Music: Chill out.

Chill out (sometimes chillout), a term derived from a slang injunction to relax, emerged in the early and mid-1990s as a catch-all term for various styles of relatively mellow, slow-tempo music made by contemporary producers in the electronic music scene. A number of compilations with “Chill Out” in their titles were released in the mid-1990s and beyond, helping to establish the genre as being very closely related to downtempo and trip hop but also incorporating, especially in the early 2000s, slower varieties of house music, nu-jazz, psybient, and lounge music. The genre also includes some forms of trance music, ambient music, and IDM, and it has entirely subsumed the older genre Balearic Beat, although that term is still used interchangeably with chill out. Chill out is generally tonal, relaxing (or at least not as “intense” as other music from the styles it draws from), and generally does not incorporate music that emphasizes “hard,” “deep,” or particularly hypnotic rhythms. It is sometimes called “soft techno”.

An entire culture surrounding chill out music has evolved, with many fashionable bars and clubs, designed with a retro or futuristic ambience, devoted to the genre. Ministry of Sound in London has hosted many chill out events in places such as Ibiza and there are hundreds of mix compilation titles including the words “chill out” or just “chill” that cater for the chill out audience. As of 2005 “chill out” is recognized by all major UK dance magazines and their charts.

The chill out styles are similar to the Leftfield scene inspired by the group of that name. There are many bands that make chill out music, such as A Man Called Adam, Lemon Jelly, Urban Myth Club, Mooli, Sundae Club and the Chillage People; DJs that specialise in chill out like Youth, Alex Paterson, Dr. Chill, Unity Dub, The Only Michael, Chris Coco, Pete Lawrence and Mixmaster Morris, the latter known for having released Global Chillage; record labels like Liquid Sound Design, Vagalume, Ultimae, and Interchill; radio stations such as Groovera; and events such as The Big Chill and Sundaze. Often music is mixed with video art mixed by VJs with gentle, relaxing images of nature or electronic graphics.

The Big Chill festival is a large annual event catering for chilled out clubbers and families in Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire with resident acts including Gilles Peterson and Norman Jay.

Cafe del Mar

“Cafe del Mar” was born to put music to the sunset.
The idea originated in 1978 from Ramon Guiral, Carlos Andrea and Jose Les, who hadjust arrived in Ibiza from Canarias and who where attracted by the nightlife of San Antonio, the birthplace of tourism on the island in the seventies.
Cafe del Mar is situated on a unique spot of age-old rocks eroded by the waves and the winds of the western Mediterranean, barely 40 metres from the seaside. It covered, open-air terraces occupy the front and most relaxing part, with a spectacular view of the sea and the island of Conejera. The interior of the premises (100 square metres) absorbs the work designed by Luis Guell, an emblematic architect who autodefines himself as a creator of spaces, inspired by the horison, the sea and the colours that can be seen from this space flooded with Mediterranean architecture foreign to time and labels and marked by the baroque line of the creator.
The contibution of Guell, predecessor of ludic art, of the creation of space dedicated to leisure, served to turn this bar into one of his most internationally well-known works. Cafe del Mar is an architectual design loaded with clouds, eroticism and sensuality put to the servise of a distibution that is required from an original cafe. When in the beginnings of 1979 the idea was discussed with friends and professionals , we “were told that we were crazy, but inmediately we saw the possibilities of the zone because of the natural spectacle each day at sunset.Living in the same building helped us, in seeing the future of our idea”.
“We were so sure that everything would work out fine that we contacted Luis Guell and we developed a project created exclusively so as to put music to the sunset”.
“Luis understood the idea immediately and in fifteen days surprised us with the plans of the present premises. The idea captivated us totally from the beginning and we said yes with our eyes shut”.
Work began in January 1979 and after two years of intense and complicated work, due to the artistic and manual complexity of the labour, cafe del Mar opened its doors on 20th June 1980.
The opening resulted in a huge success due to the great welcome by the whole town of San Antonio and the people of Ibiza and meant a great personal satisfaction “seeing their dreams come true at sunset”.
From the outset they set in motion the fundamental idea of putting music to the sunset, accompanying new musical concepts such as “New Age”, classical music and jazz fusion, adding with the passage of time new musical formulas with the seal created by “Cafe del Mar”.
The people understood immediately the fascinating and unique spectacle of colour and striking luminousity of the island at the fall of the afternoon and with is was born a new meeting and reference point for islanders, local residents and tourists.

