TOP CHILL SONGS - WEEK 34

Well, well, well, here we are, everyone. The final week of summer (sort of. The equinox technically isn't for another 30 days yet.). As sad as I am that the vacation season is ending, I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to being able to step outside of my house again without melting into a sweaty puddle of human flesh. I'm also looking forward to the music, after all, is there anything better than spending the fall months wrapped up in a warm blanket and sipping on a hot cocoa while listening to some chilltastic tracks?! Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. There's still a bit of August to go, so why not join me in seeing it out in style this Friday with the latest edition of We Are: The Guard's Top Chill Songs, featuring 6LACK, Disclosure, Iron & Wine, and more?!

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6LACK – NONCHALANT

Nobody keeps it real like 6LACK. While other rappers are busy showing themselves up in an attempt to stay relevant, this Atlanta artist is out here doing his own thing and thriving because of it. Case in point: “Nonchalant.” From his forthcoming album East Atlanta Love Letter, this dark three-minute cut finds Ricardo Valdez Valentine at his most pensive best.

DISCLOSURE – WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

Disclosure are calling on the spirit of jazz (The Mighty Boosh style!) on their latest single. “Where Angels Fear to Tread” is, essentially, a remix of The Four Freshmen's crooner classic of the same name, with Disclosure taking the a cappella original and pairing it with a swinging house beat that'll get your toes tapping, hands clapping, and fingers snapping!

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD – B THERE 2 HOLD U

When life gets too much, I can always rely on Blackbird Blackbird to take me far, far away. The Los Angeles producer also known as Mikey Maramag is sounding more otherworldly than ever on his latest single and the follow up to his Neon Night EP, “B There 2 Hold U,” a dreamy synth pop millefeuille that packs in the vibes between its ethereal textures.

ALT-J – 3WW (OTG REMIX FEAT. LITTLE SIMZ)

Ahead of the release of their hip hop-driven remix album REDUXER in September, alt-J have shared OTG's take on “3WW.” To call this brooding reinterpretation unrecognizable from the RELAXER original would almost seem an understatement, with London rapper Little Simz bringing some seriously intense lyrical heat over OTG's moody trip hop beats.

DANIELA ANDRADE – GENESIS

Daniela Andrade pays tribute to her Hispanic heritage on her engulfing new single “Genesis.” The ballad hears her experimenting with various vocal pitches in order to tell a story about acceptance, both of who you are and where you came from, with the song coming paired with a video that sees Daniela immersing herself in Latin American culture.

IRON & WINE – WAVES OF GALVESTON

Ahead of the release of his EP Weed Garden next Friday, Iron & Wine has shared “Waves of Galveston.” The song, which was originally performed live by Sam Beam for The A.V. Club's State Songs in 2013, is a tender ode to the coastal resort city of Galveston, Texas, with Iron & Wine's frothy timbers cresting with ease over a warm sea of acoustics.

BUNSA – BITTERSWEET

There's very little that I can tell you about Bunsa, but it really doesn't matter, as this Bergen producer is letting the music speak for itself on “bittersweet.” With sparkling cascades of synths coming backed by Drake-style dancehall beats, it's only a matter of time before this electronic pop gem from Bunsa's recent EP of the same name takes over the blogosphere.

KILL J – STRANGE FRUITS OF THE SEA

Kill J is back and getting political on her latest single. “It's a protest song – about borders, walls, barbed wire fences, and people trying to survive on small boats crossing the Mediterranean Sea,” reveals the Copenhagen artist of “Strange Fruits of the Sea,” an avant-garde slab of electronica that pairs razor-sharp beats with Kill J's ever-incisive lyrics.

SUNNI COLON – BABY I DON'T MIND

This is smoother than peanut butter! No, really, if I could lick this song from my fingertips, I most definitely would! Sunni Colon understands how to treat a lady on his latest single “Baby I Don't Mind,” a psychedelic groove that hears the Paris crooner singing about loving and committing to woman, regardless of her actions.

GROENI – WARBORN

Wellington's Groeni explore the space between the beats in this video for the mesmerizing “Warborn.” Directed by Maxim Zhestkov, the clip leads viewers through a variety of animated geometric landscapes, with both audio and visual coming together to form a kind of mixed media art installation that's nothing short of enthralling.

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Photo by Jon Ly on Unsplash

Jess Grant is a frustrated writer hailing from London, England. When she isn't tasked with disentangling her thoughts from her brain and putting them on paper, Jess can generally be found listening to The Beatles, or cooking vegetarian food.