MUSIC MONDAY: “Vibes” – a Chill Room Music Playlist (LISTEN)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Hey, it’s Lori, GBN’s Editor-in-Chief, stepping in with this week’s Music Monday share. It’s a list I created for myself at the beginning of 2021 called “VIBES: Cuts for the ‘Chill’ Room” to help me keep it together after almost a full year of lockdown.

The vaccines were being rolled out, and the pandemic’s end seemed to be in sight. We all just had to chill a little bit longer.

Whelp. Here we are again, another year gone and still struggling with this beast of a global health challenge. So it seems appropriate to turn to my “chill music” playlist once again, and to share it this time, as we collectively grapple with the latest surge:

When I say “chill music,” I’m talking about the kinds of songs you’d hear in the “chill room” of a rave. Back in the 1990s when raves were at their zenith, they were often held in spaces with multiple floors or rooms.

A “chill room” gave partygoers an option to briefly escape the pounding “thumpa thumpa” and the steamy sweat generated on the main dance floor. The music played in there was on the low-key side, but still kept the vibe and pulse of the night going.

Chill room music allowed you to cool down, chillax, maybe even have a conversation with friends or fellow club lovers before going back into the space where the pounding sounds practically replaced the pounding of your own heartbeats.

This playlist features artists from those days such as Soul II Soul, Sade, Jamiroquai, Dimitri in Paris, Blue Six, Supreme Beings of Leisure, Air, Massive Attack and Mr. Fingers, plus artists like Roy Ayers whose earlier 1970s cuts (e.g. “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”) inspired much “chill room”-style music to come.

Contemporary artists Solange, Lucky Daye, Chloe X Halle, Moon Boots, Yasmin Lacey, Drake, Trackademiks, Mr. Day, Esperanza Spalding, Janelle Monae, The Internet, H.E.R., Amber Mark and Thundercat are also represented in this mix.

I personally listen to this one whenever I need to grab a moment of mellow, yet still be focused. I find it a great list to write to, pay bills… to let it be my steady, toned down pulse as I relax, refresh and reset before re-entering the “main floor.”

I hope you can enjoy… and chill.