Chill out music
Encyclopedia
Chill out music is an umbrella term
for several styles of electronic music
characterized by their mellow style and mid-tempo beats — "chill" being derived from a slang injunction to "relax."
Chill out music emerged in the early and mid-1990s in "chill rooms" at dance clubs, where relaxing music was played to allow dancers a chance to "chill out" from the more emphatic and fast-tempo music played on the main dance floor.
The genres associated with chill-out are mostly ambient
, trip-hop, nu jazz
, ambient house
, New Age
and other sub-genres of downtempo
. Sometimes the easy listening
sub-genre lounge
is considered to belong to the chill-out collection as well. Chill out as a musical genre or description is synonymous with the more recently popularized terms "smooth electronica" and "soft techno" and is a loose genre of music blurring into several other very distinct styles of electronic and lo-fi music.
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The earliest mentioned "chill out room" was at the legendary Madchester
nightspot, Konspiracy. In these rooms, visitors would find couches, comfortable pillows, psychedelic light shows projecting entrancing images and music that was decidedly downtempo, especially when compared to what was going on a few feet away on the dance floor. Its history began in the UK, with post-punk
band The Durutti Column
being an abstract influence on the genre in the '80s. Higher Intelligence Agency
(the HIA) helped move the chill room concept from sideshow to main event with their Oscillate chill party events in Birmingham and elsewhere in the early to mid nineties. Their first releases came out on the now defunct Beyond record label and soon thereafter in the U.S. on the Waveform
label - who describes the music as 'exotic electronica.'
In 1990 the KLF
released their seminal ambient house
album named Chill Out
.
A number of compilations with "Chill Out" in their titles were released in the mid-1990s and beyond, helping to establish the genre as being very closely related to downtempo
and trip hop
but also incorporating, especially in the early 2000s, slower tempo varieties of house music
, nu-jazz, psybient
, and lounge music
of approximately 80 to 110bpm . The genre also includes some forms of trance music
, ambient music
, and IDM
, and it has entirely subsumed the older genre Balearic Beat
, although that term is still used interchangeably with chill out. Chill out is generally tonal, relaxing (or at least not as "intense" as other music from the styles it draws from), although when used to describe the music played in chillout rooms at raves, it can also encompass extremely psychedelic experimental sounds of great variety.
or retro-futuristic ambience, devoted to the genre. Ministry of Sound
in London
has hosted many chill out events in places such as Ibiza
and there are hundreds of mix compilation titles including the words "chill out" or just "chill" that cater for the chill out audience. As of 2005 "chill out" is recognized by all major UK dance magazines and their charts. Ministry of Sound released an album in 2008 named "Chilled"; they described the songs in the album "the best chill out songs from 1991 to 2008."
Chill out rooms at dance clubs fill a safety need for users of Ecstasy
, which has had problems and deaths due to dehydration or heat stroke. In 1992 a UK rule required dance clubs to provide free water and chill out rooms in response to a number of Ecstasy-related injuries and deaths.
, Roger Shah, Blank & Jones
, Triangle Sun, Ryan Farish
, José Padilla
, Chris Coco
, Pete Lawrence
, Alex Paterson
, Björk
, Nujabes
(Jun Seba) and Mixmaster Morris
.
Some of the labels with the most important rosters of chill out artists and DJs, and largest catalogs of releases and compilations are (also in no order of precedence): ESL Music, G-Stone Recordings
, !K7, Instinct Records
, Hearts of Space
, Café del Mar
, Water Music
, Pork Recordings
, Ninja Tune
, Mole Listening Pearls
, Six Degrees Records
, Beyond Records, Waveform
, Compost Records
, and Ultimae. The chill out genre's increased following was noticed by the Ministry of Sound
, a record label which specializes in dance music, which then began to produce a series of albums called The Chillout Sessions
.
