Just Chillout
For some years now I have become somewhat renowned amongst my friends for my insatiable taste for down-tempo, laid-back chillout music. Indeed an evening at Two Wolves Towers is as good as guaranteed to be set to a score of electro-jazz, house and world music washed down with a few glasses of ice-chilled Sancerre. Its almost an obsession of mine and I’m always on the lookout for new sounds to set my moments of contemplation to as I gaze out across the noble river Thames in the fading evening light.
New music can be like the proverbial London bus; nothing for what seems like an age and then suddenly two at once. Little did I know how much of a treat I was in when I ordered the two new offerings from Argentinean/French band Gotan Project and veteran re-mixers The Thievery Corporation.
Thievery Corporation : Versions
This is a remix album of other people’s work but each track is a vast improvement on the original and gets the full Thievery Corporation treatment here. Throw in an ethnic beat, mix in some sweet sound and raise the base to a new apex and you have laid-back house at its finest perfect for either the background to a dinner party or for unwinding after a trying day’s work. You will need a decent hi-fi to give this drum and base enhanced inspiration its due but this is a masterpiece of the genre and this is by far one of their finest albums. Lovely.
Review at CD Universe (with samples)
Gotan Project : Lunatico
In a subtle change in direction since their debut album Gotan Project go back to their Argentinean Tango roots but mix in an inspired helping of Parisian cafe cigarette smoke to provide a refreshingly original cross genre sound that provides a beautifully rich album from beginning to end. Somewhat reminiscent of Saint Germain but fused with a Latin flavour this makes perfect listening for your more traditional chillout aficionado. Inspired.
Review at All Music (with samples)
Great post. I am not up to date in music. It is ironic that my children (21 and 16), who are supposed to educate me about this, are fond of Rock music produced between the 70s and the 90s.
Thanks Sophia, I’m glad you liked it. I am not surprised by your children’s choice in music, they were years which gave the world a rich seam of musical talent and the music scene today struggles to provide anything close to that.
You can still find new talented artists but not in the mainstream, for some reason the music industry puts its marketing muscle behind quite mediocre acts so you have to delve a little more deeply. Thanks to the internet that’s not too hard though.