Chill Out
December 10, 2021 10:12 AM Subscribe
28 Chillest Albums of All Time
(based on an email poll of Discogs members, whose tastes seem to skew toward '90s electronic music)
(based on an email poll of Discogs members, whose tastes seem to skew toward '90s electronic music)
Okay, look, these so-called "Discogs members" really, really need to pay better attention to the long list of fairly famous jazz albums, because while far be it from me to impugn John Coltrane and Miles Davis (though honestly Kind of Blue is a fantastic album but a bit of a cliche for this application) Miles Davis's In A Silent Way and Pangaea are actually among the best jazz chill out albums. I would also suggest Alice Coltrane's Journey in Satchidananda.
In a non-jazz sense, I think people are totally missing out if they do not chill out to Wim Mertens's album Maximizing the Audience, for instance the track The Fosse.
posted by Frowner at 10:31 AM on December 10, 2021 [14 favorites]
In a non-jazz sense, I think people are totally missing out if they do not chill out to Wim Mertens's album Maximizing the Audience, for instance the track The Fosse.
posted by Frowner at 10:31 AM on December 10, 2021 [14 favorites]
The Trinity Session from Cowboy Junkies is not in this list, which makes it utterly useless.
posted by flabdablet at 10:42 AM on December 10, 2021 [19 favorites]
posted by flabdablet at 10:42 AM on December 10, 2021 [19 favorites]
I've listened to Morcheeba's Big Calm so many times that just the first few opening notes of the first song chill me out.
posted by hopeless romantique at 10:45 AM on December 10, 2021 [11 favorites]
posted by hopeless romantique at 10:45 AM on December 10, 2021 [11 favorites]
Grant Green's Idle Moments is one of my chill-jazz go-tos.
The Discogs folks' ambient tastes are also a little basic--don't get me wrong, I like Music for Airports (though I prefer Bang on a Can's version), but I'd rather listen to, like, Stars of the Lid.
posted by box at 10:49 AM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
The Discogs folks' ambient tastes are also a little basic--don't get me wrong, I like Music for Airports (though I prefer Bang on a Can's version), but I'd rather listen to, like, Stars of the Lid.
posted by box at 10:49 AM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
My CD collection, errrr, Spotify playlists strongly resembles this list. In fact I've owned physical copies of most of these. This is the exact opposite of most best-of lists, ie. Pitchfork where I have never even heard of 99% of the artists mentioned.
posted by Keith Talent at 10:52 AM on December 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Keith Talent at 10:52 AM on December 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
Biosphere is so chill! I would also add any of Pete Namlook’s many many collaboration albums.
posted by migurski at 10:56 AM on December 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by migurski at 10:56 AM on December 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
it's a list. I've owned most of the stuff on it (lost a pile of CDs way back when in a break-in). Rather than rip into a few selections that I NEVER need to hear again, I'll recommend Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians, which has proven indispensable lately given all the rain we've had up here in the Pac North West.
Soundtrack for a deluge.
Calming, relentless, ever evolving, never ending.
posted by philip-random at 10:56 AM on December 10, 2021 [14 favorites]
Soundtrack for a deluge.
Calming, relentless, ever evolving, never ending.
posted by philip-random at 10:56 AM on December 10, 2021 [14 favorites]
It's crazy how badly they misspelled 16 Lovers Lane by the Go-Betweens
posted by NoMich at 11:05 AM on December 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by NoMich at 11:05 AM on December 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
philip-random: yeah I was very surprised not to see a single minimalist composer on that list. No blues. No soul other than Let's Get It On which is a great album but I'm not sure if I'd put it in chill out music. No country either (I guess Neil Young is country adjacent, but come on at least have Tom Waits or Lucinda Williams or someone.)
I know I know, lists like this are there to make people grumpy and talk about them, but grr. Most of these are good albums but God Damn.
posted by aspo at 11:14 AM on December 10, 2021
I know I know, lists like this are there to make people grumpy and talk about them, but grr. Most of these are good albums but God Damn.
posted by aspo at 11:14 AM on December 10, 2021
I'll second what Frowner said and add that to me, "chill" music needs muted emotional tones - Lana Del Rey and that Beck album is far too emo for me to put into a "Chill" bucket. Of course that puts Portishead in doubt, but my own over-fussy genre-izing would call it "downtempo," never "chill."