Fly Away With Me by Alien Tribe shows an example of Chill with the use of vocals and a cascading style rhythm structure
Umbrella term
An umbrella term is a word that provides a superset or grouping of concepts that all fall under a single common category. Umbrella term is also called a hypernym. For example, cryptology is an umbrella term that encompasses cryptography and cryptanalysis, among other fields...
for several styles of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
characterized by their mellow style and mid-tempo beats — "chill" being derived from a slang injunction to "relax."
Chill out music emerged in the early and mid-1990s in "chill rooms" at dance clubs, where relaxing music was played to allow dancers a chance to "chill out" from the more emphatic and fast-tempo music played on the main dance floor.
The genres associated with chill-out are mostly ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, trip-hop, nu jazz
Nu jazz
Nu jazz is an umbrella term coined in the late 1990s to refer to music that blends jazz elements with other musical styles, such as funk, soul, electronic dance music, and free improvisation...
, ambient house
Ambient house
Ambient house, a music genre that first emerged in the late 1980s, is a sub-genre of house music, combining elements of acid house and ambient music...
, New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
and other sub-genres of downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
. Sometimes the easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
sub-genre lounge
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
is considered to belong to the chill-out collection as well. Chill out as a musical genre or description is synonymous with the more recently popularized terms "smooth electronica" and "soft techno" and is a loose genre of music blurring into several other very distinct styles of electronic and lo-fi music.
History
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...
nightspot, Konspiracy. In these rooms, visitors would find couches, comfortable pillows, psychedelic light shows projecting entrancing images and music that was decidedly downtempo, especially when compared to what was going on a few feet away on the dance floor. Its history began in the UK, with post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band The Durutti Column
The Durutti Column
The Durutti Column are an English post-punk band formed in 1978 in Manchester, England. The band is an ongoing project of guitarist Vini Reilly who is often accompanied by drummer Bruce Mitchell. Other current members are Keir Stewart and Reilly's girlfriend Poppy Morgan...
being an abstract influence on the genre in the '80s. Higher Intelligence Agency
Higher Intelligence Agency
Higher Intelligence Agency, often also referred to by its acronym HIA, is the main electronic music project of Birmingham UK based Bobby Bird....
(the HIA) helped move the chill room concept from sideshow to main event with their Oscillate chill party events in Birmingham and elsewhere in the early to mid nineties. Their first releases came out on the now defunct Beyond record label and soon thereafter in the U.S. on the Waveform
Waveform
Waveform means the shape and form of a signal such as a wave moving in a physical medium or an abstract representation.In many cases the medium in which the wave is being propagated does not permit a direct visual image of the form. In these cases, the term 'waveform' refers to the shape of a graph...
label - who describes the music as 'exotic electronica.'
In 1990 the KLF
The KLF
The KLF were one of the seminal bands of the British acid house movement during the late 1980s and early 1990s....
released their seminal ambient house
Ambient house
Ambient house, a music genre that first emerged in the late 1980s, is a sub-genre of house music, combining elements of acid house and ambient music...
album named Chill Out
Chill out
Chill out may mean:*Chill out music, a laid-back style of music*Chill Out, an album by KLF*Chill Out *Chill Out, an album by John Lee Hooker...
.
A number of compilations with "Chill Out" in their titles were released in the mid-1990s and beyond, helping to establish the genre as being very closely related to downtempo
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
and trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
but also incorporating, especially in the early 2000s, slower tempo varieties of house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, nu-jazz, psybient
Psybient
Psybient, also known as ambient psy, psychedelic chillout, psychedelic ambient, ambient goa, ambient psytrance and more commonly within the Goa/psytrance scene as psychill and psydub, is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of psychedelic trance, ambient, world music, new age and even...
, and lounge music
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
of approximately 80 to 110bpm . The genre also includes some forms of trance music
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
, ambient music
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, and IDM
Intelligent dance music
Intelligent dance music is a term that describes an electronic music genre that emerged in the early 1990s. The genre is influenced by a wide range of musical styles particularly electronic dance music such as Detroit Techno...
