27 Best LoFi Music Artists to Play While You Work
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If you've ever turned to music to stay focused during a busy workday, you're not alone. But what genre do you choose? For millions of listeners, the answer is LoFi (also spelled Lo-Fi).
What is LoFi music, you ask? Short for "low fidelity," LoFi music's technical definition is that it's a type of music that uses musical imperfections in recording to create a more unique sound. But it's also become a genre of music that's sort of a mix between hip-hop and jazz. Most of the time, it's instrumental and very, very mellow. It's really caught on, especially among the younger generations, with more than 4.5 million people follow the "Lofi Fruits" playlist on Spotify, primarily using it as a calming background for work or study.
LoFi is also a music production trendsetter. Many of the most popular LoFi artists produced their first tracks themselves, proving that people don't need to sign with a big record label to make great music. That's what many of the best LoFi artists are: ordinary artists on a hunt for the most soothing sounds.
The next time you need a mellow work soundtrack, check out some of these amazing LoFi music artists.
[Bsd.u]
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Origin: Vancouver Island, Canada
Years active: 2016 - present
[bsd.u] is a prolific LoFi producer, based on a quiet island in Canada. You know that vibe at the end of a party when things are winding down, but everyone's still having a good time? That's pretty much the definition of [bsd.u]'s sound.
One of his most popular songs, "French Inhale," has more than 69 million plays on Spotify.
Follow bsd.u on Spotify here.
Shamana
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Origin: Unknown
Years active: 2011 - present
Shamana is the exact opposite of mainstream. No one is sure where the artist is located, but everyone seems to love his work. His tracks lean more in the hip-hop direction. Fair warning: Some of his songs are explicit, so listen with caution.
Shamana's track, "Besidju," has over 13 million plays on Spotify.
Follow Shamana on Spotify here.
Nohidea
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Origin: Austria
Years active: 2016 - present
Nohidea is somewhat of a LoFi vet. He began producing music back in 2016. He released an album, "Nowhere," in 2020 and "Psychonautica" in 2023. He currently has nearly a million listeners on Spotify.
Follow Nohidea on Spotify here.
Dwyer
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Origin: United Kingdom
Years active: 2017 - present
Dwyer is one of the most versatile LoFi artists on the scene. His work is hip-hop heavy, but there are notes of folk, breakbeat and a range of old-world music styles.
Save his tunes for your lunch break. They're guaranteed to make your mind wander, and they're the perfect soundtrack to a quick meditation session.
Follow Dwyer on Spotify here.
ocha
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Origin: Los Angeles, California
Years active: 2018 - present
Ocha is a pretty much unknown artist based in L.A., but his mellow tunes are a welcome addition to the LoFi scene. Ocha's most popular track, "Umbrellas," has been played nearly 7 million times on Spotify.
Follow ocha on Spotify here.
Idealism
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Origin: Finland
Years active: 2017
The 20-something LoFi artist, Idealism, is Finnish, but his work is based out of Edinburgh, Scotland. He's currently one of the most popular LoFi artists on Spotify, boasting a following of over 2 million.
One of his tracks, "Controlla," has over 124 million plays. That makes him one of the most popular musicians not just in LoFi, but in all of Finland. In one interview, he said that he avoids long-term planning, focusing instead on simply making the next unique sound.
Follow Idealism on Spotify here.
Jinsang
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Origin: California
Years active: 2014 - present
Jinsang is a LoFi beatmaker specializing in dreamy hip-hop tracks with touches of jazz and soul. He made his debut in 2014 with the EP-length record, "Kona Park."
Since then, he's released numerous singles and five full-length albums. All are available on Spotify, but some are available on cassette or vinyl.
Follow Jinsang on Spotify here.
Joji
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Origin: Osaka, Japan
Years active: 2018 - present
Japanese musician, Joji, released his first EP in 2017, titled "In Tongues." It was well-received, but it wasn't until he released his full-length album, "Ballads 1," that his music really took off. His unique blend of textured electronics, hip-hop and R&B became internationally popular.
Today, Joji has over 25 million followers on Spotify.
Follow Joji on Spotify here.
glue70
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Origin: Manchester, England
Years active: 2016 - present
Based in Manchester, glue70's real name is Conor. The electronic beats musician goes for a mellow mix of hip-hop and old-school soul.
He's also the co-founder of an independent record label and art collective called Flow Theory.
Follow glue70 on Spotify here.
Leavv
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Origin: Germany
Years active: 2016 - present
Leavv is as lowkey as it gets. All we know is that he signed with LoFi label Chillhop, and that his tracks are absolute fire. "Voyage" is one of our favorites.
Follow Leavv on Spotify here.
Swell
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Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Years active: 2016 - 2019
Monte Vallier, the mind behind Swell, is a LoFi pioneer. He was the bassist and producer of Swell for over a decade. In the band's early days, he set out to make the most HiFi record he could with almost no budget.
Swell churned out 47 releases, influencing early indie rock, including "I'm Sorry," which has been played over 146 million times on Spotify.
Follow Swell on Spotify here.
Jarjarjr
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Origin: Cork, Ireland
Years active: 2018 - present
Jarjarjr started out small, producing hip-hop songs out of his home. He was known within the walls of the quiet LoFi circle for some time before releasing the beat tape, "Fallen Angel," in 2018.
It caught on in Ireland, and Jarjarjr is now working on new music drawing from jazz, hip-hop and neo-soul.
Follow Jarjarjr on Spotify here.
Wun Two
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Origin: Germany
Years active: 2013 - present
Wun Two's Soundcloud bio doesn't give many clues to his real identity. It simply says "flying through your neighbourhood in hyperspeed."
