disappearance of ambient/chill out rooms?

Alfons

Alfons

Way of the future
Just read this:
http://mnmlssg.blogspot.com/2008/04/can-somebody-please-direct-me-to-chill.html

and think it makes a good point. Chill out rooms were nice, a bit corny, the music was often horrible and it may have seemed a bit to contrived and plur at times but it was a good thing to have around imo.

While I wasn't around for the ambient house/chillout room bonanza in the mid 90's, I remember the resurgence of chillout at around 2000 maybe, zero 7, ulrich schnauss, morcheeba, röyksopp, countless compilations...

What happened to the chill out room?
 
P

Pestario

tell your friends
dubstep has become the second room chill out thing at some raves. Could be detrimental to the public perception of dubstep though by having it painted as a 'chill out' genre.
 
N

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
They have disappeared, I hadn't really thought about that.

Chill out rooms and ambient spaces at free parties, squat raves and festivals in the 90s were sometimes home to really adventurous music. Not just the fluffy new-age-itudes and laid back beatz you'd usually think of. There were a few all day / all night pure ambient parties that were very psychedelic scene's indeed.

I like how dubstep can be both chilled and hype simultaneously, how a good DJ can start with more or less atmosphere and take it through to focussed intensity. That's a real strength of the music.
 
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O

oblioblioblio

Wild Horses
don't go to enough parties to comment on what has happened to chill out rooms, but the times that there have been I have always loved it.

In many ways, this approach has analogously resurfaced with the emergence of netlabels... some techno labels, for example, are running smaller labels on the side which distribute their music for free, thus offering a platform without financial constraints that is quite often home to quality ambient projects.


for example www.minordust.co.uk
 
M

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
Weirdly I just posted a link to Mixmaster Morris' new night, which I presume will be very chilled

http://www.dissensus.com/showthread.php?t=7562

I think they're truly done and dusted now the smoking ban is in, eh? And agree with noel, some of the most experimental club things I've seen were in 'ambient' environments, some amazing nights.
 
K

Kuma

The Konspirator
T'was part and parcel of the times but most promoters are happier to put something slower than thee mainroom but still danceable in a backroom than anything else. Ambient just isn't as financially stimulating as a good breaks record, somebody told me a while back.

Plus the dearth of utter shite chillout compilations never helped as Martin said.

I've been doing ambient parties for over a decade now and after a point, most people were content with a bag of weed at home, even though I've done stuff with everyone from Pete Lawrence to Richard Devine.

T'aint dead though, I mean shit, we're doing our yearly show in SF this year with Kim Cascone and Jonah Sharpe and it'll be full on fucking ambient, people are already getting stoked...
 
M

Martin Dust

Techno Zen Master
Sounds good Kuma, I know what you mean a bag o weed posse I know people who go out just so they can come back early to get extra bombed, very strange.
 
W

wonk_vitesse

radio eros
I think the clubbing landscape has changed. As music has become more segregated it has become more focussed, perhaps less inclusive? Old raves kinda catered for everyone whereas now it's all little pockets of genres e.g. dubstep. Plus the fact that chillout is largely associated with the dire psytrance scene so people are more likely to give it a wide birth.
 
S

stelfox

Beast of Burden
there's just less necessity for them these days. when ecstasy was strong and trippy and people were taking hallucinogens, too, a space to regroup and smoke some weed was pretty useful. now that the drugs have changed and you can't smoke indoors, it's not really so important. while liking plenty of the music that got played in them, i always hated ambient rooms anyway - fucked up people puddled on the floor, the smell of hippies, idiots wanting to rub your shoulders or give you an indian head massage. worst thing about raving ever.
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
stelfox said:
i always hated ambient rooms anyway - fucked up people puddled on the floor, the smell of hippies, idiots wanting to rub your shoulders or give you an indian head massage. worst thing about raving ever.
Click to expand...

hahahaha :D
 
M

Martin Dust

Techno Zen Master
The chill rooms are nothing like that in Sheffield Stelfox but that was a funny post that made me think of Megadog.
 
S

stelfox

Beast of Burden
well, the chill-out room is a very specific thing really and was pretty much like that at most techno/hardcore things for a good while.
it only really changed with jungle.
the idea of room 2, however, is much more interesting than the chill-out room.
after all, everyone knows that the second rooms at jungle clubs used to play US garage and thus begat 2step etc...
 
N

noel emits

a wonderful wooden reason
Vocal / disco-y / organ driven house music influenced by the music played at the Paradise Garage. Garage music, but not UK Garage. You knew that, were you being sarcastic as in 'I think you'll find it's simply Garaage music akchually!' ;)
 
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