Astralign – The First Time I Saw You

Astralign

Astralign is an ambient/cinematic/downtempo project based in Australia, created by Gavin Foo, a passionate sound designer with a love for music. “Fragments” marks Astralign’s debut EP, initially released independently and now available on Spotify.

“The First Time I Saw You” is the most downtempo track in Fragments, making it a perfect fit for the Chill-Out Mixtape. This soothing composition beautifully captures the emotions experienced when encountering someone special for the first time. Enjoy the track below and consider supporting/following the artists through the provided hyperlinks.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Oppidum – Genius Loci

Oppidum - Genius Loci

Today is a great day for music (and it is a Friday, which is always a plus). We got new albums from The Naked and Famous, Neon Trees and Neck Deep, just to name a few; and you may have heard about some “folk” artist named Taylor Swift who dropped a record too (and here is what I think about it). This entry, however, is about a little song from a different EP that also got released today without the same amount of fanfare. I hope it does not get lost in the shuffle because it certainly deserves your attention (at least if you are into ambient/chill-out music).

Oppidum, which is Latin for –roughly translated– town,  is the pseudonym of a French musician who creates hypnotic and unique arrangements mixing organic and instrumental sounds. Genius Loci, from Oppidum‘s brand new EP: Amulette, is a perfect example of that. It got some uncommon sounds for music but also a melodic cadence that transports you into places you will not want to return from. Give it a try on the mixtapes below (by the way, please don’t forget to follow them if you like them) and, if you agree with me, then check the rest of the EP out on your favorite streaming service.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Michael FK – Towards The Dawn

Michael FK - Towards The Dawn

Michael FK is a Moldovan musician who creates hypnotic chillout tracks with a mixture of ambient and atmospheric sounds. What I like about his songs is that he tries to transmit something to you, rather than simply repeating sound patterns in a robotic way. In the case of his latest single, Towards The Dawn, Michael wanted to convey a feeling of optimism and hope. I think he accomplished just that.

You can listen to this gorgeous track below. It will become a staple of your chilling afternoons.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Télépopmusik – Smile

Télépopmusik - Smile

This week’s #ThrowbackThursday song is a bit different than previous entries. To begin with, it is a “chill out” tune from Télépopmusik, a French electronic music duo that released its first album, Genetic World, back in 2001. The most popular song on that album was Breathe, which got featured in a Mitsubishi television commercial and got even a Grammy nomination. That being said, it is unlikely that people who don’t follow electronic music that closely knows who they are (they are still active).

I got nothing against Breathe, but my favorite track from that album, besides δp.δq ≥ h⁄4π “L’incertitude d’Heisenberg”, is Smile. I cannot explain why, both tracks are similar, they even feature the same guest vocalist: Angela McCluskey, but there is something about Smile that is hard to put into words. I think it was the blend of Angela’s raspy voice with the delicate unconventional sounds that composed the track. I guess the best thing I could say about this song, besides its being a musical crush of mine, is that if I told you it was released yesterday instead of 19 years ago, you could totally believe it.

Had you heard this tune before? Let me know what you think of it in the comments section below.

Featured on the following mixtapes:

Hazey Eyes feat. Panama – Emotion

Hazey Eyes

I got my lovely wife to thank for this discovery, as it showed up while she was listening to a playlist with recommendations from one streaming platform. Hazey Eyes is the moniker of 22-year-old Philadelphia-based electronic artist Thomas Michel, who released in 2019 his latest EP, Love Lost. For its lead single, Emotion, the classically trained multi-instrumentalist collaborated with Panama, the well-known electronic/Indie project by Australian songwriter/producer Jarrah McCleary, and the result was this emotional blend of electronic and indie music with a catchy yet vulnerable melody.

Emotion got serious potential to become your next musical crush and you can stream it below.

Featured on the following mixtapes: