Studying Japanese is hard, like, really hard.
You’ll struggle to progress if you cant stay focused and dedicated throughout your study sessions, and it’s pretty hard to feel like that all the time.
Quick note: If you are struggling to stay focused, here are 10 tips to keep motivated while studying Japanese!
That’s why I’ve put together a list of the best Lofi Music channels to help you study.
So sit back, grab a coffee, give yourself a 5-minute break, and let’s get going!
Why should I listen to Lofi music?
Sometimes, life gets overwhelming.
When such a time comes knocking it’s important to know how to take a moment for yourself and chill the hell out.
That’s where Lofi music comes into play.
Lofi music provides a mindful and relaxed way to listen to music making it the perfect partner for studying or being productive. A big upside of listening to lofi for productivity is that it rarely (if ever) has lyrics giving you an ideal environment to focus.
Although I love listening to music, I don’t particularly like searching for it. So the longer the song (or songs) the better ????.
Below is a list of the 5 best Lofi music channels on YouTube. Whether you’re looking for music to help you relax, stay focussed, or simply just vibe, I’ve got you covered!
Also, if you’re really interested in how Lofi music gets made then take a read of an interview we did with Lofi producer Tenno.
1. Chilled Cow
‘The well known, well-loved Lofi study music channel.’
Featuring the extremely popular Lofi girl, Chilled Cow is one of the original and probably most well known Lofi music channel on YouTube
The Chilled Cow Lofi hip hop radio (seen above) run by a 23-year old called Dimitri started streaming on February 25th, 2017.
Unfortunately, between the months of July and August of 2017, the Lofi stream was mistakenly taken down due to copyright reasons. After a huge outcry of supporters and listeners, YouTube responded the day after with a tweet apologising for the mistake and reinstating his channel. Chilled Cow has streamed ever since.
The first live stream was taken down with a playtime of around 13,000 hours which still made it one of the longest YouTube videos to ever have been made.
I for one am extremely grateful to Dimitri and the plethora of artists on his live stream that have contributed to make it my all-time favourite YouTube channel to relax and study to.
2. Anime Vibe
‘This all started as a hobby and now its become so much more.’
Anime Vibe started in 2013 and finally came to YouTube one year later with a very specific target audience.
Featuring a Lofi music collection consisting only of anime remixes, Anime Vibe has absolutely found a unique place in the market with thousands of curious fans coming to hear these artists creations.
Run by ‘The Chill Squad‘ and more specifically ADEN, Anime Vibe is one of two channels launched along with Ikigai (an equally great channel that could have made it onto the list).
As well as helping its many listeners by playing relaxing lofi music, the channel has also helped many up and coming artists get the exposure they deserve.
What’s said to have started as just a hobby has clearly turned into so much more.
3. Fantastic
‘The perfect Lofi aesthetic wallpapers.’
Based in France, Fantastic describes its music as Lofi, Lounge music, Hip-Hop, Jazz & More. Quite a difference from AnimeVibe, and yet it does so in an extremely beautiful way.
Whilst Lofi music or study music is inherently about the sound, its also about creating a mood and a lifestyle. So for instance, if I’m listening to Japanese Lofi specifically to chill out then I want to see artwork to represent that.
The great thing about Fantastic is it provides these scenarios in both music and artwork form for pretty much any situation you could think of.
For instance, one of these aesthetic covers features someone with their feet poking out of the car as the sun goes down, it’s called ‘Last Sunset | Chill & JazzHop‘.
Another shows a cabin set in the foothills of some mountains at night. There’s a light on inside and a small plume of smoke coming out of the top. This one is called ‘Night Calms | Lofi & Guitar Vibes‘.
Take a look at Fantastic on YouTube below and you’ll see what I mean. And their album artwork is absolutely amazing, too.
Music for any occasion, it would seem!
4. Dreamy
‘The underdog, but not really.’
Dreamy is someone who spends most of his time collecting and collating the best on the Lofi music scene to share with his listeners.
At only 663k subscribers as of writing this article, Dreamy is somewhat of an underdog on the list. Those numbers are obviously nothing to be laughed at as it’s clear the effort and time spend finding such music has definitely paid off.
The type of music you can expect to come across on the channel is Lofi, Hip-hop, Jazzhop, Chillhop, Electronic, Vaporwave (No idea either, but sounds absolutely magnificent), and ambient.
5. Chillhop Music
‘Home of the Chillhop Raccoon.’
Last but by no means least we come to Chillhop Music. A well-known brand in the Lofi community and home to the Chillhop Raccoon since 2016.
Pioneers of the 24/7 stream and the original Lofi study girl (Yup, there was one before the ChilledCow), Chillhop have done their fair share of changing the Lofi scene forever.
Whilst Chillhop does have its own successful YouTube channel, it does things a little differently than some of our others from the list. If you take a look at the Chillhop website you’ll see there is an option to use their music for your own projects. By signing up for a creator’s account you’ll be able to have access to a whole host of chilled-out Lofi music to use on your YouTube or Twitch channel. All that’s required is crediting them in the description.
Chillhop is also the first group we’ve come across that gives you the option to buy Lofi on vinyl. These releases will usually coincide with the seasons but there are a few extra records as well.
If you have a record player and you’re really looking to focus whilst listening, then I wholeheartedly recommend you purchase one. This not only allows you to listen to the Lofi track the way the artist had envisioned but also disconnect from the digital world in all ways apart from those for work. This is Lofi study music at its best!
Have we missed your favourite Lofi artist off the list? Let us know in the comments below or shoot an email our way!
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