How the map works
Reading the jazz map
Every dot is a track and every coloured line is a playlist. Where a dot sits comes straight from the audio.
The two directions
- Left to right: energy. How busy and intense a track feels, from hushed to lively.
- Bottom to top: mood. Musical brightness (valence): low is blue and wistful, high is sunny and sweet.
Each stop on a playlist page also shows acousticness: how much it leans on warm, acoustic-sounding instruments over electric keys and synths. That’s what separates Study Jazz (very acoustic) from City Jazz After Dark (electric and urban), even where they sit close on the map.
Who gets on the map
Purrple Cat has 500+ songs, and not every one is jazzy. Only tracks whose harmony leans on rich, extended chords (sevenths, ninths and beyond, measured from the audio) are on the map: about the jazzier half of the catalogue.
How a line is drawn
The first stop is picked by hand so its title matches the theme and its sound fits: After Hours opens Late Night Jazz, Cold & Rainy opens Rainy Day Jazz, Coffee Jelly opens Morning Coffee Jazz, Hot Chocolate opens Cozy Fireside Jazz. After that, the audio decides: each line takes the tracks closest to its target energy, mood and acousticness, whatever they are called. Then the line runs from stop to nearest stop so the playlist drifts smoothly instead of jumping around.
What kind of jazz is this?
Jazz-influenced lofi. Lofi hip hop grew out of producers chasing the mellow sound of jazz records: dusty chords, laid-back drums, warm tape. Purrple Cat writes original music in that tradition. It isn’t a live jazz band and doesn’t sample jazz records.
