P33

Objectives

By the end of this chapter you will be able to:

  • Set the PO-33 to a “lo-fi” tempo (70–90 BPM).
  • Use the PO-33’s effects to create lo-fi textures.
  • Write an experimental beat using unusual sounds.
  • Recognise lo-fi and experimental music.

What is lo-fi?

Lo-fi (short for low-fidelity) is a genre that deliberately uses low-quality audio — tape hiss, vinyl crackle, bitcrushed drums, distorted samples. The aesthetic is “warm”, “imperfect”, and “nostalgic”. Lo-fi hip-hop (the “lo-fi beats to study to” genre) is built on:

  • Slow tempos (70–85 BPM).
  • Jazz or soul samples.
  • Heavily filtered, pitched, and degraded audio.
  • Repetitive, hypnotic drum patterns.

The PO-33 is, in some ways, the ultimate lo-fi instrument. Its sample memory is small, its effects are crunchy, and its polyphony is limited. Embrace the constraints.

Sidebar — bitcrushing. Bitcrushing reduces the bit depth of a sample, making it sound “8-bit” or “videogame”. The stock PO-33 has no bitcrush punch-in (its punch-in list is loop, unison, octave, stutter, scratch, 6/8 quantize, retrigger, reverse); the Ravine: Phoenix firmware adds a bitcrush effect (PO33_FX_BITCRUSH). On a stock PO-33, lo-fi crunch instead comes from short loop punch-ins (FX + 1..4) and aggressive trim.

A lo-fi hip-hop beat

To build a lo-fi beat:

  1. Set BPM to Hip Hop (80). Set swing to 3.
  2. Record a jazz sample into slot 1 (a vinyl crackle, a piano loop, a vocal phrase).
  3. Record a soft kick into slot 9 (a “thud” rather than a “boom”).
  4. Record a snare into slot 10.
  5. Record a closed hi-hat into slot 11.
  6. Press WRITE, PLAY.
  7. Step 1: pad 9 (kick), pad 11 (hat), pad 1 (sample at C4).
  8. Step 5: pad 10 (snare), pad 11.
  9. Step 9: pad 11 (hat).
  10. Step 11: pad 9 (kick), pad 11.
  11. Step 13: pad 10 (snare), pad 11.
  12. Step 15: pad 11.
  13. Press WRITE to exit.

Apply bitcrush to the sample (slot 1). (Ravine: Phoenix: PO33_FX_BITCRUSH; a stock PO-33 has no bitcrush punch-in.) The sample should now sound “8-bit”.

This is a lo-fi beat. The drums are sparse. The sample is degraded. The swing is heavy.

Experimental music on the PO-33

Experimental music on the PO-33 means using the device in unintended ways. Some ideas:

  • Record a 30-second example: pad the audio, push the device closer to a speaker to capture hum, sample your breathing.
  • Pitch shift everything down: in Tweak Tone mode, shift the melodic slots down by 12–24 semitones. The result sounds “deep” and “ambient”.
  • Apply reverse (FX + pad 15): hold FX + pad 15 to reverse a sample. The result sounds “spooky”.
  • Use the PO-33 as a guitar pedal: route a guitar through the line-in, apply effects, record the output.
  • Chain patterns with parameter locks (Chapter 16): each pattern has a different filter cutoff, creating an evolving texture.
  • Randomise everything: write a beat by rolling dice and assigning pads to steps. Embrace chaos.

Sidebar — the aesthetics of constraint. Brian Eno, the ambient music producer, has said “the studio is an instrument”. The PO-33, with its 40 seconds of memory, 16 slots, 16 steps, and 16 effects, is a studio. The constraints force creativity. Don’t see them as obstacles.

The PO-33 as a sketchpad

The PO-33 is most useful as a sketchpad — a device to capture a 4-bar idea, then move it to a computer DAW for full production. But the PO-33 can also be a finished instrument, especially for lo-fi and experimental music where the constraints are the aesthetic.

