Chill Out February
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Blisspop Presents: Chill Out February

Kristina Dandridge·
Chill OutFeaturesPlaylist of the Week

With this series we cover the latest and greatest chill out tracks of the season. The styles vary from IDM, downtempo, ambient, deep house, indie and beyond. Consider it our prescription for those Monday blues! This month we feature a variety of chilled out tracks from several established and new favorites at Blisspop including: Kendl, KLANGPLANET, Hofr, Black Taffy, Rejoicer, Fatima, and Weval. These are fresh, new tunes perfect to help you break up the monotony during the work day and can help you unwind afterwards too. Follow the complete playlist on Spotify!

Kendl – “Ella”

Melbourne-based ambient electronica artist, Kendl, makes music that breathes. His organic music that can be rare to find compared to producers who are totally slaves to the grid. Through Kendl’s use of creative sampling, this song is a soundtrack to a precious memory. If you’re a fan of Tycho, Bonobo, or Emancipator, I highly recommend that you have yourself a listen to “Ella,” Kendl’s latest single.

 

KLANGPLANET – “High”

Frieder Mollat, aka KLANGPLANET, is a Munich-based songwriter and producer. He is a veteran in the music industry as he started his music career in the mid-90s, and working for several years for Warner Music Company. He wrote music for several projects over the years, including signing a publishing deal with UMG in 2001. It wasn’t until 2017 that Frieder kick started his solo endeavor, KLANGPLANET. With his latest deep house single, “High,” he explores dub music fused with chill out sensibilities. This track is reminiscent of classic IDM producers such as Massive Attack, AIR, and Thievery Corporation.    

 

Hofr – “Rust”

“Rust” is the work of LA-based ambient composer, Hofr. “Rust” is the first single from his debut self-titled EP. This track demonstrates characteristically dismal and forlorn ambient music. The music conveys a sense of urgency by building tension through the use of dynamics. If I close my eyes and listen carefully to the music, I can’t help but imagine the explosion of a star, casting its outer layers into space, leaving its hot, dense core to cool over the eons.

 

Black Taffy – “Private Shadows”

Black Taffy (Donovan Jones) is a Dallas-based composer and performer whose current focus lies in pairing ambient music with large bass and percussion. His recently released album Elder Mantis, which is worth a listen from start to finish! “Private Shadows,” a track off of this album is chill-hop production at its finest.  Considering there is a mystical element to his music, it is no wonder he draws influence from spiritual concepts ranging vastly from Christianity to the occult. It is also impressive that in his live performances he keeps it minimal with only vibraphone and cassette decks to loop his material.

 

Rejoicer – “Five Winds”

It’s a little too cold right now to do this, but I wish I could drop the top and blast this tune while driving down an uncongested highway (which would never ever happen in Washington DC). But in all seriousness, Blisspop has been keeping tabs on Rejoicer since we kick started this series in August with coverage of his other track “Purple T Shirts.”

 

Fatima – “Caught in a Lie”

This is such expressive R&B! The lyricism from London-based soul songwriter, Fatima, is so fierce! Fatima’s vocals just cut right through the mix and grabs my attention as a listener. This is complemented by driving guitars, anticipatory 808 drum production that builds and progresses. The whole song is exemplified by the saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

 

Weval – “Are You Even Real”

Weval’s newest track is minimal, chill electronica tinged with psychedelia. It sounds like the singer is occasionally immersed underwater until he suddenly is able to reach the surface to echo to listeners, “Are you even real?” The vocal processing is truly unique!

 

16BL – “Vette”

Anjunabeats artist, 16BL (formally known as 16 Bit Lolitas), hits a home run with this deep house track! This song has been essential to my soundtrack of this winter. I fell in love with this track and its lush synth arrangements and Balearic-flavored productions.

 

 

For the complete Chill Out February playlist, we compiled this chill out goodness in a Spotify playlist!