Behind the Beats with Chillhop

Spanish producer Cookin' Soul is currently judging our Lofi Battle till August 1st! The winning beat gets officially released by Chillhop Music, with placement in their biggest playlist on Spotify (1.1+ million followers). So hopefully these beats by Chillhop producers Philanthrope, Brous One, Moods, Psalm Trees, Mo Anando, Scarlett, Misha, Planty Herbs & VYNK get you going...

Saudades do Tempo kicks off with a brass-heavy Latin vibe by the label’s A&R Philanthrope and Chillhop regular Moods. “Moods and I both liked the loop at the beginning of the song,” says Philanthrope. “So I started with some drums, Nick [Moods] incorporated the sample on his computer, and then we sent everything back and forth a few times and finished it off.”

In the Behind the Beat video, UK producer Psalm Trees looks visibly impressed when he finds and hears “Invente O Amor” by Marcelo Cabral. Using a bunch of more elements such as three snares, a pinch of bossa nova, EQ/delay, and Logic’s Dark Upright Bass, Psalm Trees crafted the soothing first official single for the Chillhop x Tracklib collab.

Dutch producer Mo Anando took a Tracklib trip to the other side of the world for his “Glow” track. He sampled Soulmate, a blues rock band from the northeast of India. With a laid-back drum pattern, Mo Anando gives his own downtempo spin to it.

Duo Confluencia consists of Eduardo Martin & Walfrido Dominguez, two Spanish guitar virtuosos. “Noche Azul” is part of their album on which they rework 12 renowned tracks by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. On his turn, Dutch producer VYNK reworks the upbeat Flamenco from “Noche Azul” with a low, thumping beat.

“To me, it sounds like ‘In Punta Di Piedi’ could be a sample to a mid-90s New York hip-hop beat,” says Chillhop debutant Scarlett. “Because of that, I instinctively went the loop route. After that I played some keys, bass and such around the loop to drive the main motif home. Short and sweet was the idea for this one.”

Planty Herbs: “Dexter Wansel instantly had that melancholic vibe with some very tasteful licks that just instantly worked. I already had something going on the MPC, the drums & bassline, and this just sat in the middle really well!” Out of twelve tracks on Tracklib by the keyboardist and synth pioneer, it was Piano Jam 3 that tied the grooves together for him on “Sappig” (Dutch for “Juicy”).

Originally from Chile himself, it was a home game for Brous One to dig through Tracklib’s South American archives. “As I started digging through Tracklib’s catalog I was super amazed by the quality and quantity of samples available on Tracklib. That made it hard for me to decide for anything at first. But as soon as I stumbled across Clube do Balanço’s track, I knew it was the feeling I wanted to share! Happy and confident. Just as most Brazilians I’ve met. It brought me back to South America a bit and it also gave me the exact feeling I get when I ride my bike in the mornings.” On top of pitching and cutting the main sample, he found the right drums in Magic In Threes multitracks, and an open-hat from Brazilian musician Curumin. “Too dope, I needed that sample in my beat!”

A previously unreleased track Isaac Hayes was a perfect blend for Finnish producer Misha for the outro track of the compilation. Steering the soul legend into bossa territory with a Latin groove and a bit of brass.