Chillhop Records released a winter compilation just in time for 2018 to come to a close. The 26 songs project is the fourth in a quartet of seasonal compilations guaranteed to take you into the new year with tranquility and euphoria.
With artwork handled by Brazilian illustrator Mauro Martins throughout the year, the newest release is no different. Essentials Winter is a chilled offering of cozy beats and relaxed sounds. Featuring over an hour of original and exclusive music from producers all over the world, the new offering is a special arrangement for your snowflake soaked ears. Grab a cup of coffee, prepare some hot tea, light a fire, and press play on this stunning compilation, complete with animation by Igor Duspara. To enhance an already enjoyable experience, we reached out to various producers from this compilation to ask them about their creative process. Ten artists spoke about their individual songs as well as how they pass the time during the winter season. Read below to learn more about some of your favorite musicians and enjoy the icy artwork found throughout this feature story. Lastly, if you haven’t already, be sure to grab this compilation on vinyl. It will be sold out sooner than later.
leavv
“Candle”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
I had this image in mind, a small, cozy room somewhere near the sea. Using a lot of soft, creaky and wooden sounds, I wanted to make the track sound calming, delicate and maybe a little fragile.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
My tracks are often influenced by what’s going on outside. When it’s getting green again during spring, I tend to make uplifting music. Summer is often about going outside, experiencing things. For me, cool experiences usually lead to musical experimentation when I’m home. Speaking of home, fall is the time when I like to stay at home, make some tea and work on music that fits my mood, interrupted by occasional walks in the woods, when the trees are all golden. Winter is even heavier on the reflective side for me, it may be the coldest time of the year, but it can also be the coziest.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
Fall is my favorite time overall and this year I had even more inspiration than usual. It’s once again the time where I work on so many projects at once and I’m really enjoying it.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
Where I live right now, we barely have any snow, which is why I prefer staying inside to focus. However, when there is snow or I’m on vacation at the right place, count me in for spending hours out there.
Sofasound
“With all I am”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
For me, the process was pretty interesting. I had spent most of this year in the hospital with stomach issues and haven’t been able to eat any solid food. I was so uninspired to write and exhausted but this song almost was ripped straight from my soul in the course of a few hours when I realized that I’m a musician “With All That I Am”.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
Living in Florida you realize the seasons don’t change much at all but to me it’s more about my memories of living in a town in New York where the leaves changed and snow fell. It’s almost as if the vibe mellows out as the year goes deeper and deeper. I find myself always making emotional music year round though.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
Year round brother! I have no favorite season for music, although if I did have to answer, summer because of the happier music that people usually make inspired me.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
Again, living in Florida I could go to the beach any day of the year. It’s always hot and sunny, but usually the thing that changes is I spend a lot more time with friends and family. It’s my healing time from all of the work and grinding.
Ruck P
“Gratitude”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
I had a little chord progression in mind, but wasn’t really sure about the vibe. So I listened to some old 70s soul songs and this gave me the inspiration to focus on creating a smooth bass line with some soulful guitar chords on it. After that it wasn’t a big deal to finish this vibe with some drums and horns. I really love that part of process after the prevailing mood is set.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
I definitely create other moods depending on the season. When it’s sunny and warm outside, I prefer making beats with a kind of “funky” groove and simple chords. And when it’s cold, I focus more on a chord progression that touches your soul immediately instead of making you want to dance.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
I definitely spend more time in the studio when it’s cold outside. This doesn’t mean that I prefer autumn and winter. I also love it when I can go outside after a studio session, play basketball or spend my time with friends.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
I really love winters in Switzerland while being in the mountains. Often I spend a day in the studio and the next day I decide with my girl in which region we want to go snowboard. Havin’ a beautiful day on the mountain and then havin’ a fondue or raclette in our cozy living room.
Sleepy Fish
“Fall’s Echoes”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
My process for making the Chillhop Essentials Winter was the same as most other things lately. I sat down one morning before class and messed around with with synths and my guitar, and then I got the bass line down and kind of used that as the main backbone and driving force of the track from there on.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
The seasons really influence me as there’s a certain feeling that comes with every season, and this song is inspired by the end of fall and the beginning of winter where it’s still not cold to the point of where it’s too cold, but just right with a hoodie and jacket. I love that time of year so much.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
I don’t think so! Each season kind of comes with its own inspirations and feelings. Snow, summer nights, the fall smell and the feeling of when it gets warm again are probably my favorite things from each of the seasons.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
Haha, I am definitely inside more. I love looking out at the snow much more than I do going out in it definitely. It just adds to the cozy feeling of being inside when you know it’s freezing and cold outside.