, and it has entirely subsumed the older genre Balearic Beat
Balearic Beat
Balearic Beat or either Balearic House and Balearic Trance is an eclectic blend of DJed dance music that originally emerged in the mid-1980s. It later became the name of a more specific style of electronic dance music that was popular into the mid-1990s...
, although that term is still used interchangeably with chill out. Chill out is generally tonal, relaxing (or at least not as "intense" as other music from the styles it draws from), although when used to describe the music played in chillout rooms at raves, it can also encompass extremely psychedelic experimental sounds of great variety.
Chill-room club culture
An entire culture surrounding chill out music has evolved, with many fashionable bars and clubs, designed with a retroRetro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
or retro-futuristic ambience, devoted to the genre. Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
has hosted many chill out events in places such as Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
and there are hundreds of mix compilation titles including the words "chill out" or just "chill" that cater for the chill out audience. As of 2005 "chill out" is recognized by all major UK dance magazines and their charts. Ministry of Sound released an album in 2008 named "Chilled"; they described the songs in the album "the best chill out songs from 1991 to 2008."
Chill out rooms at dance clubs fill a safety need for users of Ecstasy
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine
MDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
, which has had problems and deaths due to dehydration or heat stroke. In 1992 a UK rule required dance clubs to provide free water and chill out rooms in response to a number of Ecstasy-related injuries and deaths.
Notable artists
A few notable DJs that specialize in chill out and have achieved popularity are: ChicaneChicane (recording artist)
Chicane is a British electronic dance music act, and the guise of British musician, composer, songwriter and record producer, Nicholas Bracegirdle....
, Roger Shah, Blank & Jones
Blank & Jones
Blank & Jones is a Cologne, Germany based Trance duo, consisting of the members Jan Pieter Blank , known as Piet Blank; René Runge , better known as DJ Jaspa Jones; and the producer Andy Kaufhold...
, Triangle Sun, Ryan Farish
Ryan Farish
Ryan Farish is an American electronic artist, producer and DJ from Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a Grammy-nominated and 2008 Dove Award-winning songwriter/producer/composer/multi-instrumentalist, Farish launched his music career on the first generation MP3.com...
, José Padilla
José Padilla (musician)
José Padilla is a Spanish disc jockey and producer of ambient music. He is best known for his work as DJ in the Café del Mar bar in the island of Ibiza, and is considered responsible for popularizing electronic chill-out music....
, Chris Coco
Chris Coco
Chris Coco is a club/radio DJ, producer and music critic.As a club DJ, he is perhaps best known as the resident, at the hugely popular Coco Club. This underground Saturday night house music event ran from 1989 to 1994, at The Zap Club in Brighton.He is also now also playing full time in...
, Pete Lawrence
Pete Lawrence
Pete Lawrence is a conceptualist, recording artist, DJ, event organiser, music programmer writer and broadcaster based in the UK.-Background:...
, Alex Paterson
The Orb
Throughout 1989, the Orb, along with Martin Glover, developed the musical genre of ambient house through the use of a diverse array of samples and recordings. The culmination of its musical work came toward the end of the year when the group recorded a session for John Peel on BBC Radio 1...
, Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
, Nujabes
Nujabes
was a Japanese hip hop producer and DJ who recorded under the name , the reverse spelling of his name in Japanese order. Nujabes was also owner of the Shibuya record stores, T Records and Guinness Records and founder of the independent label Hydeout Productions....
(Jun Seba) and Mixmaster Morris
Mixmaster Morris
Mixmaster Morris is an English ambient DJ and underground musician. Relating specifically to ambient music, Morris stated "It's exactly what you need if you have a busy and stressful life".-Life and career:...
.
