Just chill chill: The ultimate unwinding playlist
Editor’s note: This month, we’ve put together an awesome chill-out playlist—with help from the splainer fam. Inspired by the lofi hip hop of Madvillain's 'Accordion' and the dream pop of Beach House's 'Space Song', this is a collection of diverse, downtempo tracks that help you unwind. Across these subgenres, each track irresistibly scratches that same itch every time—that’s the beauty of a broad chill-out playlist:) We hope you discover something fresh and fun for your personal playlist. You can check out the full playlist over on our Spotify account!
- ‘Lagoon Chill’ by Sushin Shyam: From the film ‘Kumbalangi Nights’, Sumithra’s selection features a tasty arrangement that will leave you daydreaming.
- ‘If Only’ by Raveena: Vagda recommends this delightful RnB production led by vocals that wouldn’t look out of place in an Alicia Keys album.
- ‘Pundela’ by Titi Robin feat. Gulabi Sapera: Vagda’s throwback pick is a marvelous meeting of the minds between French indie and desi folk. Sit back and let it take your breath away.
- ‘Turn Around’ by Rampue: Ankur thinks this track is simply “transposing”. We couldn’t agree more.
- ‘Floating’ by Klur: Ankur also likes this mellow offering from a Swedish DJ. Enjoy the earwormy keys and liberal usage of hi-hats.
- ‘Weather With You’ by Crowded House: With an iconic guitar tone, this ‘90s classic by the Kiwi-Aussie soft rock group instantly puts Manish in a good mood.
- ‘Apocalypse’ by Cigarettes After Sex: Texas’ finest dream pop band—and Joyjayanti’s rec—are already immensely popular with desi audiences. FYI: they kick off their India tour next week!
- ‘Preta pretinha’ by Novos Baianos: No chill-out playlist is complete without some Brazilian bossa nova—this track is Nina’s instant mood-lifter, and the accompanying soundtrack to cooking Sunday lunch.
- ‘Unforgetful You’ by Jars of Clay: Nina’s second choice comes from the late ‘90s altrock scene, and is a fun nostalgic trip.
- ‘Did My Best’ by The Voidz: With a distinctive rhythm section and the dulcet tones of Julian Casablancas, this is Gaurvi’s relaxation rec.
- ‘Call it Fate, Call it Karma’ by Moon Panda: Arunima’s selection is that rare cover that improves upon the original—by The Strokes—with just a few production tweaks here and there.
- ‘Save it for Later’ by Eddie Vedder: This English Beat cover by Pearl Jam’s frontman ditches grunge for country—the tempo with Vedder’s vocals is right up Radha’s alley.
The splainer team’s picks
Our Editorial Manager, Raghav, has a smorgasbord of selections to help you get lost in. The rich world of lofi hip hop serves up ‘Seattle’ by Lupe Fiasco, ‘Glorious Game’ by El Michels Affair & Black Thought and ‘All Herb’ by Isaiah Rashad feat. Amindi. Each song here serves a unique lyrical and thematic purpose, but the sonic textures remain consistently similar.
Meanwhile, the indie rock and alternative scenes have far more varied production styles. There’s the soulful jazz of ‘Staring at the Wall’ by Norah Jones, the nofrills psychedelic surf rock of ‘A Love International’ by Khruangbin, and the experimental electronics of ‘State of the Art’ by Gotye—yes, he’s someone that you used to know.
Our Deputy Advisory Editor, Aarthi, also files in her favourites: ‘AnBae’ by Maharani which is a Tamil-English-German song(!?) about longingly waiting for your bae—and ‘Down’ by Marian Hill which is perfectly lo-fi and pop at the same time!
To bring it full circle, we’ll leave you with the examples that necessitated this list—’Accordion’ and ‘Space Song’. And finally: ‘Nightcall’ by Kavinsky (see: lead image), a Daft Punk-esque bop that was performed at the Paris Olympics, and became the most Shazam-ed in a single day! Enjoy the playlist here.
PS: Check out the splainer fam’s other recommended playlists—heartbreak songs, songs that mention location, one for unwinding at the beach, a soundtrack for the slog, songs to get your karaoke groove on, tunes that mention colour, their favourite cover versions, music for your next road trip, tunes to sing in the rain, songs to dance to in your underwear, and a knockout hatke desi playlist.
