Sometimes I find it very hard to review chillout music because most chillout music sounds good but it doesn’t sound great. It’s also sometimes hard to understand chillout music because usually, the movement in the chillout music is very slow in order to give that chilled pace. So, when changes in the music are so subtle and slow, as a reviewer, you can easily get impatient and put off the music as dull or repetitive too quickly. So, what was I to do when faced with this gigantic 13 track chillout album? I let it run in the background while I did whatever it is I did without trying hard to listen.

And guess what, it worked. I’ve grown to love this album much more than when I first listened to it. At that time, I found it to be just ok. For a few days, I played this album while doing whatever it is I do at the computer everyday allowing me to establish an almost unconscious connection to the vibes in this album without even trying to understand what I was listening to. I’ve started feeling comfortable in the sometimes alien but always beautiful soundscapes of German producer Chilltopia.

As a chillout producer, Chilltopia is quite a prolific. Floating which is the album being reviewed now is not his first album. He has four previous chillout albums with one more coming up after this one. Floating is just his latest complete work. I must say that once I got into the album, I am not disappointed. It’s a chillout experience that you can just keep playing over and over again. You’ll spot something new to like in the midst of all the chilly atmosphere every listen through the album. Although Chilltopia doesn’t really break much new ground in the chillout genre, it’s still one of the better chillout albums I’ve listened to before on the Internet.

Favourite track:
Moonrise
This track is absolutely gorgeous. Catches my attention every single time I play through the album. A cool drum loop starts this track unlike the rest of the tracks on the album which usually start with some kind of pad. Also, a really nice distant melody plays in the background over and over but never seems to get boring.

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Posted on August 5th, 2006 by adrian · 7 comments