Time again to sit back and chill. What follows is over an hour and a half of tunes to help you unwind from that stressful day. Although I did not plan it this way, for some reason 12 of the 18 tracks on this list have artists/bands whose names start with the letter A, three of those being Alex! The majority of the tracks are labeled as electronic (11), with the rest labeled either dance, R&B/soul, or pop. With the exception of four tunes from the late 1990s, the rest are from between 2008 – 2022. First up a little background on four of the “As.”
Alexis Latrobe, known professionaly as Alex Gopher, is a French mastering engineer, electronic musician, and producer. He worked as a sound engineer at Translab Studio, most notably for Angèle, Clara Luciani, Lomepal, Oizo, Etienne Daho, and others. Over the years, he has contributed a great deal to the French “touch” movement. This is one of the descriptors for French house music, along with “filter house” and “tekfunk.” It is a style of house music devised by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Eurodisco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music scene. The defining characteristics of the genre are filter and phaser effects both on and alongside samples from the late 1970s and early 1980s disco tracks.
Latrobe began his career playing bass in the band Orange with future Air members, Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicholas Godin. After the group split, he began to create electronic music and embarked on a successful solo career. His musical style mainly consists of sampling, along with recruiting vocal talent. My featured track is “You My Baby and I,” from the 1999 two disc release of the same name.
Cassandra Monique Batie, known professionally as Andra Day, is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Children’s and Family Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and has been nominated for an Academy Award. In 2015, she released her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, which contains my featured track, “Goodbye Goodnight.” At the 2016 Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for best R&B album, and its single, “Rise Up,” for best R&B performance. In 2020, Day became one of the most-requested artists among Jazz Joy and Roy Global Radio listeners. She made her acting debut in 2021, with her portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lee Daniel’s biopic, The United States vs. Billy Holiday. She received her Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture for her role, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.
Apry Brown (also known as Athlete Whippet) is the musical moniker of Robin Paul Braum. He is renowned for cleverly fusing different musical influences into timeless contemporary jams. Spreading himself across London and Berlin, he has become an integral part of both cities’ scenes in recent years with mixes and remixes for the likes of Toy Tonics, Aus Music, Rhythm Section, and Kitsumé Musique. In 2024, Brown took his joyful, high energy sets that combine club music’s intensity with the charm and intricacy of non-electronic, organic music, to stages across mainland Europe, the UK, and as far as Australia and New Zealand. He takes a communal approach to music making, Robin co-founded Athlete Whippet together with long-term friend and collaborator Aviram Barath, who he co-ran the artist collective and record label, Squareglass. My featured track, “Slow Down,” is from his 2022 EP, Nogueira.
Audio Lotion hit the music scene in 1999 with their debut album, Advanced Skin Care, a sensual blend of mellow drum’n’bass, ambient, jazzy downbeat, as well as elements from classic and Latin music. Consisting of Abu and Aleph, they are located in Zurich, Switzerland and have been making electronic music for 15 years, six of these as Audio Lotion. This band name, along with some of their album titles, suggest the concept behind the art: Audio Lotion is wellness for mind and body. It’s your daily beauty treatment applied to your ears in order to soothe your soul. Given what is going on in the world today, we should be listening to them 24/7! Audio Lotion’s vocal muse and faithful companion has been singer Noreen, who has contributed her lovely voice and composing/writing skills to various tracks since their second album. She sings in the tradition of bossa nova starts such as Astrud and Bebel Gilberto.
And now for some music. Enjoy!
Los Angeles 2025
I decidedly stylish and sensual collection of chillax tracks. I’m amazed at how you manage to find all these songs, North!
I listen to a lot of music! Thank you, I like this one a great deal!