Published
Tue, Jun 13, 2023, 17:55
- The Great Psychic Outdoors: Lo-Fi Music and Escaping Capitalism is out now.
A new book has documented the radical history of lo-fi music.
Out today, June 13th, The Great Psychic Outdoors: Lo-Fi Music and Escaping Capitalism explores the revolutionary potential of the movement, and uses it to critique life under capitalism. It's by Enrico Monacelli, a PhD student at the State University of Milan and a contributor to The Quietus. The book features artists such as The Beach Boys, Daniel Johnston and Marine Girls.
"Lo-fi is radical because it obsesses over the machines that make music," Monacelli told Resident Advisor. "It sabotages the studio industrial complex to explore sound's hidden potentials. Despite the stereotypes that paint lo-fi as a naïf or a 'more authentic' kind of music, it's actually best described as a cyberpunk adventure in the means of music production."
He continued: "Lo-fi keeps thriving well after the alleged death of guitar music because it's about reclaiming the machines. It's a tactic, not a genre."