Pueblo Vista: its production process

Pueblo Vista came to lo-fi hip-hop in a rather roundabout way. The Innsbruck, Austria resident was a vlogger, looking for royalty-free music to accompany his videos. He often found himself drawn to lo-fi hip-hop and quickly realized he could produce this kind of music quickly, efficiently and all through headphones – a must for any musician with a newborn. .

Fast forward a few years, and Pueblo is among the genre’s preeminent producers. His list of collaborators is long but thoughtful: he’s always on the lookout for musicians who can bring something to the table that he can’t. His collaborations are about knocking out something that is both high quality and done quickly, or as he puts it, like a ping pong rally with only a serve and a return.

Pueblo Vista’s instrumentals are lush and complex, filled with layers of synths, guitars and vinyl crackles. He prefers easy-to-digest drum grooves, and rarely solicits singers. (The data showed that most lo-fi songs with singers are skipped.) The result is something razor-sharp but never set in stone—perfect music for relaxing or music for nodding. In this interview, we spoke with Pueblo about a few of his tracks to get an idea of ​​his production methods and process.

While you read, check out the uChill Lo-Fi Beats & Chill Hip Hop Vibes playlist, featuring Pueblo Vista.

Melodies

“Close your eyes my little angel” Am épos am érgon

“About 80% of my music is self-composed and about 20% is sample-based,” says Pueblo Vista. On a song like “Close Your Eyes My Little Angel”, Pueblo created a melody by playing his keyboard and started looping the melody with slow tempo drums and some subtle synths. The vinyl’s warm crack envelops the track, giving the song a warm core. “Usually the melodies come randomly,” he explains. “It’s something cool that I would try to play or hum. I have a two year old daughter and I try not to sing to her because I don’t know too many baby songs. I will usually test my melodies on her while humming. I can pull out my phone while I hum something, record my voice, and then try to play that on the keyboard.

singers

“Sleep in my arms” from Endelecheia

One of the most impressive things about Pueblo Vista’s songwriting style is how well he can craft his melodies and beats without relying on lyrics and vocals. Although he says using his own voice would be “disastrous”, he has seriously considered working with other singers to help get his message across. But on songs like “Sleep In My Arms,” ​​that’s not necessary, especially if he’s still composing in the lo-fi hip-hop pattern. “We don’t see singing often because that kind of music has a lot of passive audiences through playlists,” says Pueblo Vista. “The data shows that generally when listeners come across, say, a lo-fi or a track like that that includes vocals, they tend to ignore it.” For Pueblo Vista, music creation is a combination of pure artistic expression and rigorous data analysis.

Production origins

“Girona” from Latenite seals 015

Pueblo Vista’s journey to becoming one of lo-fi hip-hop’s premier producers has been long and developed from unexpected origins. “My background as a producer stems from electronic music, progressive trance, progressive house and deep house. Note, not the deep house we know now which evolved into EDM. I was into music dance music that was moody and contemplative, but could also get really fast and exciting,” he explains.While his shift from club-ready music to music intended for almost exactly opposite purposes was a a natural evolution, he still includes many of his favorite music styles in his lo-fi hip-hop songs.”Girona” features a slick guitar line that falls somewhere between lounge jazz and old-school funk. there’s a subtle use of heavy cymbals, giving the song a unique depth.It’s definitely lo-fi hip-hop, but it exists outside of the genre as well.

While my child sleeps sweetly

“Airplane mode” from Last Summer: MMXXI: Anthology

As unromantic as it is, a big part of Pueblo Vista’s decision-making comes down to convenience. Lo-fi hip-hop is a profitable industry and a style of music he can make at home, in his headphones, while his young child sleeps. It wouldn’t be realistic for him to be in a metal band. Lo-fi hip-hop also more accurately reflects where it is in life more generally. The easy groove and neat guitar line on “Airplane Mode” is laid back without ever being rough around the edges. It descends smoothly. “The excuse I have is that the older you get, the BPM also slows down. When you’re young, you go out and you really like to party and drink and dance and have fun,” he explains. “Then you get a bit older and you’re like, ‘Oh, my body hurts’ or ‘I can’t drink so much anymore.’ I am a very limited social drinker. My music tends to reflect that.

Early Influences

“Just Another Day” from Latenite Gaskets 017

Pueblo Vista credits his sense of melody and melodic arrangement to his various musical obsessions growing up. He loved metal, various types of dance music, hip-hop and pop. His ability to conjure up ideas seemingly nowhere — he has no formal musical training — comes from an intuitive understanding of what sounds good and how it makes people feel. “I guess that’s an immediate influence I have from my progressive house and progressive trance days. I’m not that good at making the beats themselves. Even the stuff that I release solo, you can easily listen to the drum lines,” says Pueblo. “They are simpler. So I tend to focus on the melodies or, say, the process of “dressing up” the samples or melodic sketches. “Just Another Day” is a perfect example of this, featuring an easily playable drum groove but a number of synths and guitar layers that give the song an emotional complexity and depth, with enough room for a listener can still space out while enjoying the rhythm. .

Collaboration

“XO” from Latenite Gaskets 019

Lo-fi hip-hop can often be a lonely process. The community is massive and dedicated, but the creative process is often lonely and lonely. Pueblo Vista enjoys collaborating both so he can work with another musician, but also because he can attack some of his perceived weaknesses through the strengths of others. “When I’m working with someone else, especially on boom-bap stuff that I’m not as good at, I let the other person lead. When someone has a stronger hip hop or boom-bap background, I let them show me the way,” he explains. “I’m not the guy who likes to play ping-pong between ‘Here’s a rhythm and here’s it.’ I’m doing something. I’m giving it to you. You can use it, don’t use it, chop whatever you want. So for me, it’s ready because I don’t want to get in the way of people’s creative process. If I choose to work with you on something, it’s because I know what you produce. I’ll give you my idea and then let you sprinkle your magic on it. Then I’ll be happy.”

Evolution

“Waiting for You at Shibuya Station” by Latenite Gaskets 011

Although many of Pueblo Vista’s releases are strictly in the lo-fi hip-hop way, he has a taste for experimentation and a willingness to push boundaries. “I have always experimented. I care about my audience, but I can’t think of them when I record,” he explains. “I started with 100 listeners and now I have 1,000,000 listeners, it’s still the same for me. 95% of the time I just make the music for myself and then release it. I never really paid for ads. The numbers you see now that we have on all of our social profiles, it’s organic. His dedicated fanbase allowed him to deviate from the genre’s core traits, and on a song like “Waiting For You At Shibuya Station,” he does a busier song than lo-fi hip-hop fans are used to. . The synths are playful and interact with a piano melody in complex ways. It’s still soothing and relaxing music, but it also shows versatility with respect to Pueblo Vista’s mission.

Want more Pueblo Vista? Check out the uChill Lo-Fi Beats & Chill Hip Hop Vibes playlist.