The Chillout Thread

Fishmans - "Uchu Nippon Setagaya" (1997)

The seventh full-length from this Tokyo outfit & a bloody good listen it is too. It's often referred to as dream pop, ambient pop & neo-psychedelia but the reality is that the downtempo tag is all that's required here with the relaxed, soothing atmospheres presented having a noticeably calming effect on even the most battle-hardened extreme metalhead. Perhaps I'm a little more open to this sort of stuff than most but the lushness of some of these soundscapes can't be achieved without a deep understanding of the craft. "Uchu Nippon Setagaya" is classy release that's deserving of the hype around it.

For fans of Slowdive, Spiritualized & Stereolab.

4/5

Massive Attack - "Blue Lines" (1991)

Here we have the debut album from one of my all-time favourite artists, an act that very much changed the course of my life for the next decade during the late 1990's. And while it may not be the Bristol trip hop legends' finest hour, there can be denying the impact that "Blue Lines" had on the global music scene with the chillout movement pretty much exploding off the back of it. It's an absolute stormer of a record too, it's tracklisting being littered with seriously mature & impeccably produced classics that were just as heavily influenced by dub, EDM & hip hop. The three-track run that contains "Five Man Army", Unfinished Sympathy" & "Daydreaming" is utterly earth-shattering & would challenge any trio of songs from the subgenre overall. I'll always prefer later releases like "Mezzanine" & the incredibly underrated "100th Window" but "Blue Lines" is an undeniable classic in its own right too.

For fans of Portishead, Tricky & Air.

4.5/5