Here is the last moment of autumn. As often happens at the year’s end, thoughts relentlessly summarize, and not everything is cheering. What you truly want is to break away from expectations that didn’t materialize and just breathe out. And, of course, I dove into the familiar and comforting world of lo-fi.
But this time, my musical journey took me far beyond the usual boundaries, straight to a new release from Chill4est. I’ve known for a long time that Michael Kapoulas’s work is celebrated for its original sound, which always transcends the boundaries of cliché lo-fi. And his track “Far” became yet another testament to that.
It begins by immediately enveloping you in a light arpeggio—almost weightless, so transparent and pure that it recalls the distant, atmospheric trance scene of the ’90s. Paired with a delicate piano and a soft synthesizer, it instantly immerses you in a pleasant summer atmosphere. I had already thought Chill4est had fully transitioned into pure ambient, until I heard a slight breeze of warm, barely perceptible drums. They dispelled my doubts while simultaneously deepening the sensation.
And then, like a distant island on the composition’s horizon, a magnificent guitar part emerged. This was the exact moment when the very first chords give you goosebumps. Warmth and, at the same time, a melancholy calm envelop you, like the gentle ocean waves rolling onto the shore. It’s a feeling of complete trust: as if you are simply lying in a boat, and the music, like the water, carries you along its current, and you don’t care where it goes.
I am genuinely happy to have the opportunity to simply stop and enjoy this track. This is the sound that offers a tiny, yet priceless, piece of the sea right in the middle of late autumn. Michael Kapoulas proves once again that the lo-fi he creates by experimenting with genres is a true detox from monotony. It’s the freshness that the genre so desperately needs.
If the sea melancholy of “Far” leaves you wanting more rhythm and sun, be sure to listen to another work by Chill4est — “Cosquilla.” In that track, he masterfully blends lo-fi with a warm reggae rhythm, proving that his genre experiments always break new ground.