The Cafe of the eighties.
With the passing of the golden decade for tourism, they began to write about “Cafe del Mar” in the national press(El Pais, Cambio 16) and the media began to take notice of a new way of understanding leisure combining the privileged moment of having a drink or a coffee while enjoying the most famous sunset in Europe.
Playing music at Cafe del Mar began to enjoy the privilege of an endless list of known national and foreign DJs.
The singer Sandy Marton contributed to the legend including in his album “People From Ibiza” the song by entitled “Cafe del Mar”. Cafe del Mar was turned into the centre of attention of musicians and a cultural meetings point for artists, celebrities, VIPs and residents.
Some artists, turned into regular clients, were inspired by Cafe del Mar afternoons to compose their themes. Frank Fischer also included in his first CD his particular version of Cafe del Mar. John Anderson, singer of yes and Vangelis collaborator, was another of the illustrious clients, together with the disappeared Frank Zappa, another of those in love with “cafes del mar”, which want forget either Mike Olfield.
The 80`s was the definitive confirmation of the project Cafe del Mar, gathered in the local media through various articles in the “Prensa de Ibiza”(Jesus Turel) and “Diario de Ibiza”(Mar Serra) in its first ten years.
Cafe del Mar have also served as a natural settings for a various television series of different European channels, amongst which stands out the German hotel. The Cafe is also a pioneer in the transmission of live events from the edge of the Mediterranean coast. The first programme from the prestigious British channel Radio One broadcast live from the island captured an audience of over 7000000 listeners, converting itself into a classic of Ibiza summers.

The CD Saga.
From the first years the demand for cassette recordings of the music from Cafe del Mar “forced us to think about the idea of providing our clients with a modern format, with future and clarity that would record those privileged musical moments, and that is how the project of editing the first CD, under the symbol Cafe del Mar, was born”.
In 1994, “half jokingly, half seriously”, in an experimental tone and with the contribution of Jose Padilla, resident DJ in those days, we compiled Cafe del Mar Vol.1. That is how the Cafe del Mar Saga with the company React was born. After this first, there emerged volumes 2 and 3 and, subsequently, with polygram-Manifesto Vol.4 and Vol.5 were edited.
In 1999 the record company Cafe del Mar Music was created, whose first launching was “Aria” with the participation of the American musician and composer Paul Swartz. At the same time, Cafe del Mar reaches and agreement with polygram to edit jointly new volumes of the Cafe del Mar Saga, Vol.6(August 1999), Vol.7(July 2000) and Vol.8 that will come out next year. The overwhelming succcess of the new music line marked by “Aria”(more than 100000 copies sold) lead to “Aria 2″ with new subjects and compositions from Paul Swartz and a new adventure under the name Chill House, inspired in the after sunsetmusic that is played at Cafe del Mar after sunset.

STYLES

Lounge

Originally by Lounge the music playing in hotels, casinos and small cafes was meant. Usually performers consisted of one leading singer and one or two musicians, who played a song or music, written by other popular groups or singers (usually pop-style).

For instance, such groups as The Beatles and Led Zeppelin originally played Lounge, and it gives us a right to say that these eminent musicians made their contribution into creation and development of this music.

Right now Lounge is a branch of Chillout, a synonym of Downtempo style, and is a music for “background” during conversations between people in modern cafes and bars.

Downtempo

(The following spelling variants are also possible: DownTempo, Down tempo or Downbeat).

It is a background electronic music, which tempo is slower, than House-music (less, than 118 b.m.p.) and is essentially different from Ambient-style. This genre can include simultaneously such specific styles, as again, Lounge, Chillout, Trip-Hop, or Acid-Jazz. The music is usually intended for creation of friendly atmosphere of rest, different from dance culture, though a certain amount of releases was purposed for dance-floor music.

This genre kindredly matches with Dub, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Funk, Soul, Drum’n'Bass, Ambient and Pop, however it is often mistaken for closely-related IDM, Trip-Hop, and Acid-Jazz.

Since Downtempo and Lounge are very similar with each other, it is very hard to single out any particular representatives, who played using only one of these styles. Very often in albums of such musicians as Jose Padilla, Afterlife, Chris Coco, Lumininius, Christophe Goze, Blank & Jones(Relax), Lover’s Lane Monodeluxe you can distinguish both of these styles.

Acid-Jazz

This music is plaid by a generation of musicians, who grew up listening Jazz, Funk and Hip-Hop, and includes elements of all of these three styles. Such features of Acid-Jazz, as abundance of percussion sounds, as well as mainly live performance puts this style closer to jazz and Afro-Cuban music, rather than to other dance styles. On the other hand, a distinct groove combines Acid-Jazz with funk and hip-hop. The term appeared first in 1988, at that simultaneously both as the name of the American sound-recording label and English series of music collections, which contained reissued Jazz and Funk music of the 70’es and which earlier had been called rare groove by the British.

At present this style is known owing to such musician, as De-Phazz, Jazzamor, Gabin.

Bossa-Nova

It is an independent and very interesting kind of music, something like Latino style, but guitar-dominated, and with a soft male or female vocal. Bossa-Nova is just an instrumental style, which can be compared to variations on a subject of tango, slow salsa. An emphasis here is put mostly on depth and fullness of vocal, which is of prime importance in this genre.

The main representatives are such groups as 2Raum Wohnung, Mr. Electric Triangle, separate musical compositions of URBS.

Trip-Hop

The term Trip-Hop (known as well as Bristol Sound) was thought up by the British magazine Mixmag, when describing the music style of Dj Shadow, who, changing bit and reducing medium frequencies, took the listener to a real music journey. After that Trip-Hop started to be used as a name of music stream in the 90’es. This originated in England style was a mixture of Hip-Hop and House-music.

