Morabeza Tobacco – Teachers in the Mood
Genre: Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop, Indie Electronic, Chillwave
What music do the overachieving students or leaders of big corporations listen to while working? Judging by what we know of Steve Jobs’ musical taste, slightly embarrassing pop-rock most likely. But, the songs and styles themselves are less relevant than what they achieve. The people that get stuff done listen to music that helps them move along, not tunes that make them feel good.
Binaural beats, sounds of rain falling on the grass, and a metronome clicking for 10 hours straight. Those are all elements captured in highly popular study videos. But, go-getters often also explore their past with their listening choices. Old music that reminds one of childhood, of feelings of peace, or of a place where they were at their best can have the same positive effect on boosting productivity.
Morabeza Tobacco’s Teachers in the Mood sounds like an early 80s Euro-pop jam ripped by somebody from old vinyl and added to YouTube. It crackles like logs on a fire and breezes over like the softest melodies you are likely to hear. It’s retro by design. And, if it hits you at just the right spot, it’s carefully calculated pop music that may just put your mind at ease.
fearofmakingout – floor 20 (feat. Nyzahir)
Similar artists: King Krule, Tame Impala, Alex G, Beatles, Spill Tab, Toro y Moi
Genre: Bedroom / Lo-fi Pop, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock
Regardless of what your career counsellor might think, there’s never been a better time to make music. Sure, the counsellor might well be right about the fact that you shouldn’t go trumpeting to your parents that you’ll soon be buying them a mansion using your royalties. The music industry’s slow change has done little in terms of compensating artists fairly.
Still, what if your love for music is strong enough that you feel constrained to create your own tunes, you’re in the right time in history. Never has technology been more readily available, portable, or inexpensive. Looking to learn? There have never been as many free resources. Looking to gain an audience? This is tricky, but there’s never been a greater chance of reaching people all over the world than there is now through a widespread internet connection.
Most young bands aim to make their bedroom project sounds like Radiohead, The Beatles, or The Mars Volta but end up sounding like badly played garage rock. fearofmakingout’s floor 20 sounds distinctively lo-fi, as well as exceptionally well put together. This is not music to please your art-school friends, this is music that could be played in any setting and that feels made on someone’s laptop in between sessions of daily chores.