Some famous lo-fi and experimental artists who embrace the PO-33’s constraints:

  • J Dilla (1974–2006): worked with the MPC, but his philosophy — “less is more, swing is everything” — applies perfectly to the PO-33.
  • Burial (1990–): UK garage / dubstep producer known for chopped vocal samples and crackling vinyl textures. The PO-33 is his spiritual instrument.
  • Madlib (1973–): hip-hop producer who builds entire beats from one sample. The PO-33 has the same ethos.
  • Oneohtrix Point Never (1980–): experimental electronic artist who builds tracks from samples and effects. The PO-33’s bitcrush is his bread and butter.

Guided exercise: a lo-fi beat from scratch

Success criteria: a beat with a jazz sample, soft drums, heavy swing, and a bitcrushed texture. Plays at 80 BPM.

  1. Find or record a jazz sample (a piano loop, a vocal phrase, a sax note). Put it in slot 1.
  2. Record a soft kick, snare, and hi-hat. Put them in slots 9, 10, 11.
  3. Set BPM to 80. Set swing to 3.
  4. Apply bitcrush to slot 1 (Ravine: Phoenix PO33_FX_BITCRUSH).
  5. Write a pattern: sample on steps 1, 9; kick on steps 1, 11; snare on 5, 13; hat every odd step.
  6. Press PLAY. Listen.

If it sounds too clean, increase the swing to 5. If it sounds too quiet, increase the velocity (Tweak Volume mode, Knob B).

Creative challenge: the field recording

Record a 10-second field recording — your street, your kitchen, a coffee shop — into slot 1. Use it as the “sample” in your beat. Apply reverse (FX + 15) to half the loop and a filter sweep (Tweak Filter mode) to the other half. You have just made a hauntological beat — a beat that sounds like a memory.

The genre is “hauntology” (named by music critic Mark Fisher). It is built on degraded samples of the past. The PO-33 is the perfect instrument for it.

Listening assignment

Listen to:

  • Burial, “Archangel” (2007). A chopped vocal sample (“Tell me I belong”) over a slow garage beat. Heavy pitch-shifting. This is the PO-33’s native genre.
  • Madlib, “Movie Fight” from Madvillainy (2004). Two samples layered: a horn stab and a vocal phrase. Minimal drums. The “less is more” approach.
  • J Dilla, “Don’t Cry” from Donuts (2006). A jazz sample (the Pretty Things’ “Don’t Bring Me Down”) pitched up, chopped, and looped. The Dilla aesthetic.
  • Boards of Canada, “Olson” (2002). A warped, degraded sample with heavy filter sweep. The PO-33’s filter (Tweak Filter mode) can do this.

Summary and checkpoint

Key takeaways:

  • Lo-fi music embraces low-quality audio as an aesthetic.
  • The PO-33’s lo-fi crunch comes from bitcrushing (a Ravine: Phoenix firmware effect; the stock PO-33 uses short loop punch-ins and aggressive trim).
  • Experimental music uses the PO-33 in unintended ways: pitch-shifting, reversing, randomising.
  • The PO-33 is a “sketchpad” — capture an idea in 4 bars, then move to a DAW.

Self-check:

  • [ ] Can you build a lo-fi beat with bitcrush and heavy swing?
  • [ ] Can you apply reverse (FX + 15) to a sample?
  • [ ] Can you write an experimental beat using unusual sounds?
  • [ ] Do you understand why lo-fi and constraint go together?

If you answered “yes” to all four, you are ready for Part V: full tracks and performance.

Part V — Full Tracks and Performance

By the end of Part IV you have four complete beats in four genres. Each beat is one bar (16 steps) long and loops forever. That’s a loop, not a song. A song has structure: intro, verse, chorus, bridge, outro. Part V teaches you to extend your loops into songs using pattern chaining (multiple loops linked together), parameter locks (different settings on each step), and live performance techniques.