Along with the dawning of the grunge rock movement, rise of Britpop, commercial ascendance of hip-hop, emergence of the neo-soul subgenre, and (regrettable) resurrection of boy-band pop, the musical landscape of the 1990s was also defined by the proliferation of the so-called chill-out phenomenon.
Particularly pervasive across Europe, and markedly less so stateside, during the final decade of the 20th century into the early years of the new millennium, chill-out was the convenient classification for music largely defined by lush, downtempo and midtempo electronic beats and rhythms. The perfect late-night, come-down complement to a long, adrenaline-fueled and/or drug-enhanced evening of dancing your fanny off to high-energy dancefloor stompers at your local club, in other words.
While plenty of hackneyed acts gave the style a whirl to capitalize on the genre’s popularity, offering banal, soulless, and ultimately forgettable tunes in the process, there were thankfully a handful of respectable artists that actually crafted music of substance and stamina during the period. Artists who, while lumped within the broadly defined chill-out category, possessed noticeably more refined, kaleidoscopic musical vision and ambition that defied such lazy labels.
Included among this rarefied group were Air, Chicane, Groove Armada, Gus Gus, Kruder & Dorfmeister, Lamb, Morcheeba, Nightmares on Wax, Sneaker Pimps, and Thievery Corporation, among others, in addition to the Bristol contingent of Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky, all of whom, bless their creative souls, were often tagged with the chill-out brand as well.
Perched high at the top of the class with their aforementioned peers is Hooverphonic, the Belgian band formed in 1995 by the quartet of Esther Lybeert (vocalist, who was replaced by Liesje Sadonius soon thereafter), Frank Duchêne (keyboardist), Alex Callier (multi-instrumentalist, programmer, producer), and Raymond Geerts (guitarist). Originally named Hoover, the group added the “phonic” qualifier to avoid potential copyright issues with the famous vacuum cleaner company, not to mention the now-defunct Washington DC-based and German bands that had already staked their claims to the name. From: https://albumism.com/features/tribute-celebrating-25-years-of-hooverphonic-a-new-stereophonic-sound-spectacular
