BEST CHILL SONGS – WEEK 25

Ah. Isn't the above photo beautiful? I'm not sure about you guys, but after the week I've had, I could definitely do with escaping to somewhere like that right now. Well why don't we? Admittedly they can't magic up sun, sea and sand (or a cute blonde girl for that matter), but the following chill songs can at least help to transport you to your happy place in your head. Featuring Nashville outfit Night Beds, Toronto producer Tep No, Hamburg beatmaker Luka and more, I'd go as far as to say this is one of my finest playlists yet. So throw on your favorite sunglasses, sit back and relax – it's time to soak in the good vibes.

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NIGHT BEDS – TIDE TEETH

It's a scary prospect when one of your favorite bands completely overhauls their sound, but in the case of Night Beds, their music has only got better. Gone is the poignant Americana of Country Sleep, replaced instead by a beguiling R&B on “Tide Teeth,” the latest single to be unveiled from the Nashville outfit's upcoming sophomore album, Ivywild. This sense of rebirth is carried through into the accompanying video from director Dan Huiting, which sees a young girl set fire (quite literally) to her troubled past.

BLOOMS – SKIN

Can you believe this song is over a year old? It sounds fresher than most of the stuff I write on today. London chanteuse Blooms has come a long way since unveiling her debut single “Skin” in October 2013, including releasing her first EP If and more recently the P*nut and Gil Lewis-produced banger “Love,” but still I find myself returning to her inaugural effort. A brooding slice of sophisti-pop that builds in momentum until it practically engulfs you, it remains one of my favorite discoveries to date.

RAYE – SHINE (YEARS AND YEARS COVER)

I've lost count of the amount of remixes and covers I've heard of “Shine” by Years and Years, but this rendition by their recent support act Raye slays each and every one. A sultry R&B number centred around the 17-year-old London songstress' signature vocal acrobatics, it couldn't be further from Olly Alexander and co's buoyant original. Obsessed.

POOLS – WOODS AND TRAILS

The enigmatic producer Pools returns with yet another miniature masterpiece in the form of “Woods and Trails.” As the title suggests, the composition is the perfect accompaniment to your next early morning stroll through the forest. Combining organic percussion (some of which sounds like it was genuinely recorded in the woods) with hypnotic vocal samples, bass and synths, consider it your daily dose of paradise.

NICK HAKIM – I DON'T KNOW

How comes I'm discovering this song 10 months too late? Nick Hakim is from Brooklyn and “I Don't Know” features on his 2014 sophomore EP Where Will We Go, Pt. 2. Bringing together soul, blues and lounge influences, it's the sort of number I can imagine hearing in a dimly-lit bar at two in the morning – alone, in a drunken haze and at a loss with life. As I order my umpteenth whisky and take another drag on my cigarette, that voice echoes out of nowhere like a divine revelation, making my soul feel something for the first time. Damn.

OH WONDER – WHITE BLOOD (TEP NO REMIX)

After getting us in the mood for romance on “Pacing,” Tep No returns with a sun-kissed remix of Oh Wonder's “White Blood.” The original rendered me speechless and this version has much the same effect. A stripped-back affair for the most part, the Toronto producer softly builds to a chill drop at the end of the song packed full of summer vibes.

THE ACID – RA (LUKA REMIX)

If you didn't think The Acid could get any more, well, trippy, think again. Hamburg beatmaker Luka – the man who I once described as using “beats as if they are brush strokes” – puts an even headier spin on “Ra” from the trio's debut album Liminal on this all-encompassing remix. Gone is the acoustic guitar of the original, replaced instead by a droning layer of synths and room-filling percussion, beneath which Ry x's vocals undulate as if being filtered through a hallucinogenic haze. Tune in and drop out.

JAI WOLF – INDIAN SUMMER

Jai Wolf is doing everything right. Dude already counts Skrillex, Alesso and Dirty South among his fans, and now the New York City beatmaker is releasing his debut original production “Indian Summer” through Foreign Family Collective, the record label founded by the ODESZA boys. East meets West on this scintillating dance number, which is sure to go down at treat during Jai's set at HARD Summer in August.

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Thanks for listening you guys. Until next time, go find your happy place. x

“Untitled” by Sean Pritchard is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized).

About Jess Grant

When Jess Grant isn't writing on music, she can be found playing it – on her guitar, on her ukulele, and on her recently acquired mandolin. Playing it hideously, she ought to add. Jess also studies. She studies the English language, to be precise. Jess is currently on her way to a degree in the subject, and enjoys starting and never finishing novels, screenplays, and poetry in her spare time. She also likes dogs. Lots of dogs.