Category: Chill Out

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Rosehip – Twilight

Photo credit: @olicutter

Artist: Rosehip

Song: Twilight

Genres: #chillout #lofi

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: February, 2022.

Comment: Inspired by the eponymous 1850 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (sampled at 1:16), Twilight is a relaxing and melancholic lo-fi single from London-based producer Rosehip. The poem describes the ocean though the eyes of a child who’s looking at it, in the middle of a storm, from the comfort of home, and that’s the feeling Rosehip wanted to evoke in the listener too: feeling comfortable during turbulent times.

Twilight is part of Stargaze, the new EP by this talented artist. Despite starting pushing the boundaries of lo-fi recently (2020), Rosehip has already achieved over 8 million streams on Spotify. Once you listen to Twilight, you will see why.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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The Auxiliary – Overture

Photo credit: Paul Storey

Artist: The Auxiliary

Song: Overture

Genres: #chillout #dreampop

Location: North Carolina, United States

Release date: January, 2022.

Comment: Russell Howard, the talented musician behind The Auxiliary, has been making music professionally most of his life, mainly as an acoustic singer-songwriter supporting acts such as The Lumineers and Sister Hazel, but it wasn’t until he decided to leave behind the boundaries of that genre and embrace what really inspired him, that he found what he didn’t know he’d been looking for. Overture is his debut single as The Auxiliary, and this one turned out to be a gorgeous electronic soundscape with ethereal vocals and reverberated synths. It feels like the soundtrack of a dream. Don’t miss it.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out
  • Pop

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Angara feat. Diana Goldberg – Escape

Artist: Angara

Song: Escape

Genres: #chillout #electronic

Location: Paris, France

Release date: May, 2021.

Comment: Mesmerizing house track from French duo Angara featuring German singer Diana Goldberg. Escape tells the story of young woman realizing that she’s not coping well with certain elements of her life. The electronic artist have released a few tracks this year and they are all worth your time. I highly recommend adding them to your music radar.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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Aonian – Hideout

Artist: Aonian

Song: Hideout

Genres: #chillout #electronic

Location: London, United Kingdom

Release date: April, 2021.

Comment: As suggested by his moniker, Aonian (real name: Alkis Livathinos) is originally from Greece and you can certainly perceive a Greek influence in his music. This London-based electronic music musician has composed pieces for brands such as Louis Vuitton and will soon release his debut full album. A problem I have with electronic and chill-out music is that many of the tracks tend to sound similar to each other but that’s not the case with Hideout, Aonian‘s second single. This piece is testimony of the artist’s talent and creativity. Listening to it will transport you to a beach bar in Mykonos.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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heartaake – unevershowmeløv

Two friends from Sweden, one a house music producer, John Dahlbäck, and the other one a 3D animator, Erik Ande, decided to work together on a music/motion art project as a way to abstract themselves from their hectic lives that involve, according to them, too many children and dogs around. This project is heartaake, and as you can probably guess already, its music style is basically #lofichillout. John and Eric say that their biggest influence is the silence that surrounds them when they make music.

However, unevershowmeløv –I got no clue what it means but the song is about taking it easy– is not your typical chill out tune. It has personality. Sounds and a melody that make it easily identifiable, which is not something I can say of many chill-out tracks. Also, at just 01:46 minutes, it does not overstay its welcome. As implied by the animation below, unevershowmeløv is a great track to listen to while driving. The artists behind heartaake say that this music is their chill zone and I think they manage to transport the listener to that place as well. What else could we ask for? Welcome to the chill zone!

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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The Broken Cradle – Road to Gilead

Gilead may mean, among other things, “hill of testimony” and that is the meaning The Broken Cradle had in mind when he decided to use it as the name of his latest EP. It is supposed to tell the journey of our respective roads to Gilead in our search for happiness and purpose. The EP is a neoclassical and ambient album that starts with the aptly titled Road to Gilead, a piano-centered track with atmospheric pads that create a mesmerizing soundscape. Listening to the multiple textures in the song feels like scratching an itch and not wanting to stop.

