Just received Clubbed Out 2 via eBay all the way from England and I must say it is splendid! The one complaint I have about it is that the first disc is a mishmash of other compilations. It mostly mirrors the Ultra series. I can only listen to One Too Many Mornings by the Chemical Brothers, Lovely Head by Goldfrapp, or Eple by Royksopp (and many more) so many times before I have to move on to find new chillout music.
The second disc is great and I will post a more detailed review in the near future. I will be moving the blog to Wordpress so hopefully that will make it easier for me to post and easier for others to find the blog.
Keep chillin'
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Ultra Chilled 01- Disc 2 review
Sorry to take so long to follow up on this but I just had ear surgery and had not been feeling very motivated to finish blogging, much less listen to a lot of music. Anyway, this is a quick review of Disc 2 of Ultra Chilled 01, one of my favorite chillout compilations.
Another Chance (Afterlife Mix) - Roger Sanchez
This is a great airy track to start of disc two. It has a nice light bass beat with repetitive lyrics, making it quite hypnotic.
American Dream (Afterlife Mix) - Jakatta
The hypnotic message of Another Chance leads perfectly into this next dream-like track which includes a bit of the main theme from American Beauty. This one has great off beats of drums, but the mix stays pretty simple and doesn’t get too complex. The light piano which starts plays the movie’s theme at the beginning is a nice accompaniment to the light, seemingly angelic vocals.
One Too Many Mornings- The Chemical Brothers
I love this track. Very grand in scale, a lot like the Massive Attack track on the previous track. Great female vocals here (if someone could tell me who did them on this track, I’d much appreciate it). Great driving bass beat with accompanying off beats. Just feels like it should be at the end of an epic motion picture when the credits roll.
Childhood – Dusted
Great electronic track here. A lot like a Moby mix would be with great keyboards adding to the scale of the song. Very good, deep bass mixed in with those keyboards, mixed in with some funky eclectic dripping water-type sounds.
My Only Sin – Deep Dish/ Richard Morel
This is a great track that seemingly tells a story of love lost. The repeated lyrics “Loved you but I had to go away” haunt the writer and the listener, drawing a picture of a conflict of some sort. Also grand in scale, this is another hypnotic track that accomplishes the chillout feel quite nicely.
The Child – Alex Gopher
I love the Billie Holliday-type vocals on this one. The mix is pretty good too with some funk guitar mixed in with a lot of echo effects on the vox.
16 Again - Neon Heights
I think this one would be a great ending track on the compilation, but it is placed towards the end, so that’s close enough. I can hear a little Talking Heads in this mix and it works very well with a tight beat and sleepy vocals.
The remaining tracks are a little weak, but fit nicely in with the rest of the tracks on this great compilation. I maintain that the first disc is more interesting, but the second one holds its own with some solid tracks.
Another Chance (Afterlife Mix) - Roger Sanchez
This is a great airy track to start of disc two. It has a nice light bass beat with repetitive lyrics, making it quite hypnotic.
American Dream (Afterlife Mix) - Jakatta
The hypnotic message of Another Chance leads perfectly into this next dream-like track which includes a bit of the main theme from American Beauty. This one has great off beats of drums, but the mix stays pretty simple and doesn’t get too complex. The light piano which starts plays the movie’s theme at the beginning is a nice accompaniment to the light, seemingly angelic vocals.
One Too Many Mornings- The Chemical Brothers
I love this track. Very grand in scale, a lot like the Massive Attack track on the previous track. Great female vocals here (if someone could tell me who did them on this track, I’d much appreciate it). Great driving bass beat with accompanying off beats. Just feels like it should be at the end of an epic motion picture when the credits roll.
Childhood – Dusted
Great electronic track here. A lot like a Moby mix would be with great keyboards adding to the scale of the song. Very good, deep bass mixed in with those keyboards, mixed in with some funky eclectic dripping water-type sounds.
My Only Sin – Deep Dish/ Richard Morel
This is a great track that seemingly tells a story of love lost. The repeated lyrics “Loved you but I had to go away” haunt the writer and the listener, drawing a picture of a conflict of some sort. Also grand in scale, this is another hypnotic track that accomplishes the chillout feel quite nicely.
The Child – Alex Gopher
I love the Billie Holliday-type vocals on this one. The mix is pretty good too with some funk guitar mixed in with a lot of echo effects on the vox.
16 Again - Neon Heights
I think this one would be a great ending track on the compilation, but it is placed towards the end, so that’s close enough. I can hear a little Talking Heads in this mix and it works very well with a tight beat and sleepy vocals.
The remaining tracks are a little weak, but fit nicely in with the rest of the tracks on this great compilation. I maintain that the first disc is more interesting, but the second one holds its own with some solid tracks.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Chillcast Radio!
The Chillcast has posted a live radio link!
Pretty good listening. The first song I encountered was a chillout mix of a Bush song, followed up nicely by a funky Roy Ayers track called "I am Your Mind Part 2."
Kudos to the Chillcast for getting this online. They have a loyal fan here at Chilloutscene.com.
Pretty good listening. The first song I encountered was a chillout mix of a Bush song, followed up nicely by a funky Roy Ayers track called "I am Your Mind Part 2."
Kudos to the Chillcast for getting this online. They have a loyal fan here at Chilloutscene.com.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Great compilation to begin with...
Ultra Chilled 01-
After my first visit to the Irish bar where I first heard some great chillout music, I purchased Ultra Chilled 01. I believe this is a great compilation to introduce oneself to the genre. It has a great selection of chillout tracks with some well known artists and some unique to the genre. Among the 29 tracks on two discs, there are well over two hours of quality chillout tracks. Here are the highlights of Disc one. Since it’s late, I’ll cover the rest on the next post.
