BEST CHILL MUSIC - WEEK 34

Everyone has their way of relaxing after a long, hard week at the office. Some like to go for a run or sweat it out at the gym. Others prefer to meditate or try their hand at yoga. For those of us here at We Are: The Guard, our way of unwinding after several days of intense grinding is by listening to music (preferably with noise-canceling headphones!). As 5 o'clock fast approaches, then, why not join the team and I in turning down the volume on life and turning up the volume on this week's edition of Best Chill Music, featuring Uppermost, Tchami, Channel Tres, Radio Slave, Ghastly, and more?

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UPPERMOST – TRUE

The best thing about music is that it can transport you to another place entirely. Case in point: “True” by digital auteur Uppermost. With traditional Eastern elements rubbing up against a more modern-day vista of electronic beats, “True” is a deeply evocative instrumental that manages to bring to life the rich, vibrant streets of India at the click of a “play” button.

LASTLINGS – LAST BREATH

Australia's Lastlings return to RÜFÜS DU SOL's Rose Avenue Records this Friday with their darkly emotive latest single “Last Breath.” With Amy Dowdle's haunting vocals ringing out like a siren over Josh Dowdle's atmospheric, brooding production, “Last Breath” is a powerfully affective piece of music that the sister-brother duo reveal is “about being born, seeing first light, living, and being there for each other until our last breath.” Listen.

VŌX – I CAN FEEL MYSELF LEANING

It's been a hot minute since we last heard from vōx, but the We Are: The Guard favorite is back and sounding more transfixing than ever on “I Can Feel Myself Leaning.” The latest single to be unveiled from her forthcoming EP I Am Not a God finds vōx continuing to traffic in everything “avant-garde,” with her manipulated, almost operatic vocals and experimental production coming together in truly bewitching form.

TCHAMI – RAINFOREST

Get ready to soak in the natural beauty that is “Rainforest” by Tchami. The French future-house act is genuinely evoking a feeling of soaring high above the tree line with his latest single, with Tchami's dynamic production striking that perfect balance between danceable and melodic and chill and vibey without ever seeming like it's trying too hard.

NICK LENG – TUNNELS AND PLANES

And now for a chill classic of sorts from Nick Leng. It's been over four years, but I'm pleased to say that the South African experimentalist's cut “Tunnels and Planes” still hits as hard as it did in 2015, with the blend of airy vocal chops, bell-like synths, and swathes of static noise taking listeners on a journey of unmatched dream-inducing beauty.

HANGING VALLEYS – ARION

Are you ready for some healing? Folk duo Hanging Valleys return to our column with the lush “Arion.” Steeped in delay guitars and atmospheric, reverb-soaked vocals, “Arion” is an ode to overcoming negative mentalities than genuinely feels like a tonic for the soul. “Life can be a fight from time to time and the first step to hauling yourself out from deep water is the realization that your thought patterns need to change,” write the band. Enjoy.

CHANNEL TRES – RAW POWER

Channel Tres gets in touch with his inner “Raw Power” on this engulfing cut from his recent EP Black Moses. “I'ma take my shirt off just like Iggy,” croons the GODMODE upstart on the song, a trance-inducing ode to the Stooges frontman that hears Channel making like a kind of sultry shaman as he drifts in and out of consciousness over an absorbing house beat.

APPARAT – CARONTE (RADIO SLAVE REMIX)

Apparat's “CARONTE” gets a hypnotic, transformative makeover this Friday courtesy of Radio Slave. Listen as the producer – who's previously remixed everyone from Kylie Minogue to Charlotte Gainsbourg – strips away the cello motif of the LP5 original, replacing it instead with earth-shaking beats and captivating synth arpeggios on this episodic reinvention, which clocks in at a cool nine minutes (okay, well, just under!).

GHASTLY – I HAVE UR BACK

Ahead of the release of his forthcoming album Haunted House – an album that he reveals on Twitter was almost lost last year – Los Angeles producer Ghastly has shared “I Have Ur Back.” It's a groovy composition that makes for a perfect accompaniment to the end of summer (only eight days left!), with dreamy, soulful, otherworldly vocal chops effortlessly swirling atop a funky house beat that more than delivers on the vibes.

SEBASTIAN PAUL (FEAT. PHOEBE RYAN) – SO DONE

SEBASTIAN PAUL is getting melancholic on his Phoebe Ryan-featuring latest single. Listen as the Mad Decent signee attempts to come to terms with the end of a relationship on “SO DONE,” with his bleary-eyed vocals (is anyone else getting Lil Peep vibes?) coming set against a skittering trap beat for a numb-the-pain anthem for sad boys everywhere.

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Photo by Ross Sneddon 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.