Scrolling Through SoundCloud: potsu
On “Scrolling Through SoundCloud,” we profile up-and-coming artists and producers who should garner more attention based on the quality of their music. So do them a favor, and listen to their shit. You won’t be disappointed.
IF YOU’RE A FAN OF…
NUJABES
FITZROY
TAJIMA HAL
NOTABLE TRACKS…
I’M CLOSING MY EYES (FEAT. SHILOH)
[OOPS]
Transforming jazz and bossa nova samples into sensual, grainy beat selections, Orange County-based beat maker Matthew Floyd, who uses the moniker potsu, is a shining representative of the contemporary lo-fi hip hop scene. His beats don’t bang so much as they cling on, until you realize that it’s you, not the music, that refuses to let go. With two albums and a handful of tracks under his belt, Floyd saw his following on SoundCloud more than double after Reddit caught wind of his talents. A live show is in the works, as well as impending releases on Spotify and Apple Music. All of this before Floyd’s twentieth birthday. See what he has to say in our interview below:
On anime:
A lot of people who make lo-fi are drawn to that aesthetic; I think the visuals fit nicely with this type of music.
I think there’s just a boom in anime in general right now. There’s kids from my high school who a few years ago had no idea about anime and wouldn’t touch this stuff, but it’s getting more popular and people are getting accustomed to it.
On the SP-404:
The staple of making lo-fi music is using an SP-404, which is an old-school Roland sampler. But it gives you some really unique sounds. Like on the Joji Boiler Room set, he pretty much brought his SP-404 with him, and just played his set off it.
The most iconic thing about it is the effects it has, particularly the “vinyl-sim” effect, which gives you a really nice pitch-bending sound. I hear Made in M use it a lot; and also a lot of other people use it. It’s something you can’t really get unless you have the SP.
On music as a hobby:
Right now, I’m not thinking about doing anything huge with it. Even if it does pick up, I think I’ll keep my education as my priority. I don’t have any plans of dropping out or anything like that.
On forcing success:
There’s this YouTube channel, STEEZYASFUCK, that features a lot of beat tapes. I thought I was going to make this beat tape and submit it, and then Steezy’s gonna feature me, and then I’m gonna get a lot of attention. That never happened. I feel like when you try to force success, it doesn’t really end up working out. You just have to do your thing and then hopefully something good will happen.
On creativity in lo-fi music:
I definitely feel kind of stuck. With lo-fi you really don’t have that much freedom. There’s only so much you can do to a sample.
Lo-fi definitely takes a stab at your creativity, so you feel locked in to this genre that you can’t do a lot with. But it’s not too big of a deal. I’m just happy with it. It’s just a hobby.
Currently listening to…
One of my favorites right now is Oliva Herdt. She mainly does vocals over lo-fi beats, which is getting really big. She’s gotten a good amount of attention lately, but she definitely deserves more. All her stuff is really amazing.
I don’t know, I’ve been listening to a lot of Mac DeMarco. His stuff is…god, it’s so good. He’s all I’ve been listening to for the past month or so.
