth with pads, drum machines and cozy cut samples, that serves as the compilation’s common denominator.

A lo-fi compilation is ideal for Cassette Store Day because as Cory tells us tape cassettes are inherently low fidelity and do not present the full frequency range. “You can get the cassettes loaded with a few different types of tape, each offering their own sound characteristics,” he says. “Though they all have hiss and have that subtle, tape-saturated tone.” Since its inception in 2012, little music leaves Inner Ocean Records unless packaged in at least one physical format. With the cassette format naturally lending itself to lo-fi soundscapes, Inner Ocean’s embrace of the genre has been a fateful marriage of music to material. 

“If listening to vinyl is likened to watching movies shot and projected on gorgeously rich film stock, listening to tapes is like watching 90’s movies on VHS, a little gritty but nostalgic and satisfying,” says Cory. When you can cram 1,000 tunes on one memory stick, there’s great pride and intention to the selection of physical formats. There’s also great expense and labor involved, but for Inner Ocean it’s a labor of love. 

“As nice as it is to be able to stream any song you want at any moment, Cory rhapsodizes, “that immediate access somehow takes away from the magic of music. There’s nothing like throwing down your vinyl collection on some turntables and hanging out with your friends, or tossing a tape into your car and cruising to some chill beats.” 

With such a large compilation, its best to breeze through the entire thing side by side and get totally lost in the lo-fi. But for reference we’ll offer our favorite cut from each side. On tape no. 1, it’s got to be the love song of love songs “Propose To My Drum Machine”  by PRGMAT on Side A, and the oriental and experimental sound of “Breathingfire” by Yunnan on Side B. For tape no. 2 we favor the R&B noire vibe of Jake and Bake’s “Got Myself a Present” on Side A and the wobbly “Flip Da Scrip” by Korey Wade on Side B. 

You can purchase the tape at Inner Ocean's website. If you don’t have a cassette player, you can still scoop up FUTURES Vol. 4 on mp3 to explore this massive compilation. If you like what you hear, stay chooned. We’ll likely feature more extraordinarily chill music from Inner Ocean Records in our new LoFi Sundays column. 

FOLLOW Inner Ocean Records:   Soundcloud   /   Facebook   /   Spotify   /   Instagram