As far as additions, I think it needs some ECM or acoustic representation, like Dino Saluzzi's Cite de la Musique or Anouar Braheim's Le pas du chat Noir. Bill Frisell's Blue's Dream might be a good choice as well. Skulli Sverrisson is someone I also go back to again and again, though I don't have a specific release to suggest.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 11:32 AM on December 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
As far as additions, I think it needs some ECM or acoustic representation, like Dino Saluzzi's Cite de la Musique or Anouar Braheim's Le pas du chat Noir. Bill Frisell's Blue's Dream might be a good choice as well. Skulli Sverrisson is someone I also go back to again and again, though I don't have a specific release to suggest.
posted by SoundInhabitant at 11:32 AM on December 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
You know what else is chill? Sleep (this one doesn't really hit for me, but I know it does for some folks).
posted by box at 11:36 AM on December 10, 2021
posted by box at 11:36 AM on December 10, 2021
I'd put Massive Attack's "Protection" ahead of "Blue Lines" but hey, it's all good. Protection was a huge milestone soundtrack album of my life. One of my all time favorites.
posted by SoberHighland at 11:36 AM on December 10, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by SoberHighland at 11:36 AM on December 10, 2021 [6 favorites]
my favourite Protection is No Protection
posted by philip-random at 11:44 AM on December 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 11:44 AM on December 10, 2021 [7 favorites]
The Satin Album by British saxophonist Bobby Wellins is the most relaxing album I know. It's an instrumental version of all the tunes on Billie Holiday's Lady in Satin LP. Just gorgeous.
PS) Maybe also try Cannonball Adderley's Something Else, recorded just a year before Kind of Blue and (like that album) featuring both Adderley and Davis with piano, bass and drum accompaniment. It's a criminally neglected LP, and would make another excellent addition to this list.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:52 AM on December 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
PS) Maybe also try Cannonball Adderley's Something Else, recorded just a year before Kind of Blue and (like that album) featuring both Adderley and Davis with piano, bass and drum accompaniment. It's a criminally neglected LP, and would make another excellent addition to this list.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:52 AM on December 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm also somewhat shocked that I've heard of most of these and have various tracks from these albums in my heavy rotation. My musical transition from punk/industrial/goth to what I guess is being called "chill" happened so gradually I failed to notice. Just like losing my close vision and my ability to drink more than 2 drinks in an evening....
posted by majorsteel at 11:56 AM on December 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by majorsteel at 11:56 AM on December 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
The Trinity Session from Cowboy Junkies is not in this list, which makes it utterly useless.
While I unabashedly love this album and the sheer sound of it is glorious. As a chill-out album it is flawed by the kind of out of nowhere in-your-face harmonica that comes with track 4, "I Don't Get It". There have been numerous occasions where I have nearly fallen blissfully asleep during "Blue Moon Revisited" only to be violently jolted awake by the next song.
posted by wabbittwax at 11:57 AM on December 10, 2021 [9 favorites]
While I unabashedly love this album and the sheer sound of it is glorious. As a chill-out album it is flawed by the kind of out of nowhere in-your-face harmonica that comes with track 4, "I Don't Get It". There have been numerous occasions where I have nearly fallen blissfully asleep during "Blue Moon Revisited" only to be violently jolted awake by the next song.
posted by wabbittwax at 11:57 AM on December 10, 2021 [9 favorites]
METAFILTER: Just like losing my close vision and my ability to drink more than 2 drinks in an evening....
posted by philip-random at 12:00 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by philip-random at 12:00 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
No Enigma? My baja poncho and black light are disappoint.
posted by credulous at 12:07 PM on December 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by credulous at 12:07 PM on December 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
If we're sharing chilled out albums, I like Hot Bitch Arsenal's whole discography, but especially their most recent album. I actually found them through Metafilter Music back in the day.
Also, Lorde's most recent album is pretty chill (as long as you don't listen too too close to the words).
posted by JDHarper at 12:10 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Also, Lorde's most recent album is pretty chill (as long as you don't listen too too close to the words).
posted by JDHarper at 12:10 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
My personal chill list would have some overlap with this one: Nick Drake certainly; Moon Safari and Kind of Blue - why not? Music for 18 Musicians & Max Richter's From Sleep too, as mentioned above. Others that fit the bill for me these days include Chet Baker Sings; Getz/Gilberto; Lullabies for Losers by Ethel Ennis; Ike Quebec's Blue and Sentimental; and, more recent, Force Majeure by Dezron Douglas & Brandee Younger.
posted by misteraitch at 12:19 PM on December 10, 2021
posted by misteraitch at 12:19 PM on December 10, 2021
Mazzy Star's 'so tonight that I might see' is kind of an amazingly chill album.
