Top 10 Underrated Chillout Songs

Forget about Air, Zero 7 and Theivery Corporation. They’ve had their time underneath the sun (or shade). The fans demand something new, fresh, and more. Let’s take a look at what that is.

10. “Stay by my Side” by Dust

Imagine the western strum of a guitar slowed down by half, with an equally slow beat and a funky fade-in / fade-out synth. Mix in a little spanish riff and mexican trumpets, as well as a violin, and you build up the emotional climax of a man whose last words were “I always knew you’d stay by my side”.

9. “Love Can Damage Your Health” by Telepopmusik

Queue the crickets - but only to set the stage for spackled sound blips and the slightly distorted vocals Angela McCluskey is known for. From the group that produced “Breathe”, “Love Can Damage Your Health”, plays with styles of Everything But The Girl and vocals of… well… themselves.

8. “Good Boy feat B. Lahr” by De-Phazz

B. Lahr’s vocals echo in the rehashed production of this song - elevating them to the level of an instrument in an old record sample. Thus, they don’t dominate the track as the focus, but they hold their role of importance, just like the rest of the instruments.

7. “Moving Forward” by Bitter:Sweet

Bitter:Sweet, the semi-infamous craigslist-formed ban, is best known for their song “Dirty Laundry” which was popularized by several commercials. Moving Forward (and Moody, actually) is a much mellower tune reminescent of Portishead.

6. “Miss Teardrop” by Felix Laband

On the oh-so-popular airwaves some years ago, this tune was bastardized by a speaker who gave “sage advice” about how to live your life. If you listened to the radio a lot, that may have ruined this song for you. On the other hand, if it hasn’t been, this original instrumental version is well worth a listen.

5. “Dismantling Frank” by Bonobo

It may come as a surprise, but I can think of no better title for this song. The instruments are very deconstructive, simultaneously building up (as is so common of the genre), but in doing so they also represent a sad decay. Give the song a listen, and hear for yourself.

4. “Melancholy Melody” by Esthero

“Leave me alone. I just want to lay here in my room. And let myself cry…” begins Esthero, just before the rest of the band (flute, trumpet, bass) joins the piano. Then, she pops up in her own jazzy melody. Unlike her otherwise largely poppy career, Melancholy Melody shows us that Esthero knows what good music is - but that she just prioritizes hits instead.

3. “Out of Sight” by Spiritualized

Slow strummin’ guitar smoothed over by another backup guitar, which itself is phased out in favor of the violin sets the perfect stage for a desert sunset. The bed-time toned vocals bring you to a horn filled crescendo, itself climaxed by a harmonica. Although the result is intentionally quite chaotic, the song on the whole is quite a beautiful clash of instruments.

2. “Diamente” by Blue States

Keyboard notes and chords cycle through this track with amazing finesse. Top it off with an instrumental hook sounding like a classic bond escape moment, and you’ve got Diamente. Blue States come through again and again, and this time is no different.

1. “Starlight feat. Roots Manuva” by Herbalizer

“Concentrate…. concentrate…” followed by a record skippin’ start kick off this tune. Dazed and distorted xylophonic sounds then set the perfect mood for Roots Manuva’s free flowing lyrics. And as he says - “Sit back, relax, and be cool - recline.”