#002 - lost.mindd
Welcome to our interview series, where we interview emerging creatives all over the globe!
Today, we will be interviewing lost.mindd, a Swedish Producer, Label Founder & current PhD student producing music in lo-fi, pop, and hip-hop. lost.mindd has over 119k monthly listeners on Spotify and had 4.11M people streaming their music last year on Spotify alone; she is the Founder of Lofi Stories Records and much more.
Now, we will dive into the questions we have prepared, get ready to dive in!
Hi, lost.mindd! We appreciate your interest in taking part in the FTWS interview series. How are you feeling today?
Thank you for inviting me to do this! I’m feeling good today, just had a catch-up with an old friend which always boosts my mood.
That's nice! Always good to catch up with friends! Let's begin with our first question: Can you describe the steps you take to create a track? Do you begin with a melody, a rhythm, or a particular sound?
I think it depends on what the song is, but mostly I begin with a main chord progression with a piano. But sometimes it can be really helpful to have the rhythm there to spark some ideas for a nice melody progression.
What production techniques and equipment are commonly used to achieve the signature lo-fi sound, and how have these evolved over time?
I think it comes down to the sound selection. These days my go-to is a nice felted piano or a Rhodes for that signature lo-fi melody sound, but in the earlier days, I was more trying to create the sound afterwards using different plug-ins on melodies I made. Which mainly made everything sound wobbly and uninspiring to me. But that is the beauty of lo-fi, there is no right or wrong, just the sound you want for yourself, and that can evolve over time.
How has lo-fi music's popularity on streaming platforms and study playlists influenced the genre's development and the types of artists who create it?
In the past years, there have been so many new artists joining the lo-fi community and making lo-fi. This is great but it definitely comes with the drawback of everyone aiming towards the same sounds as the bigger label/artist/playlists, making the genre feel a bit stagnant at times. But I think that is changing a little bit now, and I can see more and more artists enjoying themselves and exploring the sounds a bit more. Going back a little to how it was before.
What has been the most difficult obstacle you have faced in your music life thus far, and how did you resolve it?
Signing bad contracts early on hahaha. No, but seriously, we live, and we learn, and that did teach me a lot. I think being brave enough to stand up to these bigger labels about their view on artists and their rights to their own music was a big game changer for me.
Does your production style draw inspiration from artists or genres beyond lo-fi music, and have you worked with artists from diverse backgrounds?
My music draws a lot of inspiration from my friends who make lo-fi music. However, I have worked on projects beyond just lo-fi, and that’s how I got started. I only just transitioned to lo-fi four years ago. I still try to work with producing songs for artists in the genres of hip-hop and pop, and it’s so fun to work with artists from across the world, too. We all bring such a unique experience to each project.
The demands of the music industry can be high. How do you strike a good balance between your personal well-being, creativity and performance?
It is definitely hard to find a balance, and at times, there will not be a balance at all. Deadlines and having to produce music for a living take a toll on creativity, so it’s important for me to take a step back once in a while from making music to find that inspiration again.
That concludes our interview with you. Thank you so much for participating! Would you like to share any new music or plans over the next few months?
Thank you for having me! My plan is to start making more music again haha, I've been on a hiatus now as I just started my PhD, but hopefully, it will only be good as I’ll have tons of inspiration to create music now.
Follow lost.mindd:
Get Featured: https://forms.gle/iMEu3NouFWTWKwo78
Donate: https://paypal.me/NaolDenko