Perisher seems like it has a bit too much dread built into the sound. Yeah, it's down tempo, but I don't know that it's relaxing, exactly.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:22 PM on December 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
Perisher seems like it has a bit too much dread built into the sound. Yeah, it's down tempo, but I don't know that it's relaxing, exactly.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:22 PM on December 10, 2021 [5 favorites]
I have so many problems with this list. Portishead and Massive Attack aren't chill enough for me. It's also missing some classics like Tycho or Biosphere. Or less known Richard H. Kirk side projects like Electronic Eye. Bonus points for getting The Orb on there but I would have gone for UFOrb or Le Petit Orb.
Portishead's Dummy is sultry, sexy and on fire and Massive Attack is chill but it's also really kind of jumping and danceable. Even Aphex Twin's SAW has some pretty manic high energy moments.
It's also missing some shoegaze stuff like Windy and Carl, or modern/new classical/ambient stuff like Orcas or Sight Below, and we're just starting to get into the weeds, here.
There's also the remarkably chilled out FAX Records compilations and releases from the 90s but it's probably really difficult to find those today.
Experimental Audio Research has some really intense, beatless soundscapes that are basically just layers and layers of feedback and pure synth tones that start to sound like auditory hallucinations and tinnitus while tripping your face off in an isolation tank.
But on the other hand if I was in charge of this list it would end up being nothing but electronic ambient, lo fi, dub techno and ambient house and it would be so chilled out that it would send everyone home in an ambience to take a ten year long nap.
What do you mean three hours of pure monochromatic tones isn't music? Shhhhh, shhhhhh. Relax. Go to sleep.
(PS: Send me a MeFi mail if you want a free downloadable link to my dark-ish ambient/experimental albums.)
posted by loquacious at 12:32 PM on December 10, 2021 [15 favorites]
Portishead's Dummy is sultry, sexy and on fire and Massive Attack is chill but it's also really kind of jumping and danceable. Even Aphex Twin's SAW has some pretty manic high energy moments.
It's also missing some shoegaze stuff like Windy and Carl, or modern/new classical/ambient stuff like Orcas or Sight Below, and we're just starting to get into the weeds, here.
There's also the remarkably chilled out FAX Records compilations and releases from the 90s but it's probably really difficult to find those today.
Experimental Audio Research has some really intense, beatless soundscapes that are basically just layers and layers of feedback and pure synth tones that start to sound like auditory hallucinations and tinnitus while tripping your face off in an isolation tank.
But on the other hand if I was in charge of this list it would end up being nothing but electronic ambient, lo fi, dub techno and ambient house and it would be so chilled out that it would send everyone home in an ambience to take a ten year long nap.
What do you mean three hours of pure monochromatic tones isn't music? Shhhhh, shhhhhh. Relax. Go to sleep.
(PS: Send me a MeFi mail if you want a free downloadable link to my dark-ish ambient/experimental albums.)
posted by loquacious at 12:32 PM on December 10, 2021 [15 favorites]
this thread is extremely my shit
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:01 PM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by fluttering hellfire at 1:01 PM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
come back fat as a rat all the way down the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeast coast
get ready
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:42 PM on December 10, 2021 [11 favorites]
get ready
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:42 PM on December 10, 2021 [11 favorites]
and yeah this list a good starting point, but there is so much more and in different directions; very interested to hear what others suggest
There have been numerous occasions where I have nearly fallen blissfully asleep during "Blue Moon Revisited" only to be violently jolted awake by the next song.
But then "I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry" comes on and everything's calm again.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:44 PM on December 10, 2021
There have been numerous occasions where I have nearly fallen blissfully asleep during "Blue Moon Revisited" only to be violently jolted awake by the next song.
But then "I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry" comes on and everything's calm again.
posted by snuffleupagus at 1:44 PM on December 10, 2021
Miles Davis's In A Silent Way and Pangaea are actually among the best jazz chill out albums.
That aspect is due to a flaw in the site's methodology, I think.
"If an artist was recommended multiple times for different albums, we featured the title with the most Collection and Wantlist adds on Discogs."
You know, in that light, it's a little weird that Pink Floyd's Meddle made the list. Sure, it's one of their chillest albums (I say as a definite non-expert), but it's not one of their most popular. Did nobody suggest a different PF album (and does anyone call them PF? Like I said, non-expert)?
posted by box at 2:24 PM on December 10, 2021
That aspect is due to a flaw in the site's methodology, I think.