At present a House component disappeared from Trip-Hop. It became more melodic and not so quick.

The main representatives of the style are Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky and Thievery Corporation. Names of London musicians Morcheeba and Glideascope are also often associated with this style.

Ambient

Brian Eno, a creator of a whole cultural layer, told a story that being in hospital, he listened to sounds of the ambient world (street noise, talks and movements in hospital, work of medical devices and so on) trying to find a hidden melody in them. Afterwards, an idea had fallen into his mind to include ambient noises into tracks, which later were released under the common name Ambient.

Ambient uses electronic reverberation and spatial sound technology. Sound plays more important role, than lyrics and music. The music is changing slowly, and is often repeated. That is why for unsophisticated listener it can seem alike, though content and timbre of ambient-performers’ compositions greatly differ from each other. The ambient style became a popular music in the beginning of the 90’es owing to ambient-techno musician The Orb and Aphex Twin (some people refer the latter composer also to disputable style IDM (Intelligent Dance Music), having original system of creating compositions and not always being objectively and sufficiently comprehensible for a listener. However, many DJs refer the IDM style partly also to Chillout-music).

Besides Brian Eno, the genre is presented also by Claus Shulze, Galaxy, Hemisphere

Intelligent drum and bass (IDB)

(It is also known as Intelligent Jungle)

IDB - a term, describing drum-n-bass music, which is a cocktail of Lounge, Jazz, Ambient. This music has atmospheric sound with artificial “synthetic” elements and deep bass. It includes very often keyboards, guitar and in general string melodies with vocal as well. Soft Chillout component here forms a contrast to hard and sometimes aggressive dnb beats. IDB, named also Atmospheric Drum’n'Bass or “the Good Looking sound”, nevertheless is the most widely-used term. However LTJ Bukem one of the maestros of this style does not agree with such interpretation:

“In all dnb styles there is an “intelligent” basis, and it is incorrect to call particularly only one style “intelligent”.

The best known labels are: Liquid Sound Design, Vagalume, Ultimate and Interchill.

MUSIC CHILL OUT to music you probably haven’t heard but should’ve

Caf del Mar- Volumen 8
“Caf del Mar was born to put music to the sunset.”
The Caf del Mar series takes its name from the waterfront bar and locale in Ibiza that boasts striking views, people, and the celebrated music it has become known for. Ever since their debut record release back in ‘94, Caf del Mar has gained their fted reputation among international celebrities, party-goers, and aficionados placing them at the top of the list. A personal favorite, Volumen 8, entangles everything from French and Spanish resonance, piano keys, soothing melodies, and enchanting beats.
Allow me to highlight some of the tracks and give you a feel for this CD. The first track titled “Utopia” by Goldfrapp initiates a sense of seduction that remains present throughout the CD. “Any Other Name” by Thomas Newman, an award-winning composer, stirs a familiar yet haunting echo, one that was featured on the American Beauty soundtrack. Dido’s “Worthless” begins with waves crashing and carries her sensual voice throughout this track. “Billion Stars” by Lux begs to be listened to while lying on a beach staring up at the sky’s black canopy with holes poked through.
Mixes of hip-hop, jazz, and Drum&Bass can also be found on Mark de Clive-Lowe’s, “Day by Day,” producing a funky and jam-to sound. However, there’s nothing quite like French chill-out, as evidenced by Ben Onono’s, “Tatouage Bleu” which brings a lively and international twist. “Pina Colada” by Digby Jones transports you to a sun-soaked, crystal-blue water beach reminiscent of a socialite’s last exotic vacay. Overall, drumming beats, sultry vocals, relaxing vibes, and foreign swank mark Volumen 8 as an essential to any beach getaway, soothing moment or when you just want to chill out with a lover or friends.

Buddha Bar 5
The Buddha Bar collection, named appropriately after Buddha Bar, a chic hot spot in Paris, France caters to the needs of romping superstars, need-to-be-seen tourists and trendy locals. The Buddha Bar series is comprised of the haute cross sectional mix of global infused sounds, originating as the restaurant’s backdrop and soundtrack. The mixing is seamless with Asian and Morroccan styles lending to its feel.
Buddha Bar 5 is comprised of a two disk CD set, the former named “Dinner” and the latter, “Drinks.” “Dinner” sets the sensual mood perfect for a night of indulgence, while “Drinks” spices up any ordinary carousing. “Czardasz” by David Visan is a festive, upbeat Spanish track in which the tempos build as the song progresses. “Salaam” by Gypsyland maintains the indie, freelanced feel to this track. “Wunderlande” by Rubin Steiner has an eerie yet mystic sensation to it. “Mon Amour” by Operatica imparts for clear vocals adding a tinge of French love. Emma Shapplin’s, “La Notte Etterna” is a refreshing and invigorating take on a classic. Buddha Bar 5 surpasses expectations and makes for ideal background music to supper, drinks, or a night full of revelry.

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