Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Finding A Great Chill Out Music Download

By Lucile Jacobs


If you're looking for a great chill out music download but not sure what to buy, this guide will give you a few ideas. What makes for a great chill out tune is not such an easy thing to define, however. When it comes down to it, different people chill in different ways and the sounds which help one person relax may have the exact opposite effect on someone else.

Of course, there is a discrepancy here and that is how to define something as being 'chill out'. After all, the sounds which help one person to relax may not have that same effect on the next listener. This guide will take a look back at the golden age for these recordings, in the late 90s, and pick out some of the most highly recommended examples.

An album which towers above much else from this period is Moby's 1999 release 'Play'. Though it was greeted by mixed critical reviews and slow sales it went on to sell 12 million copies across the globe. Its tracks comprised deep, bass heavy beats layered beneath catchy samples from blues and gospel records, some nearly a century old. This set up would inform much of the pop that was to come in the following decade.

The dreamy feel of tracks like 'Natural Blues' and 'Porcelain' were the perfect soundtrack to trendy coffee houses and chic bars at the turn of the century, while the up tempo blissed-out rhythm of songs like 'Honey' and 'Run On' had a place on the teeming dance floor. Moby's decision to wave copyright on all songs allowed advertisers to use them at will, exposing his songs to literally everybody in the western world.

One group frequently cited along with Moby as sculpting the late nineties laid back electronic groove are the French band Air. The hypnotic funk of their debut LP 'Moon Safari' is still probably the most chilled out example of their work. Its first single 'Sexy Boy', with its swirling verses and crashing choruses, was an unexpected hit.

The album has gone on to be considered a classic of the chill out genre. Rolling Stone ranked it the 65th best French rock album of all time. Its most famous cut is probably 'All I Need' with its dreamy, sensual spirit and sweet, though sly, progressions.

The late nineties really were a terrific period for chilled out music, perhaps befitting the affluence and stable economic and political landscape of the time. The third album on the list, 'Vertigo' by Groove Armada, also came in that time period and bears much similarity to Moby's 'Play'. The English duo too built their sound under forgotten, catchy samples, laying modern electronica beats beneath. 'At The River' is the prime example - a sweet, illusory and idyllic little piece.

The last LP in this guide to chill out music download is also perhaps the most surreal and rewarding package. Boards Of Canada's 'Music Has The Right To Children' fits in with the others as it shares their melted, softened take on electro music, though it stands out in the fuzzy, somewhat warped feel of its soundscapes. Definitely one for the listener looking for a trippy sound, it achieves a tactile warmth unusual in electronic recording thanks to the heavy use of live instrumentation.




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