Future Astronauts - Vessels VII

Future Astronauts is a collective specialised in the making of astounding compilation of hand-picked chilly tracks, master-crafted mixes and podcasts. The 'Vessels' series of compilation serves a good cause (as does all music, is it not?) that of helping raise mental health and suicide prevention awareness and donating all profits to charity.

So here you go, you can do a good deed while listening to state of the art trip-hop, downtempo, UK garage, ambient... you name it!

I'll leave you to it then, see you later.

Blossom - Where Are You Hiding ?

Blossom is a Polish artist whose music I discovered via the 'Secret Garden' compilations from DLoaw & Co., a collective that still fails to disappoint me with the quality of the releases they produce. I'm also taking a moment here to strongly suggest you take a look at their catalog, you just might find the love of your life, or in any case, get your ears massaged.

'Where Are You Hiding ?' is a simple yet intricate album, dreamy yet well-constructed. Its atmosphere almost immediately made me think of my first discoveries in the field of Trip-Hop such as Blockhead for the nostalgic tone and Bonobo for the feel of open spaces. Soft melodies are laid carefully on rhythms varying between slow and not too fast but faster than slow, the whole takes place in an atmosphere of a child's dreams and a surnatural world coming to life.

If you love this music just as I do, you might consider give a little something to the artist, as a token of your appreciation, you know, every bit helps.

See you soon.

LDBK - All School Flavor Vol. 1

If you don't know about http://radiooooo.com/ yet, it's high time you did ! It's an internet radio that enables you to listen to music from all around the world, but also from different time periods. You can find out what people in Cuba were listening to in the 30's or what those in Kazakhstan are listening to right now.

I discovered the Laid Back netlabel through one of the tracks I heard on the aforementioned radio. Every time I hear something good, I try to find out if there is more and if it is free. There are always new surprises to discover and be baffled by.

So here's a compilation earning its name well, offering tracks from all schools, with a jazzy intro that will lead you to soul, hip-hop, dub, trip-hop, a little bit of everything, as long as it's chillin' grillin'.

Ok now, take a listen, see you soon !

Phonophanatic - Boxbeats Vol. 5

If you want to spend a good moment I suggest you take a listen to any of the albums you may find in Phonophanatic Collective's catalog. But for today, let's take a closer look at this one.

A long time has passed since I've discovered this label with Boxbeats Vol. 2. At the time I already sensed that those guys really understood how to make great chillin grillin music.

Based in Leiden, Netherlands, Phonophanatic offers a very large catalog of releases, all of which are free-priced and packed with groovy and chilly beats. All the artists present in this compilation have careers of their own, exclusive albums that you may find on their pages by looking around a bit.

I wish you well on your quest for the truth.

Kratos Himself - A Town Called Imaginarium

Here we are again in the vast land of dreams with another talented producer who draws inspiration from visions, waking nights and psychedelic experimentations.

While listening to this album, you really feel that you're entering a town called Imaginarium where everything isn't quite what it seems. Where everything is something more. You just have to lift the veil a little to see all things in a different way.

You can also do so by pressing play.

See you in another dimension.

Jenova 7 & Mr. Moods - Time Travellers II

Welcome to the month of june, that means the end of school, success, failure, change, revolving doors, sun and... well, music.

I suggest we begin this sunny month with an album that we'll listen best while this troublesome gigantic ball of fire sets and lets nocturnal beings get out of their lair to listen to subtle rhythms, groovy flying saxophone solos and samples out of nowhere, on a long chair or not, with or without a glass of wine or a white beer with lemon at hand's reach.

Jenova 7 and Mr. Moods are artists of exception, especially in the world of chill music. Always meaning quality, you can just listen to everything they do and never get bored nor disappointed. You can go with eyes closed, to be sure, it's even better !

See you then.

Kognitif - Soul Food

I have been honored with the opportunity to listen and download the brand new album from Kognitif in avant-première. I felt a genuine pleasure which has shaken my transdimensional ego. Then I listened to the album in question, which is just out of the oven today as you are reading this.

Okay so, for those who already know Kognitif and his music a bit, believe me when I say you won't be disappointed. For those who don't, prepare a little space in your top five for one of the best albums of the year.

Inventive, joyful, it's still the groovy trip-hop of before, sometimes catchy and dancefloor-friendly. Sometimes more downtempo, with multiple influences, a little less melancholic and deep than its two predecessors, if they really must be compared. While you're at it you can also listen (or listen again) to  Monometric and My Space World, two jewels of contemporary trip-hop.

Soul food is proof (if any was needed) that free music has still years and years of existence ahead of itself. Where else would you find a 15-tracks album with a constant quality, without fillers, no bullshit, no flaws, for a price that you can name ?

Ladies and gentlemen, artists, producers, fans and managers, please continue sending me music in direct multilobe cerebral perfusion and I will very gladly tell you what I think about it in a lenghty article, and share it with the greatest number of people I can.

KOGNITIF - MY SPACE WORLD

Just a perfect album. Every track is perfectly "orchestrated", every sample finds its place and each slice of rhythm is in harmony with the whole. Thus one of my recently discovered favourite albums. Yes, I could listen to it all day long, while usually I can't stand people doing that kind of blasphemy.

I just love this music. That probably explains why there was so little time between the two releases from KOGNITIF.

I can't wait to hear more, I'll keep you up to date.

KOGNITIF - MONOMETRIC

Sometimes you just wander here or there and stumble by chance on something made of pure genius. By you I mean me, and by something made of pure genius I mean MONOMETRIC by KOGNITIF. Yes I am yelling a bit, but that is just to be sure that you understand the exceptional artist hiding behind this seemingly simple name. Juicy trip-hop, intelligent rhythmics and little surprising musical details. Coming from the far away land of France, KOGNITIF puts everything you need to tickle the musical cortex lobe (no pun intended) of your friends. I did, lots of times, and it worked perfectly.

I also decided to put lots of new tags on the blog. That will get things altogether more complex and simpler. The connoisseurs will be able to get where they want faster, and there will still be more general terms for the others.


Cheers and hear you next time.

Kinack - Ondas

I had discovered Kinack a long time ago, when I still had the need to browse Bandcamp tags to find the free music, before it came to me by itself, so it was high time I shared his album Ondas, that is a free-priced album of 14 tracks of pure downtempo chill delight. Among his influences, Kinack mentions Bonobo and Emancipator, and while these influences are evident through the album, they only give more richness and feeling to a music that is already full of thought and power.

Beautiful chill music for urgent delivery, please sign here.