TOP CHILL SONGS - WEEK 39

Hello, one and all, and welcome to the latest edition of We Are: The Guard's Top Chill Songs. Today is my first day back in the office after a short and sweet vacation, and quite frankly, I couldn't have asked for a better assignment to return home to. I'm feeling replenished, relaxed, and revitalized – and now I get to share that energy with you by way of the best chill vibes on the blogosphere! Without further ado, then, let's enjoy the following chill tracks from MXMS, Sasha Sloan, Hippie Sabotage, and more.

-

MXMS – WHAT'S MY NAME

Just a couple of weeks on from unveiling the piercingly haunting piano ballad “What's My Name,” MXMS return today with the official lyric video. The clip takes us on a spine-chilling journey through the desolate halls of an abandoned high school, with the shots of dusty desks and shredded wallpaper providing an apt setting for lead singer Ariel Levitan to deliver her traumatic tale about the bullying and isolation she experienced as a teenager.

SASHA SLOAN – SMILING WHEN I DIE

Los Angeles' Sasha Sloan is putting an optimistic twist on her signature sad-girl sound on her latest single “smiling when i die.” Over pattering, muted drums and intricate guitars, listen as the 24-year-old angelically sings about her desire to live life to the fullest on the King Henry-produced cut, which is perhaps Sasha's most positively outward-looking piece to date.

ALEC FERRIS – TELL ME WHERE YOU'VE BEEN

Timeless songwriting meets cutting-edge electronic production on this cut from rising Los Angeles crooner Alec Ferris' recent EP When Summer Comes. Produced by We Are: The Guard favorite Son-J, “Tell Me Where You've Been” is a hauntingly inky post-dubstep hymn for the ages, with Alec's James Blake-esque falsetto twirling with ease atop Son-J's classical piano notes and floor-filling bass flourishes.

VEGYN (FEAT. JPEGMAFIA) – NAUSEOUS / DEVILISH

Having made his name working with Frank Ocean on Endless and Blonde, Vegyn continues to build on his solo success this Friday with “Nauseous / Devilish.” The two-and-a-half-minute cut is taken from the London producer's forthcoming album Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds and features JPEGMAFIA, with the rap experimentalist's vicious swagger making for a perfect foil to Vegyn's druggy, percussive beats.

CHARLOTTE LAWRENCE – WHY DO YOU LOVE ME (HIPPIE SABOTAGE REMIX)

Charlotte Lawrence's delicious dark-pop banger “Why Do You Love Me” gets a celestial club remix this Friday courtesy of Hippie Sabotage. Listen as the sibling producer duo – who made their breakthrough in 2013 with their now-iconic take on Tove Lo's “Habits (Stay High)” – send Charlotte into outer space with this bass-heavy version, with celestial pads pairing with floor-shaking percussion for a remix like no other.

DAMEER – SUN

Summer may be fading in the rearview mirror, but Bangladeshi producer Dameer is holding on to the memories of warmer nights on his rapturous latest single “Sun.” Coming to us by way of our friends over at Majestic Casual, “Sun” is the kind of song that leaves you glowing from the inside out, with the coruscating instrumentation of Dameer's South Asian heritage meeting a more contemporary indie-disco sound.

SAINT BARAE – POWER + CONTROL

It doesn't get much more mesmerizing than this, let me tell you. Gold Coast-based synth-pop artist Saint Barae is here to sweep you away with his enthrallingly dreamy latest single “Power + Control.” Written about his recent decision to come out to his religious and conservative family, “Power‌ + Control” finds Saint juxtaposing images of spirituality with images of sexuality, with the end result making for a truly intoxicating listen.

LITCHE – NOTHING TO LOSE

Australian producer Litche finds a moment of quiet amid the stress of modern-day living on his latest single “Nothing to Lose.” “With mental health being such an important and often overlooked part of life, I wanted to create music that is mood lifting,” writes the Newcastle native of the instrumental, which makes use of a wide variety of vocal samples, synth textures, and percussive sounds in order to dynamically build an atmosphere of early-morning calm.

DABL – NOT ME

Meet dabl, the Baltimore producer who's making his affecting debut on We Are: The Guard this Friday with “Not Me.” Released to coincide with his 20th birthday, “Not Me” gives an insight into dabl's penchant for bringing together a multitude of genres, with the song opening to an intricately emo-esque spread of vocals and guitar, before exploding into an emotive future-bass anthem that proves this up-and-coming artist really can do it all.

PETRIE – JEALOUSY

There's no feeling quite as all-encompassing as jealousy. Just ask Petrie, the London-based R&B duo who are getting to grips with the green-eyed monster on “Jealousy.” “I'm too strung out on jealousy/I heard a tale from Bethany,” sing Petrie with Frank Ocean-esque finesse on the cut, which hears the two-piece exposing envy in all of its obsessive, maniacal glory over a backdrop of soft, pillowy chords and trap-lite drums.

-

Until next time, why not follow We Are: The Guard's Weekly Chart for more? x

Photo by Etienne Boulanger 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.