"If an artist was recommended multiple times for different albums, we featured the title with the most Collection and Wantlist adds on Discogs."
You know, in that light, it's a little weird that Pink Floyd's Meddle made the list. Sure, it's one of their chillest albums (I say as a definite non-expert), but it's not one of their most popular. Did nobody suggest a different PF album (and does anyone call them PF? Like I said, non-expert)?
posted by box at 2:24 PM on December 10, 2021
Historically, the members of Portishead absolutely hate the idea that any of their music could be considered 'chill' or used in a 'chill out' context.
"It’s funny that you’re into all these messed-up, discordant, broken-sounding things, and people …
BARROW … consider it as a dinner party album.
Exactly, yes.
BARROW I mean, that was tough to take. Those people bought the records and made the band big. But it’s a double-edge sword, isn’t it? Because, at the same time, we absolutely [expletive] hate it. Beth’s lyrics, her honesty and her feelings, I think that was brilliant about our success, because it meant that people would hear some stuff that was coming from a real angle.
We were into people like Nirvana, Polly Harvey, traditional singer-songwriters, that were truthful about themselves. It’s nice when people could hear Beth’s stories. But in the sense of people actually having a dinner party and putting our music on, I would want to go in with a baseball bat and smash the [expletive] out of their fondue set.
People must have told you they use this music for all kinds of situations.
BARROW I would say, “I’m really glad you did that. I’m really glad you like it. But to me, that’s the worst thing you could possibly say to me. Thank you.”
You’ve actually said that to people?
BARROW Yeah. I mean, I thank them first! “Thank you for buying the record.” Then, uh, “I think you’ve got the wrong idea of the record. Maybe go home, and put it on, and turn it up as loud as you can.”
It was definitely a thing that people would listen to dub and reggae and slower beats really, really loud. If you go and see a sound system, it’s going to be deafening. And that’s kind of where we thought we kind of were. People used to go see Jah Shaka and it was so terrifyingly loud that people would poo themselves in the audience. You could never take a tape machine and record it because it’d be distorted."
posted by jordantwodelta at 2:35 PM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
"It’s funny that you’re into all these messed-up, discordant, broken-sounding things, and people …
BARROW … consider it as a dinner party album.
Exactly, yes.
BARROW I mean, that was tough to take. Those people bought the records and made the band big. But it’s a double-edge sword, isn’t it? Because, at the same time, we absolutely [expletive] hate it. Beth’s lyrics, her honesty and her feelings, I think that was brilliant about our success, because it meant that people would hear some stuff that was coming from a real angle.
We were into people like Nirvana, Polly Harvey, traditional singer-songwriters, that were truthful about themselves. It’s nice when people could hear Beth’s stories. But in the sense of people actually having a dinner party and putting our music on, I would want to go in with a baseball bat and smash the [expletive] out of their fondue set.
People must have told you they use this music for all kinds of situations.
BARROW I would say, “I’m really glad you did that. I’m really glad you like it. But to me, that’s the worst thing you could possibly say to me. Thank you.”
You’ve actually said that to people?
BARROW Yeah. I mean, I thank them first! “Thank you for buying the record.” Then, uh, “I think you’ve got the wrong idea of the record. Maybe go home, and put it on, and turn it up as loud as you can.”
It was definitely a thing that people would listen to dub and reggae and slower beats really, really loud. If you go and see a sound system, it’s going to be deafening. And that’s kind of where we thought we kind of were. People used to go see Jah Shaka and it was so terrifyingly loud that people would poo themselves in the audience. You could never take a tape machine and record it because it’d be distorted."
posted by jordantwodelta at 2:35 PM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
I saw Portishead at the Santa Monica auditorium in....'98?
They basically put on a punk show, doing all the big songs Airbus Reconstruction style. It was great.
For those who haven't heard it, John Martyn did a version of Glory Box.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:58 PM on December 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
They basically put on a punk show, doing all the big songs Airbus Reconstruction style. It was great.
For those who haven't heard it, John Martyn did a version of Glory Box.
posted by snuffleupagus at 2:58 PM on December 10, 2021 [4 favorites]
Old guy signifyin' here.