If that's what he's doing, we like it. His soft, smooth sounds have earned him over 713,000 followers on Spotify, and his appropriately titled track, "Again," has been played more than 68 million times.
Follow Wun Two on Spotify here.
J^p^n
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Origin: Japan
Years active: 2014 - present
J^p^n's bio leaves everything to the imagination. We don't really know who he is, other than that Spotify users love him.
His track, "Bloom," has over 29 million plays, and it's the kind of music you have to listen to to get. Once you do, it's hard to stop listening.
Follow j^p^n on Spotify here.
Tomppabeats
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Origin: Helsinki, Finland
Years active: 2016 - present
Tomppabeats became one of the most influential LoFi artists before hitting age 25. At first, he struggled with guilt after becoming an overnight hit on Soundcloud, deleting his account multiple times.
Eventually, he found the right balance and turned his focus back to where it began: his music. His beats, like the popular "Monday Loop," are melancholic and nostalgic.
Follow Tomppabeats on Spotify here.
Kupla
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Origin: Helsinki, Finland
Years active: 2015 - present
Finnish producer Kupla took a very different approach to LoFi music production. He has lofty goals for the future of LoFi, always planning his next beats.
His 2019 album, "Imaginary," features melodic piano notes, clarinet and a crackling backdrop of falling rain, and he has over 1 million monthly listeners.
Follow Kupla on Spotify here.
Knowmadic
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Origin: San Jose, California
Years active: 2017 - 2019
Ahmed Ali, better known as Knowmadic, is more than one of the best LoFi artists ever. He's also an internationally awarded poet, an actor and a youth activist.
The name Knowmadic draws from his early childhood; his father was a nomad, but Ahmed learned to love knowledge while he studied as a boy in Italy. Since then, he's become a master of both LoFi music production and the spoken word.
Follow Knowmadic on Spotify here.
Guustavv
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Origin: Seattle, Washington
Years active: 2018 - present
Gustaf Isaacson, aka Guustavv, is one of several LoFi artists based out of Seattle. He grew up making music, using it to experiment with sound and connect with others.
Many of his sounds are recorded using an old field recorder, mixing in smooth jazz piano and contemporary drum sets. He names his songs after whatever's around him, with his song "Faces" reaching nearly 45 million plays.
Follow Guustavv on Spotify here.
Nujabes
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Origin: Tokyo, Japan
Years active: 2003 - 2011
Jun Seba, better known as Nujabes, was a Japanese record producer and audio engineer. Widely regarded as the father of LoFi music, he was one of the first artists to mix hip-hop and jazz.
He released two albums in the early 2000s. A third was released posthumously in 2011 after he tragically died in a car accident. Nearly 20 years after he started producing music, he's still considered a chillhop music legend.
Follow Nujabes on Spotify here.
J'san
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Origin: Paris, France
Years active: 2017 - present
J'san, an independent artist from Paris, pairs dreamy tracks with even dreamier illustrations. His romantic stylings have attracted more than 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
His song "i'm in love with u, sorry" has almost 65 million plays.
Follow J'san on Spotify here.
Eevee
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Origin: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Years active: 2013 - present
As you've probably noticed, there aren't too many female artists in the LoFi world. But the 27-year-old Eevee has been making sounds since 2013 and has gained international recognition from her various beat tapes.
With more than 660,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, we can guess that she'll be sticking around for a while.
Follow Eevee on Spotify here
Goosetaf
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Origin: Seattle, Washington
Years active: 2018 - present
Music would get boring if it never changed, right? Goosetaf is a Seattle-based LoFi artist who likes to constantly mix things up.
His signature style is a blend of modern beats and old-school hip-hop that's surprisingly relaxing.
Follow Goosetaf on Spotify here.
Jobii
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Origin: Brooklyn, New York
Years active: 2019 - present
Jobii isn't the name of a person but of a project. It's the brainchild of Brooklyn-based producer Gabe Millman, who fell in love with drums at just 3 years old.
After majoring in sound-recording technology, Gabe sculpted a LoFi sound all his own called the Jobii project. Considering he has over a million monthly listeners, we'd call it a success.
Follow Jobii on Spotify here.
Avocuddle
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Origin: Netherlands
Years active: 2019 - present
Avocuddle is part of the Lofi Fruits Music family.
It's probably the most palatable LoFi music for anyone who's new to the genre because it features calming remixes of familiar pop and hip-hop songs.
Follow Avocuddle on Spotify here.
Katashi Kaito
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Origin: Japan
Years active: 2019 - present
Little is known about Katashi Kato. He's one of the most reclusive LoFi artists, but his music is to die for.
His smooth track, "Balcony Vibes," has over 11 million people wishing they were working from an oceanfront balcony.
Follow Katashi Kaito on Spotify here.
Oatmello
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Origin: Portland, Oregon
Years active: 2017 - present
Something about Portland and LoFi just goes together. We could totally picture visiting the city's massive Powell's Books in the rain, sipping a latte and listening to Oatmello.
"Good Night" is one of his most popular tracks, with nearly 13 million plays.
Follow Oatmello on Spotify here.
Altitude.
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Origin: Seattle, Washington
Years active: 2015 - present
Charles Feig (aka Altitude.) is a multi-instrumentalist and producer who began producing electronic music at the ripe young age of 12. By 2015, after the release of three unofficial beat tapes, people started to recognize his name online.
The rest is history, and he released a full-length album in 2016, followed by a compilation album in 2017. His 2019 LP "KNIGHT" featured more live instrumentation.
Follow Altitude. on Spotify here.