A veritable part of the allure of the lo-fi community is the relative anonymity of a vast plethora of its producers and constituents, and this motif holds true with regards to hoogway. Based out of Brussels, Belgium, the one-man beat cypher leaves little more than a paper trail comprised of just nine melancholy compositions. Sometimes, it is necessary to dive into the background of an artist to provide a certain clarity and context to their work; in this situation, it is the work that provides context and clarity to the artist.

A common trope amongst producers stemming from all sub genres of hip-hop is the "chopped sample", with its ragged edges and off kilter transients. Eschewing this technique, hoogway instead opts to allow the original arrangement of his samples to shine through the mix. Perhaps it comes in the form of "morning coffee", a melodious and luminous piece that lets the beat fall back more than a few times to let the piano sing without constraint, bringing your attention away from the rhythm, and focusing on the note relationships that give so much life to articulate music. "the jazz party" takes on a vibe of dimly lit bars and social clubs, with a casual sway back and forth, bouncing around fluttering chords and off-kilter snares. Bringing a far-eastern atmosphere into the mix, "ascending" feels like a nod of the head towards the multitude of Asian producers who have mingled their cultural scales and modes with the western hip-hop rhythm.

The last uploaded track from hoogway came around 4 months ago, and it is unclear if the project will continue in the future; if anything is certain, it is that these musical artifacts take on a life of their own, and any future releases are bound to be just as captivating.

FOLLOW hoogway: Soundcloud / Instagram