Entertainment For Lively Minds
ATM: Chillin' out, man... (music for not really listening to...)
Hey everyone,
I know that it's perhaps a bit 'off piste' for the Word readership, and to be frank it's not something I ever expected to be posting here about, but I'd like to run something past you all and seek recommendations...
I'm interested in recommendations for chill-out music, in the 'Cafe Del Mar' vein, of which I am developing a strange fondness despite my very DNA rebelling against it. Truth be told, I'm looking for music that sort of 'washes over me' rather than anything that would encourage active engagement. So, whilst I love worthy acoustic guitar-driven poignant singer-songwriter observation music, it's not always conducive to 'background' listening. And, though I hate to admit it, I'm far too busy to be able to dedicate any time exclusively to music, so I need something that I can pop on the cans without it distracting me from work or whatever other activity I'm up to.
Through my limited forays into the genre (and its many offshoots) I have discovered artists like The Gotan Project, Penguin Cafe Orchestra and the like. All great stuff, but not always 'chill-out'. I've a couple of Cafe Del Mar cds which work, but what I've discovered is that (as with most music) it's at least 75% filler, so good compilations are I think the way to go for me.
So, recommend me some stuff, people... if you can, that is. Preferably stuff that's on iTunes so I can hear an excerpt before buying - this stuff is for the iPod after all, so iTunes lossy compressed AAC format doesn't put me off as it does for the 'serious listening' at home...
Cheers!
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background music
I find post rock and trip hop works well for the background. Usually instrumental or minimal voices there are warm sounds and light beats. Nothing too crazy.
A couple of good background albums:
Epic45 - May Your Heart Be The Map
The Album Leaf - Into The Blue Again
Arms And Sleepers - Matador
Near The Parenthesis - Japanese For Beginners
Rokkurro - I Annan Heim
Yasushi Yoshida - Little Grace
Aim - Cold Water Music
Emancipator - Soon It Will Be Cold Enough
Howard Maple - Inside
Zero 7 - When It Falls
There's also a compilation called "Kharma Beats" released in 2001 that you would probably enjoy. Very much background chillout music - the type of thing they have on in New Age shops that sell hemp clothing and joss sticks. Its good though. Nitin Singh, Craig Armstrong, Baaba Maal, Gotan Project and Kinobe are all on it.
Hope you find something useful.
Would also recommend
Zero 7. The prodigy's "skylined" from music for the jilted generation album is surprisingly chilled. The box by orbital is quite chilled and fatboy slims "sunset (bird of prey) is pretty calm. Although listening to it now it does have a vocal so you might not be able to ignore it. Anyway happy chillin'
Here's one
Max Richter - 24 Postcards in Full Colour
Almost like ambient classical music
Kruder and Dorfmeister
I bought their cd K&D Sessions a couple of months ago and its been played every day since. Very cool, stoner-friendly, trip- hop type feel.
K&D's
Conversions is essential stuff too. A drum'n'bass mix but the more chilled end of the genre. I listen to it every month without fail.
Chilled
Shrift - Lost In a Moment.
Brian Eno
Ambient 1: Music For Airports
Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks
These albums are £3 a pop at Fopp just now.
Fill yer boots!
Boards Of Canada.
Music Has The Right To Children, Geogaddi, Campfire Headphase.
Can be slightly eerie at times, but very atmospheric & chock-full of weird & wonderful sounds.
Not entirely chill out
But what I was going to recommend. Perfect music to switch off to. My music of choice on the train in the mornings, but it's too interesting to me to become background.
Check out Olafur Arnalds, a pianist from Iceland, whose album from last year 'And They Have Escaped The Weight Of The Darkness' is a thing of beauty, but being mainly piano and strings can escape into the 'ambient' quite easily.
The
Advisory Circle
Some more choices
Tosca - Suzuki
Annanas
Blue States - Nothing Changes Under The Sun
The Trainer Shuffle
I love these two...
Treny by Jacaszek
http://boomkat.com/downloads/89371-jacaszek-treny
Felt by Nils Frahm
http://boomkat.com/cds/448727-nils-frahm-felt
and agree Lost In a Moment by Shrift is an ideal album to listen to while report writing!
Lucky Pierre...
Their Hypnogogia album...gorgeous stuff
or for real background, no beats, restful stuff, it's hard to beat Mutability from Sylvian/Czukay's Flux and Mutability Album.
For a complete audio/visual chillout experience, look up Brian Eno's 77 Million Paintings CD Rom. It goes on forever.
Can...
... Bel Air (from Future Days) - not exactly what you're after but you can chill to it.
Either of the
Super Discount compliations by Etienne De Crecy will see you right.
76:14 by Global Communication is perfect for your needs too I would imagine.
A few you might like...
Nightmares on Wax, Les Nuits (from 'Smoker's Delight')
Fila Brazilia, A Zed and 2 L's (from 'Maim That Tune')
Mental Generation, Cafe del Mar (Underworld remix)
Lemon Jelly
the first one and (I'm told) Lost Horizons
I like The Buddha Bar series.
Anything by Ravin, or Claude Challe.
Same here
Challe's Nirvana Lounge series is also good, as are his one-offs - Flying Carpets, Lover-dose etc. Salle de Bains is probably my favourite due to the Moodswings track on it.
Also like the Paris Under a Groove comp.
Ulrich Schnauss
He's gone off the boil a bit now but for a couple of albums he was excellent.
A Strangely Isolated Place and Far Away Trains Passing By are the goodies.
Here's Monday Paracetamol:
Can't go wrong with Global Communication's 76:14, too.