About JKay Lo-Fi
Hi, I am James. The owner of JKay Lo-Fi. Now, you could call me illogical and/or crazy for being so interested in an inferior music format such as Cassettes... Well hear me out for a minute.
I got tired of renting my music.
Streaming services are convenient, sure, but there's something hollow about a library you don't actually own. One day the algorithm changes, a licensing deal falls through, and a song you love just disappears.
I wanted something that I can physically own. Something that is mine forever. And I also want to support my favorite artists directly because if you didn't know, music streaming services pay artists diddly squat.
Well after being so engrossed in the Michael Jackson film, I felt this sense of wanting to connect to music on a more deeper level.
This feeling was satiated when I was rummaging through my family's storage room and found a box of my Dad's old cassette tapes from the 80s and 90s.
Going through his collection felt like opening a time capsule. Artists I'd never heard of, albums worn soft at the edges, handwritten labels on mixtapes given to him by friends. He was a huge The Beatles fan and you betcha he had a lot of their cassette tapes.
We had an old boombox, but it had long since given up. So I tracked down a new cassette player and popped in The Beatles Past Masters Volume One.
The songs stored on these tapes gave me a strong sense of nostalgia, despite the fact that I wasn't even born in that time period. These were the same tapes my Dad held in his hands, the same songs he listened to when he was young. Gems such as:
- Love Me Do
- She Loves you
- I Want To Hold Your Hand (my personal favorite)
- I Feel Fine
There's something about a physical format that digital just can't replicate.
That feeling is what JKay Lo-Fi is built around. I believe music should be something you own, something you can pass down, something that carries memory in its grooves and hiss.
Welcome to the collection. I'm glad you're here.