Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Emily Jane White
What draws me to Emily Jane White in a downtempo context is not simply softness. It is a patient sense of scale that reveals…
Artist Reviews
Twin Caverns
Approach Twin Caverns without the usual genre labels for a moment and the useful quality is the confidence to leave space between ideas. You…
Recent listening
01 / New writing
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Maddie Medley
Some artists relax a room by becoming less noticeable. Maddie Medley is more interesting because the music can do the opposite and still feel…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Ailbhe Reddy
For me, the laidback side of Ailbhe Reddy starts with a patient sense of scale that reveals more at lower volume, not with tempo…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Josh Record
Josh Record makes an interesting case for why chillout should be treated as a way of listening, not a rigid genre. The broader language…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
In The Valley Below
Some artists relax a room by becoming less noticeable. In The Valley Below is more interesting because the music can do the opposite and…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Aldous Harding
There is a point late in the day when volume matters less than atmosphere, and Aldous Harding tends to make sense in that space.…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Adia Victoria
There is a point late in the day when volume matters less than atmosphere, and Adia Victoria tends to make sense in that space.…
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BPM is optional
CHILLSKY is less interested in genre policing than atmosphere. If it opens up a room in your head, we want to hear it.
Listening culture
Slow down. Turn it up.
Downtempo can be lush, strange, rhythmic, dubby, acoustic or digital. This is a magazine for the spaces between those words, written by people who still believe listening is an activity in its own right.
Browse the archiveFrom the archive
02 / From the archive
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
SkyeChristy
What draws me to SkyeChristy in a downtempo context is not simply softness. It is a refusal to treat relaxation as an excuse for…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
alt-J
I keep coming back to alt-J when I want music that can sit in the room without flattening the room. In practical terms, this…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
The Bedroomer
I would not reduce The Bedroomer to background music, and that is exactly why the music can work so well in a laidback setting.…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Hudson Freeman
If a good chillout record should create space without surrendering personality, Hudson Freeman gives you plenty to work with. You can hear the connection…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
Laura Doggett
What draws me to Laura Doggett in a downtempo context is not simply softness. It is a patient sense of scale that reveals more…
Artist Reviews / 06.10.26
BROODS
Approach BROODS without the usual genre labels for a moment and the useful quality is the confidence to leave space between ideas. It belongs…