There’s never been a time when there wasn’t craziness going on in the world. Sometimes there’s more than others, and sometimes it hits closer to home, but nobody really needs to tell you about it. Instead, it might be more useful if you could have something to lessen the angst a little bit and provide a little solace for the spirit, a warm bath for the soul. That’s something music’s always been great at, and the heavier things get out there, the more we need it. With that in mind, here’s an ultra-mellow mix of tunes designed not just to chill you out but to immerse you in a restorative sonic cocoon.
We’ve plucked palliative tunes from a broad, seemingly disparate spectrum of styles—everything from ’90s alternative to ’60s spiritual jazz, bossa nova to folk rock, ambient electronics to Memphis soul. But the ostensible differences notwithstanding, all the tracks are unified in a singularity of purpose: talking you through, tucking you in, and taking your tension down as many notches as possible.
A mighty assemblage of artists is on board for that important task. There’s the cosmic jazz journeys of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, the harmony-pop heaven of The Beach Boys and The Bee Gees, the sweeping, synthesized textures of Ana Roxanne and Julianna Barwick, the gentle balladeering of Emilíana Torrini and Nick Drake, all tumbling together in the service of settling you down and sending you someplace that feels friendlier than what the wider world’s got to offer you at the moment.
Photo by Josh Boot on Unsplash