Juan RIOS
“petricor”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
In order to make “Petricor”, I started to play some chords and melodies on keyboard until I got what I was looking for. After recording it, I made the same with the guitar. Then I started working on the drums and next I added some effects and structure and mixed it all. I titled the beat “Petricor”, which means a pleasant smell when it rains after a long period of dry weather. This smell reminds me of where I live in this season. I’m so happy with the final result.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
The seasons influence me a lot. In spring or summer, I make my beats more warm and bright. In autumn or winter, my beats become more deep and nostalgic. I always try to express what I am feeling at the time in making the beat.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
For making music, I love all seasons. They are all so different, and this makes me make beats with different vibes than the previous season.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
I live in Seville, South Spain. In winter, snow is not common here, if ever.
a l e x
“I need to paint my walls”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
For this specific beat I was really just trying to make something light-hearted. The way I come up with melodies is hard to explain in a technical sense, but I try to imagine an emotion like a soundtrack to a scene. A lot of my inspiration is very visual ironically. I imagine a scene or picture and then try to hear what kind of music would fit in that scene. After that I’m just able to recreate it (most of the time). Under this alias (a l e x) most of my beats come from scenes I remember as a kid. I think that helps to create a nostalgic feeling.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
As for the seasons influencing me, I think it still has to do with me recreating a scene in my head.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
I like the way things look more in winter and fall so I think I make music best at that time of year.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
The way I spend my winters is pretty much the same as the rest of the year. I live in Seoul so nothing really stops the movement of the city, but I do try to stay inside as much as I can because it gets really cold over here.
fantompower
“blankets”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
I actually began making ‘Blankets’ in late October, and it started off as just a little eight bar bump that I made one afternoon. After listening to it multiple times, I decided that the track’s overall mood made it perfect to release in the winter. So I hashed it out a little more by adding some more instrumentation and arrangement, sent it over to Chillhop, and the rest is history.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
I live in Bellingham, Washington, about an hour south of the Canadian border. Here, winters are really dark, and we only get about 7-8 hours of light a day. Because of this, I think my sound in the winter tends to be a little warmer than usual. Especially with this new song ‘Blankets’, I wanted to create an atmosphere that sounded like a cozy cabin in the woods. I wanted it to be a song you could listen to curled up on the couch, with a cup of tea, staring out the window at falling snowflakes.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
Fall and winter are definitely my favorite times to be making music. Like I’ve said before, I like to make music that is warm and introspective, and I find it’s a lot easier for me to do that in the winter for some reason. Probably because I don’t leave my house much in the winter time. I’m a pretty introverted person, and I tend to be even more introverted in the winter (probably due to Seasonal Affective Disorder *laughs*).
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
I’m definitely a homebody, so in the winter I like to spend a lot of time at home working on music. However, I’ve also been snowboarding for most of my life, so when the snow is good I love to go up to the mountains and get some turns in on the slopes!
Aso
“Rainy Days”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
Making the track for winter essentials was an interesting experience. Trying to fit the vibe of winter , meaning making my track as warm and fuzzy as possible. I just made some tea in the early morning and made something as soft as possible.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
Each season brings a different vibe for sure, fall and winter are sort of the cozy vibes. When spring and summer are more uplifting and bright.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
I prefer making music for the winter, or cold weather. Something about making warm music to ease the cold weather is a great thought.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
I spend my winters inside with a cup of tea and some warm socks. Playing plenty of video games and making as many jazzy tunes as possible.
Ian Ewing
“seltzy”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
Much like my process for most songs: vibing in my home studio whilst getting cranked on coffee. I usually make music during the daytime, so I definitely try to take my breaks outside, especially when making these tracks that are dedicated to/inspired by seasons.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
I live in a place with 4 pretty distinct seasons, and I definitely think each one brings similarly distinct moods and feelings. I think I follow pretty common themes, with my music sounding a bit more reflective and moody in the fall and winter months, and a bit more uplifting and energetic in the spring and summer months.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
Traditionally it’s been the summer, as this is the time when I was always happiest. Luckily nowadays I’m enjoying any season and am always happy to be living life and making music!
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
We have a super long winters in my area, so it’s split up half and half. The first few months are super enjoyable, so I love spending time outside (I’m staying dry though lol). Then the last few months are horrid and I ain’t leaving the house til it’s spring.
Harris Cole
“larkspur”
What was the process like making your track for Chillhop’s Essentials Winter?
This one was one of the few songs I’ve made where I started and finished it in the same session, usually I’ll take anywhere from several weeks to several years to finish a song, even if that means sitting on it for a while and not touching it, but this one came together on its own.
How does each season influence you differently in terms of sound?
I can’t say that one season influences me differently from the next; I wouldn’t doubt I find different influence from different seasons, though I hadn’t given it much thought until now.
Do you have a particularly favorite season for making music?
I don’t think I have any favorite season(s) to make music, any kind of weather has the capacity to inspire me.
How do you normally spend your winters? Are you inside more or outside in the snow?
Prior to moving to Los Angeles several weeks ago, I wouldn’t find myself outside when it’s cold, let alone snowy. When I was much younger, I used to play in the snow a great deal, but I think the novelty of that excitement wore off at a very young age, and quickly transitioned into, “Fuck, it’s cold out.”
