Lo-Fi Meltdown (aka LFMD) is a weekly podcast/radio show that focuses on home-recorded music from around the world. Much of the music featured is from the "cassette underground" of the 1980s and '90s, as well as many up-and-coming artists.The genres are as unique and diverse as the individuals creating them - rock, pop, noise, electronic, metal, folk, experimental...and every imaginable style in between. These are real people unleashing their creativity, often in their own bedrooms, garages and basements, defiantly far-removed from the mainstream "music industry".
Only a few weeks after its debut, LFMD was picked-up by California's KOWS-FM, and is currently being considered for "fill-in" and permanent slots by several other non-commercial stations across the U.S. and Canada.
What is "lo-fi music"?
Lo-fi (from the term "low fidelity") is lower quality of sound recordings than the usual standard for modern music. The qualities of lo-fi are usually achieved by either degrading the quality of the recorded audio, or using certain equipment. Recent uses of the phrase have led to it becoming a genre, although it still remains as an aesthetic in music recording practice. The aesthetic of lo-fi music often contrasts that of mainstream music by being somewhat flawed but at the same time embracing those flaws, giving the music a more honest and unpretentious feeling.