Essential chills

All partied out after Christmas and New Year? Planning on chilling throughout January? Here are five classic chillout albums to ease you through the month

03

THE ORB

The Orb’s Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld

(Big Life, 1991)

From the masters of chillout music, this album spawned the popular ’90s hit Little Fluffy Clouds. But that isn’t even the highlight because, in fact, the album works best as a whole. It is a concept work designed as a “two-hour psychedelic trip through music genres and studio electronics” and touches on dub, broken beats and ambient house all layered up, fleshed out and detailed with sound effects that render it a popular inclusion in many ‘Best of ’ album lists. 04

KRUDER & DORFMEISTER

The K&D Sessions

(!K7 Records, 1998)

Though beats do make an appearance, the overall atmosphere of The K&D Sessions is laidback. Along the way, the two Vienna folks produce and mix smoky jazz, zoned out drum ‘n’ bass, soft edged rap and rolling drums that are so immaculate and imperceptibly stitched together you can’t help but get swept up for the ride. 05

RHYTHM & SOUND

With The Artists

(Rhythmn & Sound, 2003)

The vast catalogue of work owned by dub masters Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald can be daunting, but there is no better place to start than with their releases as Rhythm & Sound. This album features guest vocalists on every track and when paired with the warm, soft focus, bottomless deep production of Ernestus and von Oswald, you sink right into the sofa and feel impossible fuzzy from the inside out.