Exclusive Interview: Mitchel Logan's Lo-fi Stomping Grounds
Updated: Sep 15, 2021
Over the past few months rising producer/vocalist, Mitchel Logan has been dialing in his unique blend of lo-fi indie tunes out in Vermont. Fresh out of graduate school, Logan plans to release his newest single "Don't Really Need You" in October as a precursor to his first LP.
Lo-fi music has gained a massive audience over the past decade thanks to Youtube curators, established artists like Clairo and Jinsang, and an overall appreciation for chilled and relaxed beats. It's become an umbrella term used to label the never-ending slew of Soundcloud producers and rappers whose songs are filled with dusty samples and anime cover art. Lo-fi has seeped it's way into almost any genre you can think of; lo-fi indie, lo-fi hip hop, lo-fi house, etc, so how does anyone ascend the rest and stand out as a notable lo-fi artist? It's honestly as subjective as any other question about music or art, but aesthetics and emotions seem to play a huge role in acquiring notoriety within this niche music community.
The 26 year-old producer, Mitchel Logan has developed his own lane in the lo-fi game by combining his love for the acoustic guitar with a natural taste for mellow beats. Rather than surfing the web to find samples and other loops, Logan crafts his own melodies and vocals while telling stories about his life. Songs like "Vibes" and "Can Someone Tell Me" really showcase his talent as an independent musician.
Making use of social media sites like Instagram and Spotify, Logan has been able to target an audience of active listeners who share similar life interests. It's almost become a cliche at this point within the lo-fi scene, but anime remains to be a connecting thread between Logan and his fans/followers. Seeing that streaming is king nowadays, Logan has used most of the year to hanker down in the studio and finish writing/recording his first LP rather than attempting to do livestreams or practicing for a live set.
We had the opportunity to pick apart Mitchel's brain a few weeks ago.
Here's what he had to say:
Q: How long have you been making your own music?
A: So I've done writing and singing for at least a decade, but I didn't take it anywhere until much later. I actually just finished getting a masters degree in entomology. As you can see, I was pursuing other things at the time. I just started getting into the lo-fi pop and bedroom pop alternative r&b and what not. I just started producing stuff over the last year and that's when stuff really started taking off for me and it's been great.
Q: Have you mainly been using Soundcloud for your distribution?
A: Oh no, actually I’ve been focusing strictly on Spotify and I've been running with Apple music and other streaming services. I only use Soundcloud right now for private links to send demos and things that aren't currently released but are planned to drop.
Q: You've made a few collaborations over this year, have you found these people over Soundcloud or other social media sites?
A: All the collaborations I've done have come through Instagram. Instagram is definitely my main hub for social media. I kind of treat spotify as a social media platform as well and I use that in different ways to try and engage with my fans through artist pick and so forth.
Instagram is really where I get DMs and send DMs from various artists asking me to write something over their feed or doing some mixing on their beat and if I dig their style, I'm like yeah totally.
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