“Silver Apples of the Moon”--Morton Subotnick (1967)
And a geriatric prop-motion to Jeff Lebowski for reminding the world about
"Songs of the Humpback Whales"
posted by Chitownfats at 3:21 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
“Silver Apples of the Moon”--Morton Subotnick (1967)
And a geriatric prop-motion to Jeff Lebowski for reminding the world about
"Songs of the Humpback Whales"
posted by Chitownfats at 3:21 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Control-F "Miles" check
Control-F "Sketches" ... no hits
ergo, not the chillest chill-list
posted by chavenet at 3:22 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
Control-F "Sketches" ... no hits
ergo, not the chillest chill-list
posted by chavenet at 3:22 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
If we're talking 90s electronic music I'd add Hooverphonic's first album, even though there's one loud-quiet-loud song in there.
And I also request an album full of Theme From a Summer Place covers
posted by credulous at 3:31 PM on December 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
And I also request an album full of Theme From a Summer Place covers
posted by credulous at 3:31 PM on December 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
lemonjelly probably deserves a spot on the list, but I'm too chill to complain about it.
posted by iamkimiam at 4:09 PM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by iamkimiam at 4:09 PM on December 10, 2021 [8 favorites]
though I prefer Bang on a Can's version
I only sort of jokingly conditioned an ex who had trouble sleeping sometimes to drift off using that version.
posted by Candleman at 4:41 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
I only sort of jokingly conditioned an ex who had trouble sleeping sometimes to drift off using that version.
posted by Candleman at 4:41 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
And I also request an album full of Theme From a Summer Place yt covers
it's not a cover but here's Percy Faith and his crowd doing it live. Theme From A Lost Empire feels closer to the point. The Land Before Rock And Roll.
posted by philip-random at 4:46 PM on December 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
it's not a cover but here's Percy Faith and his crowd doing it live. Theme From A Lost Empire feels closer to the point. The Land Before Rock And Roll.
posted by philip-random at 4:46 PM on December 10, 2021 [2 favorites]
Great list, though if you're talking the absolute zero of chillest albums, then Hearing Solar Winds by The Harmonic Choir is the baseline.
posted by fairmettle at 10:52 PM on December 10, 2021
posted by fairmettle at 10:52 PM on December 10, 2021
I would add High Llamas' Snowbug, Paulinho Nogueira's O Fino Do Violão Vol. 2 and, somewhat perversely, Hüsker Dü's Warehouse: Songs and Stories -- sorry, that link's only to the first half, you can find the whole thing at the library -- which, stretched out on the floor heard through cassette Walkman headphones, tickled out some of the most fruitful and inspiring of my adolescent naps.
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 11:41 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 11:41 PM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]
came for the morcheeba. chill-a-riffic. surprised but nicely to see husker du. their shows weren't chill, but man.
hmmm...is this chill? it could be, for some. it's not swooshy electronica, or shoegaze. it is not dinner party music. it is a hidden gem. the underated 'Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish' by Colin Newman. it is something different.
posted by j_curiouser at 12:40 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
hmmm...is this chill? it could be, for some. it's not swooshy electronica, or shoegaze. it is not dinner party music. it is a hidden gem. the underated 'Provisionally Entitled the Singing Fish' by Colin Newman. it is something different.
posted by j_curiouser at 12:40 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
I have no argument with the albums I know, and then maybe the ones I don't I could check out.
But I'm on a Skinny Puppy kick right now, so I'll check back later.
posted by lkc at 1:59 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
But I'm on a Skinny Puppy kick right now, so I'll check back later.
posted by lkc at 1:59 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Flux & Mutability by Holger Czukay and David Sylvian.
posted by sonascope at 2:43 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by sonascope at 2:43 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Moon Safari, while it meets the requirements (if you skip one or two songs) is no match for Air's first EP, Premiers Symptômes, at least it terms of being an iconic chill-out record.
posted by pipeski at 3:49 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by pipeski at 3:49 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
A spot of Tangerine Dream wouldn't go amiss here either.
posted by Paul Slade at 4:24 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 4:24 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Even Aphex Twin's SAW has some pretty manic high energy moments.
Yes, I'm not sure why this album is even classified as ambient or chillout besides the fact that it has the word "ambient" in the title. It's completely anxiety producing, which is the opposite of chillout. SAW Vol. 2 on the other hand ...
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 5:20 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yes, I'm not sure why this album is even classified as ambient or chillout besides the fact that it has the word "ambient" in the title. It's completely anxiety producing, which is the opposite of chillout. SAW Vol. 2 on the other hand ...
