It’s a cold Sunday morning, the kind of day you want to spend wrapped in warmth. Sipping a cup of coffee, warming my hands, I’m listening to Self Soothe by Tony Frissore.
Diving into this track and his other work, I feel the artist is clearly in a state of exploration, experimenting with sound, yet his clear gravitation toward electronica is unmistakable. While Self Soothe might fall slightly outside the usual boundaries of lo-fi or chillhop that I often feature, its atmosphere is incredibly close. This is the kind of music that warms you up and helps you focus.
The composition begins with a light, drawn-out pad. It feels like the slow, soothing rise of bubbles in a lava lamp—calming you immediately and setting the dreamy mood for what’s to come. The beat structure here, in my opinion, leans towards downtempo, as it features more percussive elements than typical lo-fi. Nevertheless, the rhythm remains unhurried and truly hypnotic.
Around the 50-second mark, after the quiet whisper of vocal samples, drums appear, sounding much like African congas. They perfectly balance the synthesized sound, adding a living, earthly flavor to the track before immersing you once again into those cosmic pads.
Despite all the indicators that might place this track in the realm of “cooler” electronic genres, Tony Frissore manages to extract all the warmth from them. It truly feels like a close relative of lo-fi, even though the composition is full of cosmic space and synthesized sounds. This is a successful musical experiment that leads to a simple yet vital conclusion: Even within the vast, seemingly cold spaces of everyday life and passing thoughts, you can always find your own source of comfort and warmth.
P.S. If you are looking for more musical journeys towards inner peace, we also recommend diving into the dreamy vibe of Letsko and his track Home Again, where the sound also becomes a reliable refuge.
