Chill-out (shortened aschill; also typeset aschillout orchill out) is a loosely defined form ofpopular music characterized by slowtempos and relaxed moods.[1][2] The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally refers to anything that might be identified as a modern type ofeasy listening.
The term "chill-out music" – originally conflated with "ambient house" – came from an area called "The White Room" at theHeaven nightclub in London in 1989. There, DJs played ambient mixes from sources such asBrian Eno andPink Floyd to allow dancers a place to "chill out" from the faster-paced music of the main dance floor. Ambient house became widely popular over the next decade before it declined due tomarket saturation.
There is no exact definition of chill-out music.[1][3] The term, which has evolved throughout the decades, generally refers to anything that might be identified as a modern type ofeasy listening. Some of the genres associated with "chill" includedowntempo,classical,dance,jazz,hip-hop,world,pop,lounge, andambient.[1] Chill-out typically has slow rhythms,sampling, a "trance-like nature", "drop-out beats", and a mixture ofelectronic instruments withacoustic instruments. In the "Ambient/Chill Out" chapter of Rick Snoman's 2013 bookDance Music Manual, he writes, "it could be said that as long as the tempo remains below 120BPM and it employs a laid-backgroove, it could be classed as chill out."[3]
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The term originated from an area called "The White Room" at theHeaven nightclub in London in 1989.[4] Its DJs wereJimmy Cauty andAlex Paterson, later ofthe Orb.[5] They createdambient mixes from sources such asBrian Eno,Pink Floyd,Eagles (band),Mike Oldfield,10cc, andWar. The room's purpose was to allow dancers a chance to "chill out" from the more emphatic and fast-tempo music played usually in the discos. This also coincided with the short-lived fad ofambient house, also known as "New Age house". Cauty'sKLF subsequently released an album calledChill Out (February 1990), featuring uncredited contributions from Paterson.[4] In addition, during the early 1990s,the Beach Boys'Smiley Smile (1967) was reputed as one of the best "chill-out" albums to listen to during an LSDcomedown.[6]
Ambient house declined after the mid-1990s due tomarket saturation.[7] In the early 2000s, DJs inIbiza'sCafé del Mar began creating ambient house mixes that drew on jazz, classical, Hispanic, andnew age sources. They called their product "chill-out music", and it sparked a revived interest in ambient house from the public and record labels.[7] The popularity of chill-out subsequently expanded to dedicatedsatellite radio channels, outdoor festivals, and the release of thousands ofcompilation albums offering ambient sounds and "muffled" beats.[1] Consequently, the popular understanding of "chill-out music" shifted away from "ambient" into its own distinct genre.[7] Music critics to that point were generally dismissive of the music.[1]
Streaming became the dominant source of music industry revenue in 2016.[8] During that decade,Spotify engendered a trend that became known among the industry as "lean back listening", which refers to a listener who "thinks less about the artist or album they are seeking out, and instead connects with emotions, moods, and activities". As of 2017, the front page of the service's "browse" screen included manyalgorithmically-selected playlists with names such as "Chilled Folk", "Chill Hits", "Evening Chill", "Chilled R&B", "Indie Chillout", and "Chill Tracks".[9] In 2014, the service reported that throughout the year "Chill Out" playlists had trended much higher than the national average on campuses acrossColorado, wheremarijuana had been legalized in January of that year.[10] In an editorial piece forThe Baffler titled "The Problem with Muzak", writerLiz Pelly criticized the "chill" playlists as "the purest distillation of [Spotify's] ambition to turn all music into emotional wallpaper".[9]
In 2009, a genre called "chillwave" was invented by the satirical blog Hipster Runoff for music that could already be described with existing labels such asdream pop.[11][12] Thepseudonymous author, known as "Carles", later explained that he was only "[throwing] a bunch of pretty silly names on a blog post and saw which one stuck."[13] Chillwave became one of the first genres to acquire an identity online,[14] although the term did not gain mainstream currency until early 2010, when it was the subject of serious, analytical articles byThe Wall Street Journal andThe New York Times.[15] In 2011, Carles said it was "ridiculous that any sort of press took it seriously" and that although the bands he spoke to "get annoyed" by the tag, "they understand that it's been a good thing. What aboutiTunes making it an official genre? It's now theoretically a marketableindie sound."[13]
In 2013,YouTube began allowing its users to hostlive streams, which resulted in a host of 24-hour "radio stations" dedicated to microgenres such asvaporwave,[16] a derivation of chillwave.[17] Music streaming platform Spotify added to the popular "lo-fi beats" wave by generating "Spotified genres", including "Chill Hits", "Bedroom Pop" playlists, and promoting numerous "chill pop" artists.[18] In 2017, a form of downtempo music tagged as "chillhop" or "lo-fi hip hop" became popular among YouTube music streamers. By 2018, several of these channels had attracted millions of followers[19] and Spotify's "Chill Hits" playlist had 5.4 million listeners.[18]