Dido- Here with Me (Chillin’ With the Family Mix)-
A pretty well known hit starts off Disc 1. The song was a bit overplayed on the radio when it was released, but this mix sets the tone for the rest of the compilation. The addition of a prelude with string instruments was welcomed and reassures the listener to relax and enjoy the music. The volume of the strings present in the album version of the song is brought down a bit and the drum track is brought up a bit, which makes a nice touch. The background vocals are brought down as well, which makes this version, in my opinion more enjoyable overall than the album one.
Sure Thing- St Germain
This is probably my favorite track on the entire two disc album. After a fade out of New Genius, this lively track kicks in a great beat with catchy, background vocals. Off of St Germain’s “Tourist,” I could listen to this one all night long.
Blindfold- Morcheeba
Another great early track. In fact, most of my favorites on this compilation are on disc 1, but disc 2 definitely does not disappoint. This track off of their second album Big Calm has a nice light feel with great vocals by Skye Edwards, bright sounding background strings, and has a great lead in to the next track “Bent,” which is a nice haunting number.
Eple- Röyksopp
After listing Sure Thing and Blindfold as early favorites, this peppy track is another light, airy number with heavier emphasis on electronic sounds. It’s a tad repetitive, but still accomplishes the goal of providing a soundtrack to chill.
Hymn of the Big Wheel- Massive Attack
This one seems grand in scale, but accomplishes it with minimal instrumentation accompanied by deep bass drum hits. A haunting, quiet outtro with thunder and rain sounds transitions nicely to Kruder & Dorfmeister’s “Original Bedroom Rockers.”
Destiny- Zero 7
Probably my 1-A favorite track behind Sure Thing. After hearing this song I was hooked on Zero 7 and went out and listened to as much as their stuff that I could find. Great vocals on this one by Sia Furler; strong enough to carry the song through, but delicate enough to still hear everything in the background. One of the most perfect chillout songs I have heard.
Daydream in Blue- I Monster
This one is currently being used in an AT&T cell phone commercial. Decent song, but very chopped up with different samples, strings, and other noise. The verses are good, but the rest is a mess. I just mentioned it since it’s on TV all the time now.
Anyway, the first disc is a great start to a terrific compilation for folks to introduce themselves to the genre.
Keep chillin’
ChilloutScene.com
After my first visit to the Irish bar where I first heard some great chillout music, I purchased Ultra Chilled 01. I believe this is a great compilation to introduce oneself to the genre. It has a great selection of chillout tracks with some well known artists and some unique to the genre. Among the 29 tracks on two discs, there are well over two hours of quality chillout tracks. Here are the highlights of Disc one. Since it’s late, I’ll cover the rest on the next post.
Dido- Here with Me (Chillin’ With the Family Mix)-
A pretty well known hit starts off Disc 1. The song was a bit overplayed on the radio when it was released, but this mix sets the tone for the rest of the compilation. The addition of a prelude with string instruments was welcomed and reassures the listener to relax and enjoy the music. The volume of the strings present in the album version of the song is brought down a bit and the drum track is brought up a bit, which makes a nice touch. The background vocals are brought down as well, which makes this version, in my opinion more enjoyable overall than the album one.
Sure Thing- St Germain
This is probably my favorite track on the entire two disc album. After a fade out of New Genius, this lively track kicks in a great beat with catchy, background vocals. Off of St Germain’s “Tourist,” I could listen to this one all night long.
Blindfold- Morcheeba
Another great early track. In fact, most of my favorites on this compilation are on disc 1, but disc 2 definitely does not disappoint. This track off of their second album Big Calm has a nice light feel with great vocals by Skye Edwards, bright sounding background strings, and has a great lead in to the next track “Bent,” which is a nice haunting number.
Eple- Röyksopp
After listing Sure Thing and Blindfold as early favorites, this peppy track is another light, airy number with heavier emphasis on electronic sounds. It’s a tad repetitive, but still accomplishes the goal of providing a soundtrack to chill.
Hymn of the Big Wheel- Massive Attack
This one seems grand in scale, but accomplishes it with minimal instrumentation accompanied by deep bass drum hits. A haunting, quiet outtro with thunder and rain sounds transitions nicely to Kruder & Dorfmeister’s “Original Bedroom Rockers.”
Destiny- Zero 7
Probably my 1-A favorite track behind Sure Thing. After hearing this song I was hooked on Zero 7 and went out and listened to as much as their stuff that I could find. Great vocals on this one by Sia Furler; strong enough to carry the song through, but delicate enough to still hear everything in the background. One of the most perfect chillout songs I have heard.
Daydream in Blue- I Monster
This one is currently being used in an AT&T cell phone commercial. Decent song, but very chopped up with different samples, strings, and other noise. The verses are good, but the rest is a mess. I just mentioned it since it’s on TV all the time now.
Anyway, the first disc is a great start to a terrific compilation for folks to introduce themselves to the genre.
Keep chillin’
ChilloutScene.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
It's been a while!
Due to some technical issues and general laziness on my part, I haven't posted a blog in a long time. Thanks to my wonderful neighbor/IT help guy, I'm back to posting.
A quick note on a great podcast I recently discovered called the Chillcast. They put together about a half hour of chillout tracks every week or so. #27 took them a while to post, but it's well worth a listen. Check out their site at www.chillcast.net or search iTunes under podcasts.
Keep chillin'.
A quick note on a great podcast I recently discovered called the Chillcast. They put together about a half hour of chillout tracks every week or so. #27 took them a while to post, but it's well worth a listen. Check out their site at www.chillcast.net or search iTunes under podcasts.
Keep chillin'.
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