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 5:20 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
"Chill" really is a double-edged sword for any artist though unless they specifically self-label as ambient, isn't it? Imagine singing the lyrics about your last breakup or something else that is heartbreaking, and then the producer piping in on your 31st take, "You've got it! This is gonna be the sonic wallpaper that millions will fall asleep to!" (I emphatically reject Cowboy Junkies as "chill" and so should you)
Balancing emotional and chill is tough. I think that kind of explains the total lack of albums from Jamaica. Thats what surprised me about the list first, the lack of dub, but underneath dub's EQ blanket and waves of echo was real sadness and sometimes even rage, and frankly the music is better for it. It's insulting to call a lot of music that would superficially meet the definition of "chill" chill.
But using a broad definition of chill that includes heart-felt (and not knowing much about dub), I'd put on the list Beach Samba, Smiley Smile, Oxygene (if Kraftwerk is chill, why not Jarre?), and Roxy Music's Avalon (and probably some other yuppie sophistipop albums I can't think of right now--that's another overlooked genre in the category of chill. And probably a few Japanese city pop albums from the same time period that impressed chill-seeking hipsters in the last decade.)
posted by Luminiferous Ether at 6:35 AM on December 11, 2021 [4 favorites]
Balancing emotional and chill is tough. I think that kind of explains the total lack of albums from Jamaica. Thats what surprised me about the list first, the lack of dub, but underneath dub's EQ blanket and waves of echo was real sadness and sometimes even rage, and frankly the music is better for it. It's insulting to call a lot of music that would superficially meet the definition of "chill" chill.
But using a broad definition of chill that includes heart-felt (and not knowing much about dub), I'd put on the list Beach Samba, Smiley Smile, Oxygene (if Kraftwerk is chill, why not Jarre?), and Roxy Music's Avalon (and probably some other yuppie sophistipop albums I can't think of right now--that's another overlooked genre in the category of chill. And probably a few Japanese city pop albums from the same time period that impressed chill-seeking hipsters in the last decade.)
posted by Luminiferous Ether at 6:35 AM on December 11, 2021 [4 favorites]
Hearing Solar Winds by The Harmonic Choir
Icebreaker International (concept act styled as a project of the probably fictional "NATO Arts" organization, by Alexander Perls and Simon Break; not to be confused with the Eno-affiliated Icebreaker):
from Distant Early Warning: "Co-Prosperity Sphere"
from Trein Maersk: "Port of Halifax"
From Into Forever (with Manual): "A Turning", "Into Forever"
And more on the trance/drone side, Inscape & Landscape by A Produce.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:53 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Icebreaker International (concept act styled as a project of the probably fictional "NATO Arts" organization, by Alexander Perls and Simon Break; not to be confused with the Eno-affiliated Icebreaker):
from Distant Early Warning: "Co-Prosperity Sphere"
from Trein Maersk: "Port of Halifax"
From Into Forever (with Manual): "A Turning", "Into Forever"
And more on the trance/drone side, Inscape & Landscape by A Produce.
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:53 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Balancing emotional and chill is tough
The lyrics to a whole lot of lullabys and cradle songs are in fact very sad, or at least very wistful.
I suppose Teardop mines that vein, and of course it's best known as the House theme at this point....
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:03 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
The lyrics to a whole lot of lullabys and cradle songs are in fact very sad, or at least very wistful.
I suppose Teardop mines that vein, and of course it's best known as the House theme at this point....
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:03 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm late to the game on this but Moondog is a new discovery for me. I'm getting a lot of soothing listens from A New Sound of an Old Instrument. (Ethereal pipe organ and some kind of soft drum.) Is it jazz? Is it classical? It's great for working to. It's in the background but surfaces here and there. At the same time it's absolutely worthy of close listening. I've never heard anything like it before.
I think he first shows up on the music scene in New York in the 50s and continued making music for the next three decades. Philip Glass has cited him as an important influence.
posted by kaymac at 7:26 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
I think he first shows up on the music scene in New York in the 50s and continued making music for the next three decades. Philip Glass has cited him as an important influence.
posted by kaymac at 7:26 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
do most of us here listen to whole albums? just varied tracks?
posted by j_curiouser at 8:04 AM on December 11, 2021
posted by j_curiouser at 8:04 AM on December 11, 2021
Years ago, I went to see Neil Young in concert and the whole thing was Harvest Moon, only it was a before the album had actually been released. About halfway through, someone in the audience yelled out, “You’re putting us to sleep, Neil!” So yeah, can confirm about Harvest Moon.
posted by holborne at 8:32 AM on December 11, 2021
posted by holborne at 8:32 AM on December 11, 2021
I'm failing to find the article I half-remember critiquing the notion of Kind of Blue as chillout and pointing out that much of the time it's actually kind of ... caffeine-jittery?
