A quick reminder regarding the theme of this thread, Chill, Chillout, downtempo and groove are typically in the electronica genre. No offense to some but we really are not looking for mellow rock or country songs, mostly songs which are in the actual sub-genre of "Chill". Thanks.
Chill-out music (sometimes also
chillout,
chill out, or simply
chill) is an
umbrella term for several styles of
electronic music characterized by their mellow style and mid-tempo beats — "chill" being derived from a slang injunction to "relax."
Chill out music emerged in the early and mid-1990s in "chill rooms" at
dance clubs, where relaxing music was played to allow dancers a chance to "chill out" from the more emphatic and fast-tempo music played on the main dance floor.
The genres associated with chill-out are mostly
ambient,
trip-hop,
nu jazz,
ambient house,
New Age and other sub-genres of
downtempo. Sometimes the
easy listening sub-genre
lounge is considered to belong to the chill-out collection as well. Chill out as a musical genre or description is synonymous with the more recently popularized terms "smooth electronica" and "soft techno" and is a loose genre of music blurring into several other very distinct styles of electronic and lo-fi music.
Downtempo (sometimes referred to as "chill out", "chill" or "downbeat") is a type of
electronic music style similar to
ambient music, but usually with a
beat or
groove.
[1] The tempo, as well as the drum patterns of each track can vary. Sometimes the beat can be restrained and/or simple. Sometimes the beats are more complicated and more featured instead of being in the background, but even then they are usually less intense than other kinds of electronic music like
trance and
house. The tempo is often slower than that of traditional
electronic dance music. Often the name
chill-out music is used to refer to songs demonstrative of the genre, but those names also refer to other styles of music, and downtempo encompasses a wider variety of styles than those terms alone would indicate. Due to the relaxing and often sensual or romantic feel of most downtempo music, it is a popular form of background music in 'chill out rooms' of dance parties, and many alternative cafes.