Some of the labels with the most important rosters of chill out artists and DJs, and largest catalogs of releases and compilations are (also in no order of precedence): ESL Music, G-Stone Recordings
G-Stone Recordings
G-Stone Recordings is a Vienna-based independent record label founded by Richard Dorfmeister and Peter Kruder, members of its flagship group Kruder & Dorfmeister.- Artists :* DJ DSL* Dub Club* Kruder & Dorfmeister* Marsmobil* Peace Orchestra...
, !K7, Instinct Records
Instinct Records
Instinct Records is a New York City electronic-music record label that first gained prominence in 1990. It is best-known for releasing much of Moby's early work. The label has several sublabels, which include Evolver, Instinct Ambient, Kickin Records USA, Liquid Music, Shadow Records, and Sonic...
, Hearts of Space
Hearts of Space
Hearts of Space is a United States weekly syndicated public radio show featuring music of a contemplative nature drawn largely from the ambient, New Age and electronic genres, while also including classical, world, Celtic, experimental, and other music selections...
, Café del Mar
Café del Mar
Café del Mar is a bar located in Sant Antoni de Portmany, Ibiza. It is known for its sunsets and chill-out music.- Beginning :The Café del Mar was founded by Ramón Guiral, Carlos Andrea, and José Les on 20 June 1980.- Decoration :...
, Water Music
Water Music Records
Water Music Records is an electronica record label based in Los Angeles, California. Launched in July, 2000, Water Music Records releases, markets and distributes albums in various sub-styles of electronica including Chill Out, Lounge and Down-Tempo music...
, Pork Recordings
Pork Recordings
Pork Recordings is a record label based in Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire, England, that specialises in electronica, mostly in the downtempo or chill-out styles....
, Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
, Mole Listening Pearls
Mole Listening Pearls
Mole Listening Pearls is a German record label based in Mannheim. From 1996 till 2003 it was owned by UCMG; in 2004 Mole Listening Pearls was overtaken by Daredo Music...
, Six Degrees Records
Six Degrees Records
Six Degrees Records is an independent record label noted for its catalog of recordings from international musicians and vocalists. It has been described by the journalist and producer Derek Beres as "one of the most groundbreaking labels of the past decade."...
, Beyond Records, Waveform
Waveform
Waveform means the shape and form of a signal such as a wave moving in a physical medium or an abstract representation.In many cases the medium in which the wave is being propagated does not permit a direct visual image of the form. In these cases, the term 'waveform' refers to the shape of a graph...
, Compost Records
Compost Records
Compost Records is a German record label established by Michael Reinboth in 1994.Gilles Peterson called Compost "the most consistent and forward thinking record label of continental Europe."-The label:...
, and Ultimae. The chill out genre's increased following was noticed by the Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and...
, a record label which specializes in dance music, which then began to produce a series of albums called The Chillout Sessions
Chillout Sessions
Chillout Sessions refers to the high selling series of compilations released by Ministry of Sound. It started in the UK but a similar series has also started in Australia, where the series changed its name from The Chillout Session to The Chillout Sessions and then simply to Chillout Sessions.The...
.
Sample
Mandala Meditation Music By Ney AngelisFly Away With Me by Alien Tribe shows an example of Chill with the use of vocals and a cascading style rhythm structure
See also
- AmbientAmbient musicAmbient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
- DowntempoDowntempoDowntempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
- GrooveraGrooveraGroovera is an independent, multi-channel, commercial-free, and listener-supported Internet-only radio station dedicated to the loosely-typed genres of music "smooth electronica", "soft techno" and most commonly "chill-out music". Specifically, Groovera features mixes of downtempo, future lounge,...
- IllbientIllbientIllbient is a term allegedly coined by DJ Olive to describe the iconoclastic music being produced by a community of artists based in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in 1994...
- PsybientPsybientPsybient, also known as ambient psy, psychedelic chillout, psychedelic ambient, ambient goa, ambient psytrance and more commonly within the Goa/psytrance scene as psychill and psydub, is a genre of electronic music that combines elements of psychedelic trance, ambient, world music, new age and even...
- Trip hopTrip hopTrip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...