The Broken Cradle is the solo work of Eric McLean, a musician from North Carolina with over 20 years of experience. With influences such as Brian Eno and Olafur Arnalds, it is not surprising that his music could fit so well in an album from any of those renowned artists. He is that good.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out
  • Relax

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Kafka Kaya – Kyrie Eleison

Kyrie Eleison is a transliteration of Ancient Greek meaning “Lord, Have Mercy”, which is an important prayer of Christian liturgy (thank you, Wikipedia). This is as far as I can tell you about the meaning of this song without guessing (I think it is about someone who is down on his luck), but the good news is that we don’t need to know more in order to enjoy it. The low-key vocals, electronic soundscape and synths give the tune a soothing effect that I find very appealing. There is comfort in sound and Kyrie Eleison is proof of it.

Julien Zeno Bitter is the man behind Kafka Kaya, a solo act that he started in 2015 after his previous band split up. With origins in the quiet but beautiful countryside of Switzerland but based now in Berlin, Kafka Kaya has a background in electronic music with a predilection for authentic acoustic sounds. As many other independent artist, Julien produces his music himself and is getting ready to release a new EP in April, which will include Kyrie Eleison too. Check him out below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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Parra for Cuva feat. Anna Naklab – Wicked Games

Parra for Cuva is definitely one of my favorite electronic music artists. Originally from Germany, I discovered him when the song being featured here today, his cover of Chris Isaak‘s popular Wicked Games, was featured on a now-extinct Youtube channel I used to follow. The track was a real hit, even reaching number 6 in UK’s official Top 40 in 2014, but, nevertheless, he remains relatively unknown. I mean, he should be more famous by now after that success and also because he has consistently released great track after great track (he’s already released one this year).

Nicolas Demuth, Parra for Cuva‘s real name, grew up in the same small town in Germany as singer-songwriter Anna Naklab and, naturally, they ended up working together in a number of releases, including Wicked Games. Her stunning voice is one of the reasons this song is so good. Event though it was a cover of a really well-known song, they managed to make it sound fresh. By the way, while we are talking about Parra for Cuva, check his remix of Mazzy Star‘s Into Dust (not available on Spotify). Simply outstanding.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out

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BILYK & Endless Melancholy – Far Away

BILYK & Endless Melancholy - Far Away

Far Away is a really captivating track. Musically, it is reminiscing of the works of acts like Morcheeba, Massive Attack, and even Mazzy Star; which makes sense because Canada-based singer/songwriter BILYK grew up listening to all of them in Western Ukraine. She has been collaborating with Ukrainian ambient/downtempo project Endless Melancholy, resulting in several stunning songs. One Day You Will Be Free, one of their previous collaborations, got featured in one of the renowned Buddha Bar compilation albums. I honestly think that Far Away is even better.

The combination of Endless Melancholy‘s chill ambient electronic background and BILYK‘s gorgeous and soothing vocals result in a truly spellbinding tune. I should also mention the equally outstanding music video, filmed on the shore of the Baltic Sea on Rugen Island by Roman Hense, which you can find below. Watching the beautiful cinematography with Far Away playing in the background is indeed a fascinating experience.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Folk/Indie
  • Chill Out

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Low Detail – Pôrto Alegre

Just like importmedia, Low Detail is a Venezuelan lo-fi music producer who happens to be friends with fellow countryman Blure. I also discovered his music when I wrote about Blure back in September. He started releasing music since 2020 and according to his songs’ credits on Spotify, his full name is Manuel Espinel. That’s about all the personal information that you will be able to find about him online. He lets his music speak for itself.

The picture above is the cover art from Low Detail’s EP, Sunny Days, one of the many releases he made in 2020. My favorite track from it is Pôrto Alegre, a charming track whose only drawback is that it is too short. That’s not a big deal though, as the problem can be easily solved by playing this great tune on repeat. Alternatively, you could simply continue with the rest of Low Detail’s musical catalogue. Totally worth it.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

  • Everything
  • Chill Out