Sing4DLaughter releases FF9 lofi
It’s a new year and the air is full with the sound of new lofi releases. One of the first notable releases of the year, and one that I’ve been waiting for, is the latest Final Fantasy album from the legendary Sing4DLaughter. If you’re not familiar Sing is probably most well known for (1) being THE Final Fantasy lofi guy and (2) Having sick guitar skills. I’ll include links to listen to the album for yourself below my track-by-track reaction and summary.
Disclaimer: I have yet to play FF9 so I cannot comment on how these tracks suit the associated in game moments, I’ll be approaching theme simply as lofi tracks. Please forgive me Final Fantasy fans.
1. Unrequited Love – with Mellow Yoyo
A soft dreamy soundscape with a beat that feels like a massage for my brain. Sing’s guitar playing is always a highlight of every track he works on but when that flute comes in at the halfway point that just takes it to a whole new level. Sing and Mellow’s sounds combine perfectly to form a soothing lofi serenade.
2. Vamo Alla Flamenco with Mipsick
The second track on the album is a notable vibe shift towards a darker mysterious tone. The moving vocal-like pads (and possibly vocal samples?) in the background create a living ambience that really adds a new layer of emotion to the track – if I had to guess I think we could credit Mipsick’s influence for this.
3. Battle Theme – with Sad Gatomon
If I’m not mistaken both Sing and Gato are Brazilian and I’d like to figure out what they’re feeding the kids there to keep raising so many great producers. Besides more phenomenal guitar playing what stands out to me on this track is the moving bass line. I’m always a sucker for a bass line that adds extra life and movement to a track.
4. Vivi’s Theme – with Hotline Sehwani
The more I listen to Hotline Sehwani the more I can recognize and appreciate his distinct influence on tracks, everything he touches becomes nostalgic and fun. Combined with Sing’s sound this track is one of the most unique lofi beats I’ve heard this year (it’s funny because I’m writing this on January 3rd).
5. Danger in the Forest – with WLHR
This song feels like something straight out of a film or TV soundtrack in all the best ways. I keep replaying this track to come up with something insightful to say then getting caught in the moment and just completely transported into the scene the track is creating. Excellent showing by Sing and WLHR – please do more tracks like this together!
6. Ice Cavern – with PalKid
If you’ve been around you’ve heard me say before that PalKid has one of the most distinct sounds in the lofi VGM scene and the interplay between the recognizable sounds of Sing and Pal feels like a conversation between the two. Their powers combined, this track is everything great about video game music evoking a sense of exploration and discovery to tell an entire story through the music alone
7. A Song from Her Memory – with Tanoshi
Reminding the reader again of my opening disclaimer that I haven’t yet played FF9, I’m pretty sure whatever this track is underscoring is going to make me cry because this song hits HARD for an instrumental. Credit to the original composer Nobou Uematsu as well as Sing and Tanoshi for expressing so much sad sentiment through a lofi beat.
8. Esto Gaza – with Jembei
Yeah, this one kind of sucks. I kid! Jembei is one of my music besties so anyone who’s been in my circle for a while is probably getting tired of me singing his praises but DANG this track is smoooooooth. These are probably some of the most reserved drums I’ve heard from Jembei actually, but it really serves the song. My sources also tell me that the sax on this song is “a real sax played by the lips of our king of brass himself, Jembei” – Sing
9. Roses of May – with LofiCody
In case you missed it, I am Lofi Cody. Hello! So yeah, I hope my drums and random ear candy didn’t detract from Sing’s excellent instrumentation on this track. I’m honoured that Sing invited me to be part of this project. The more I listen to it the more I hear things I should have cleaned up, so we’re just going to move on…
10. Qu’s March – with Blauu
As soon as I saw that Sing did a track with Blauu on this album I was stoked to listen and had to discipline myself to listen to the album straight through and not skip ahead. And let me tell you, this track does not disappoint! All of the layers of instrumentation are *chef’s kiss* I don’t know which of the homies laid down this bassline but cheers to them it’s good.
11. Village of Dali – Sad Gatomon & PalKid
A track without Sing on it was a surprise for a Sing4DLaughter album but Sad Gato and Pal crushed it on this one. Once again an excellent blend of their styles and just an all around well produced lofi track.
12. Daguerreo, the Hermit’s Library – with Alessio Dicorato
The contrast of a delicate melody and a bouncy beat works wonderfully for this track. It makes me want to bob my head and close my eyes. The lack of guitar on the last few tracks has been a bit of a nice changeup to keep the album moving and evolving as well.
13. Black Mage Village – with Hotline Sehwani
I love this vibe I don’t know what that background sound is throughout the track (if you listen to the track you’ll know exactly what I’m referring to) but man is it nice. It’s really impressive how different a Sing track can sound while still sounding like a Sing track and of course Hotline is involved again so you know it’s a fun one.
14. Memoria – with Mcpblackheart
Another unique one to close out the album. This one has a really great retro synth vibe and this very 80s sounding bass line that is speaking to me. Some little teases of guitar enter the fray again to remind us of where we’ve been as it wraps up the album and brings us home. This track is also my introduction to Mcpblackheart so unfortunately I don’t have any fun anecdotes yet, but I’ll be sure to be more well researched for future appearances.
In Summary
This is a solid album and an example of the best that lofi music can be. Sing is working in this perfect balance of pushing the genre beyond the stereotypes while being true to the well-loved conventions that define lofi (triphop, downtempo). We also got a little taste of several different excellent lofi producers. If you’re looking for some more great music after finishing the FF9 album you can trust clicking on any of these other featured artists is going to introduce you to even more great lofi. I’m excited to hear what other music Sing4DLaughter has for us this year.