Now, In a Silent Way..
posted by GeorgeBickham at 9:02 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Now, In a Silent Way..
posted by GeorgeBickham at 9:02 AM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
The lyrics to a whole lot of lullabys and cradle songs are in fact very sad, or at least very wistful.
Some are gleefully sadistic.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:15 AM on December 11, 2021
Some are gleefully sadistic.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:15 AM on December 11, 2021
Yeah that list leans pretty heavily on poptimism, relatively speaking.
Gotta get both Zero 7, AND Thievery Corp in there, those perpetual favorites of recovering Deadheads and Phish fans.
loquacious: Biosphere is there, maybe take a closer look. I don't know that I'd say Tycho is really essential listening in this context, I prefer some of the other nu balearica-style artists like Sorcerer myself.
Could definitely use some Stars Of The Lid and some Pete Namlook, both critical darlings of the ambient cosmos. I'd like to see some Jon Hassell myself, been getting into his stuff lately (even before he died but no moreso, RIP).
posted by viborg at 9:58 AM on December 11, 2021
Gotta get both Zero 7, AND Thievery Corp in there, those perpetual favorites of recovering Deadheads and Phish fans.
loquacious: Biosphere is there, maybe take a closer look. I don't know that I'd say Tycho is really essential listening in this context, I prefer some of the other nu balearica-style artists like Sorcerer myself.
Could definitely use some Stars Of The Lid and some Pete Namlook, both critical darlings of the ambient cosmos. I'd like to see some Jon Hassell myself, been getting into his stuff lately (even before he died but no moreso, RIP).
posted by viborg at 9:58 AM on December 11, 2021
Here's a playlist with these albums on Spotify. Some aren't able to be played.
posted by dobi at 11:12 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by dobi at 11:12 AM on December 11, 2021 [2 favorites]
Was big into ambient in college in the early 00's (aka the Audio Galaxy era). Here are some random old-school jumping-off points.
Ambience for the Masses started as an ambient music review site in 1995 and still feels agreeably Web 1.0. Its companion stream Sleepbot has been calming listeners ever since.
Tim Fothergill did a great mix way back in the day that I had as two RealAudio files. I tracked him down and he re-uped a better quality version to SoundCloud and I helped him annotate it with some of the track names. Has a lot of the classics like Aphex Twn, Brian Eno, and The Orb.
Jon Hopkins did a great album called Asleep Versions which are ambient remixes of some of his techno and dub songs. Here's Form By Firelight and Open Eye Signal.
Here's Mirroring by Foreign Body. Actually, just listen to anything with/by Grouper.
Tim Hecker has lots of great stuff, but I think his best is Harmony In Ultraviolet.
Likewise with Gas and Pop.
Bit of a change-up, but I love Caoimihín Ó Raghallaigh, who does very mellow stuff with a violin and a loop pedal. I watched him support Stars of the Lid at the NCH, and the only people on the balcony were me and Stars of the Lid's string quartet.
Speaking of Stars of the Lid, And Their Refinement Of The Decline is considered The Big One, but listen to everything they've done - it's all great. It's playful ambient, but you can trace a straight line from what they do back to something like Vorspiel by Wagner. I love Music For Twin Peaks Episode #30.
I could keep going, but my two foster cats have managed to wedge themselves under the fridge.
posted by kersplunk at 12:21 PM on December 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
Ambience for the Masses started as an ambient music review site in 1995 and still feels agreeably Web 1.0. Its companion stream Sleepbot has been calming listeners ever since.
Tim Fothergill did a great mix way back in the day that I had as two RealAudio files. I tracked him down and he re-uped a better quality version to SoundCloud and I helped him annotate it with some of the track names. Has a lot of the classics like Aphex Twn, Brian Eno, and The Orb.
Jon Hopkins did a great album called Asleep Versions which are ambient remixes of some of his techno and dub songs. Here's Form By Firelight and Open Eye Signal.
Here's Mirroring by Foreign Body. Actually, just listen to anything with/by Grouper.
Tim Hecker has lots of great stuff, but I think his best is Harmony In Ultraviolet.
Likewise with Gas and Pop.
Bit of a change-up, but I love Caoimihín Ó Raghallaigh, who does very mellow stuff with a violin and a loop pedal. I watched him support Stars of the Lid at the NCH, and the only people on the balcony were me and Stars of the Lid's string quartet.
Speaking of Stars of the Lid, And Their Refinement Of The Decline is considered The Big One, but listen to everything they've done - it's all great. It's playful ambient, but you can trace a straight line from what they do back to something like Vorspiel by Wagner. I love Music For Twin Peaks Episode #30.
