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Gil
Evans - The Individualism of Gil Evans
Gil Evans wrote the arrangements for Sketches of Spain by Miles Davis.
This is a collection of his own work. It's Big Band for chilling out to.
Each time we listen to this CD we find more beauty. Just stunning.
King
Tubby - King Dub
a great introduction to the king of dub.
The
Big Chill - Glisten
the only Chillout compilation you'll find on this list. Completely devoid
of all the usual suspects of the time (Moby, Goldfrapp, Groove Armada
etc). Two CDs of beauty and variety proving what a capacious umbrella
this thing we call 'Chillout' truly is.
Broadway
Project - Compassion
a record made up of many records (warm your hands over those crackles)
which often feels like it's all going to fall apart but never does. Hard
to describe what it sounds like because it only really sounds like itself.
A 20 sofa CD.
Nightmares
On Wax - Smokers Delight
a golden oldie that we've only recently discovered. Sometimes (mistakenly)
considered the origin of the chillout species it is, nonetheless, a beautiful
ride through chillout soundscapes and downtempo grooves which deserves
repeated return journeys.
Marvin
Gaye - Trouble Man
this soundtrack for a forgotten blaxsploitation movie gives Marvin space
to experiment in a jazzier vein. Very little singing. Instead, plenty
of funky, jazzy orchestral music that effortlessly conjures up downtown,
downbeat mean streets. Some lovely Moog noodling from the man himself
too.
Brian
Eno - On Land
the god of ambient goes to the countryside so that we urbanites can experience
its wild beauty without getting off the sofa. "Haunting"
is a pretty overused adjective, but in this case, no other word will do.
Portishead
- Dummy
the Torch Song died in the Fifties but came to life again in the Nineties
with this release. Don't lose any sleep worrying whether Triphop is dead
or not. All you need to know is that this CD has stood the test of time.
A rare collection of moody beauty. Dive in.
DJ
Shadow - Endtroducing
Hip Hop got chilled in 1996 with this essential release. It's hard to
overestimate its influence on downbeat music. A truly great record.
For the full-on chillout experience, skip tracks 1,3 and 10.
John
Coltrane - Ballads
light-years away from the dissonant soloing of LPs like A Love Supreme,
this is downtempo music from a master. Sax plus piano, drums and bass.
No wild flourishes, just tunes delivered with soul. Prepare to be seduced.
Radiohead
- Amnesiac AND Kid A
inside these two CDs there's a chillout classic waiting to be heard. You
can create it yourself. Just compile your own CD from the downtempo gems
that pepper the only two Radiohead CDs we can listen to. It'll be a thing
of beauty.
The
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
forget all the earlier surfing stuff, just believe the hype: this is
the most beautiful pop record ever made. After the first listen you'll
think "so what?" and "where are the tunes?" After
the tenth listen you'll be in love. We promise.
Think
we've missed something?
Let us know
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