Rainy Lo-Fi

tagStarted 2015Peak 2018–2024Last big hit still active

Located in 1 route

Lo-fi beats layered over recorded rainfall and thunder — the same warm, dusty drums, muffled keys and vinyl crackle at 70–85 BPM, but wrapped in a steady rain bed that adds cosiness and masks the room. The rain sits high in the mix as an equal element, and tracks often open with a downpour before the beat drops. Textures are damp, hazy and intimate, mixed low for comfort. The mood is cozy, wistful and enclosing, made for rainy-day focus, relaxation and sleep.

History

Rainy lo-fi is a direct product of the YouTube era, where 'lofi beats to relax/study to' streams and thumbnails paired rain visuals with mellow beats, and where rain-plus-beat became one of the most recognizable audio moods online. Chillhop and Lofi Girl producers such as Tomppabeats, Kupla and Aso supplied the tracks, and creators added rain beds borrowed from the nature-sound tradition. It fuses the masking comfort of rain sounds with the head-nod of chillhop and remains a top rainy-day and sleep category.

Defining artists

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Essential listening

← Explore Ambient / New Age / Wellness

Sources

  • Lofi Girl / ChilledCow stream history
  • Chillhop Music artist roster
  • Orphiq, What Is Lo-Fi Music