I could keep going, but my two foster cats have managed to wedge themselves under the fridge.
posted by kersplunk at 12:21 PM on December 11, 2021 [3 favorites]
Theivery +1, Zero 7 +1, recovering deadhead? nah. I'm still in love.
posted by j_curiouser at 12:27 PM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by j_curiouser at 12:27 PM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Cmd-F Low
posted by swift at 5:30 PM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by swift at 5:30 PM on December 11, 2021 [1 favorite]
Almost anything by the Malian kora player Toumani Diabate will do the trick. I saw him playing live in San Francisco once and, in the middle of a crowded concert hall, found myself lulled into what I can only call an alpha state of sleep/non-sleep trancey relaxation. I've got one of those nagging brains that'll never shut up for a second, so this was a novel and delightful experience for me.
posted by Paul Slade at 12:03 AM on December 12, 2021
posted by Paul Slade at 12:03 AM on December 12, 2021
I would add Houston psychedelic soul/world music trio Khruangbin’s album The Universe Smiles Upon You to that list, although this concert at Pitchfork is a better quality recording than the album itself. Mark Speer is a phenomenal musician and bassist Laura Lee is my celebrity crush.
posted by Devils Slide at 6:34 AM on December 12, 2021
posted by Devils Slide at 6:34 AM on December 12, 2021
Came for Nick Drake and was not disappointed. Freshman year of college I got in the habit of putting on the Way to Blue intro collection when I needed a nap, and to this day 20 years later, the opening notes of “Cello Song” induce a pleasant exhaustion.
Some other picks…can’t relate. To my sorrow most jazz makes me anxious.
posted by hippugeek at 9:02 AM on December 12, 2021
Some other picks…can’t relate. To my sorrow most jazz makes me anxious.
posted by hippugeek at 9:02 AM on December 12, 2021
Try this:
The New John Handy Quintet -- Naima (In Memory of John Coltrane)
posted by y2karl at 1:51 PM on December 12, 2021
The New John Handy Quintet -- Naima (In Memory of John Coltrane)
posted by y2karl at 1:51 PM on December 12, 2021
Speaking of Nick Drake, here's a bunch of British folkies with a rather lovely remote collaboration on his Northern Sky.
posted by Paul Slade at 2:26 PM on December 12, 2021
posted by Paul Slade at 2:26 PM on December 12, 2021
come on at least have Tom Waits
I'm coming in late this discussion, but I have to say it. I bow to no one in my love for Tom Waits. I have every one of his albums, in physical media, and he's one of only two artists that I can still say that about after migrating to streaming services. I think he's a genius.
There's no entire album of his that you can categorize as "chill". I'm not even certain it's possible to find three consecutive tracks on any of them that would all qualify. I don't think even he thinks of it as relaxing. "What's He Building in There" is pretty self-aware.
posted by Ipsifendus at 7:27 AM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm coming in late this discussion, but I have to say it. I bow to no one in my love for Tom Waits. I have every one of his albums, in physical media, and he's one of only two artists that I can still say that about after migrating to streaming services. I think he's a genius.
There's no entire album of his that you can categorize as "chill". I'm not even certain it's possible to find three consecutive tracks on any of them that would all qualify. I don't think even he thinks of it as relaxing. "What's He Building in There" is pretty self-aware.
posted by Ipsifendus at 7:27 AM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
Ok, i created a playlist of all 28 of these albums and I've been listening to it on "shuffle" all day at work today. A++, would recommend.
posted by Ipsifendus at 1:45 PM on December 14, 2021
posted by Ipsifendus at 1:45 PM on December 14, 2021
The lack of bossa nova and MPB is also glaring. While not my favorite, what's un-chill about Getz/Gilberto or, even better, João Gilberto's eponymous 1973 album? And don't get me started on the absence of Leonard Cohen, Anne Briggs, and In the Wee Small Hours
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 9:57 PM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by joseph_elmhurst at 9:57 PM on December 14, 2021 [1 favorite]
Inevitably lists like this are only launching points. (Are people really falling asleep to A Love Supreme?) But if this one's surface level, it's also fairly solid; I'd disagree with the jazz and the recent pop (Kurt Vile, Lana Del Rey) but can at least appreciate the perspective.
posted by solarion at 11:22 PM on December 14, 2021
posted by solarion at 11:22 PM on December 14, 2021
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posted by turbowombat at 10:24 AM on December 10, 2021 [1 favorite]