Chillout CD's, The New Ambient Experience: Hear what the world is listening to

By: Nevin Millan

There's a growing trend that's sweeping through the music preferences of the party scene and the hip, trendy crowd. It's known as "Chill Out" music. The ambient beats mixed with soothing electronic sounds that are often reserved for the chic restaurant/lounges and cafés have made their way into the homes of multitudes of music aficionados all over the world. The "Chill Out" craze has more recently blown up in the US, with compilations such as Café Del Mar, Buddha Bar, Hed Kandi, and Hotel Costes having the best commercial success. These compilations originate from European regions such as Ibiza, Paris, London, Italy, and more recently in the US from Miami and New York.

Chill out CDs have been around since the early '90s in Europe, namely Ibiza, the cultural epicenter of all electronic and dance music. Several CD compilations from Ibiza have had huge commercial success, the most famous of them being the Café Del Mar series. The Café Del Mar series, which started in 1993, is now on their 10th volume with Café Del Mar, Volumen Diez. As an avid listener of chill out music, as well as a fan of Café Del Mar, I have to recommend this album as one of the best Café Del Mar albums. Other Café Del Mar albums worth picking up are Volumen Siete (Vol. 7) and Volumen Nueve (Vol. 9). Another brand new release (June 16, 2003) under the Café Del Mar label is an album called Rue Du Soleil. Rue Du Soleil is a very chill, electronic based sound mixed by a group of 4 DJs/musicians that call themselves "Rue Du Soleil". This is an excellent chill out album and I look forward to future releases. Finally, another chill out CD from the Balearic region off the coast of Spain is a CD called "Menorca Nights" . It has an uptempo feel with great percussion sounds and hints of jazz.

Another huge source of chill out music is Paris, France. The most renowned of the Paris chill out CDs is the Buddha Bar series released by George V records, named after the famous Buddha Bar Restaurant/Lounge in Paris. The Buddha Bar series has a sound that incorporates modern, electronic, ambient sounds with classic sounds from the far east- India, China, and Nepal. If you're looking for something different, then Buddha Bar is for you. Buddha Bar 3 and Buddha Bar 1 are must haves in this collection. (Be sure to check back to FM for an interview with DJ Ravin, producer and collaborator on the Buddha Bar CDs.) Other CDs similar to this style include Siddharta (also by DJ Ravin), and the Nirvana Lounge series. Also hailing from Paris are the Hotel Costes series of chill out albums which are the creation of the legendary Stephan Pompougnac, bearing the name of the corresponding Hotel Costes Lounge in Paris. These CDs are less electronic sounding than other chill out albums, and tend to mix sounds and beats with well known pop and rock songs. I would recommend picking up Hotel Costes vol. 3 and vol. 4.

There are many compilation series of chill out albums that come from the UK as well. The best of them include the Hed Kandi series as well as a few from the Euphoria series. The Hed Kandi label has released series such as "Serve Chilled", the best of which is Volume 3. Another series is called "Beach House", my favorite being volume 2, and yet another album called "Winter Chill Out". These CDs mix very smooth and soothing chill out songs, some with great vocals, and others with relaxing chill beats, with influences from Latin America, while remaining reminiscent of the Café Del Mar style of music. Additional chill out CDs out of the UK include Euphoria 'Chilled' and Euphoria 'Deep and Chilled', both of which are very electronic based, very chill, almost trippy and different from the other chill out lounge CDs.

More recently, the US has entered the market of chill out CDs with releases from Miami and New York. The most well known of these CDs include the Nikki Beach CDs and the Joia Chill Out CD out of Miami and the Hamptons Lounge CDs out of New York. The Nikki Beach CD is the best out of these so far, giving a very fresh take on the chill out sound by incorporating a mystical, happy, uplifting feel, with a Miami flavor.

As with most genres of music, the ambient, chill out music genre has branched into several different types of sounds. Depending on your personal preference, there will be something out there for you. The chill out music scene is expanding and the hardest part is finding out what kinds of chill out music you like. With an open mind, try different types until you find the style you like the best. Good Listening!

WebLinks:
http://www.cafedelmarmusic.com
http://www.nikkibeach.com
http://www.hedkandi.com
http://www.georgevrecords.com
http://www.telstar-tv.co.uk
http://www.newsoundtheory.com