Chillwave is a small type of music that began in the late 2000s. It reminds people of popular songs from the late 1970s and early 1980s. This music often makes listeners think about memories and feelings from the past. Common traits include a soft, dreamy sound similar to old pop music, lyrics that describe places like beaches or summer, artistic styles that look like old psychedelic or low-quality music, calm singing, slow or medium-paced rhythms, special sound effects (especially reverb), and old-style electronic instruments.
Chillwave was one of the first music types to grow mainly through the Internet. The name was first used in 2009 by a humorous blog called Hipster Runoff to mock small music styles and artists whose sounds resembled background music from 1980s VHS tapes. Before this, similar music was called shoegaze, dream pop, ambient, or indietronica. Important artists included Neon Indian, Washed Out, and Toro y Moi, who became famous during 2009's "Summer of Chillwave." Washed Out's 2009 song "Feel It All Around" is the most well-known chillwave track.
Many artists used the style's simple, low-cost production, which led to too many similar artists joining the scene. This caused the original chillwave movement to decline. The word "chillwave" later became a negative term because some people thought the music was shallow and overly focused on nostalgia. Critics also said the name was made up by media outlets. Chillwave helped start the spread of many online music styles in the early 2010s, such as vaporwave, which was a funny version of chillwave. By the mid-2010s, chillwave was no longer popular, and most of the original artists and fans moved on to other music styles.
Musical origins
A style of music that resembles today's "chillwave" has been around for about 20 years. It has been common and familiar, so much so that people rarely thought to give it a specific name. Chillwave has been grouped with genres like psychedelia, bedroom pop, and electropop. Before it had a name, it was described as shoegaze, dream pop, ambient, or indietronica. Pitchfork's Nitsuh Abebe noted that this style existed since at least 1992, mainly because "stoned, happy college kids listened to records while falling asleep." Abebe mentioned artists like Slowdive, the Blissed Out ambient compilations from Darla Records, and Casino Versus Japan's 1998 album as examples. One of the earliest known examples is the Beach Boys' song "All I Wanna Do" from their 1970 album Sunflower. Boards of Canada, Fennesz, and J Dilla's 2006 album Donuts were also influential.
Ariel Pink is often called "the godfather of chillwave." He gained attention in the mid-2000s with home-recorded albums that reworked 1970s radio-rock and 1980s new wave in a lo-fi style. The Paw Tracks label, which released Pink's music, was run by Animal Collective, who signed him after hearing his recordings. Uncut's Sam Richard described Pink as "a lo-fi legend" whose "ghostly pop sound" influenced chillwave artists like Ducktails and Toro y Moi. Critic Adam Harper disagreed with Pink's "godfather" title, saying his influence on lo-fi scenes was overstated and his music lacked "the mirror-shades-cool synth groove of chillwave." Allene Norton of Cellars noted that while Pink was not chillwave, his work influenced artists like Washed Out.
In March 2007, Animal Collective member Panda Bear (Noah Lennox) released his solo album Person Pitch, credited with starting the chillwave style. The album inspired many indie musicians and became a major influence on chillwave and similar sounds. Animal Collective also contributed to the movement. Their 2009 album Merriweather Post Pavilion was influential for its ambient sounds and repetitive melodies, though it was not closely tied to chillwave's "hazy" psychedelia. Flavorwire's Tom Hawking said chillwave artists took "the sort of ill-defined pastoral nostalgia" from Animal Collective's early work and developed it into a genre. However, Animal Collective was not directly part of the chillwave scene, more like its "spiritual overlords."
In February 2008, Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox of Deerhunter) released his debut album Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel. Music journalist Larry Fitzmaurice said Cox's influence on chillwave was "impossible to overstate," noting the album's "ice-sculpture ambient pop" and themes of impermanence and memory, which became central to chillwave. Lennox later contributed guest vocals to Cox's 2009 song "Walkabout," which Fitzmaurice called an "early chillwave totem."
Etymology and hypnagogic pop
In the late 2000s, during a time when many parts of the economy were struggling, young people in the United States found comfort in a new type of music. This music, called "chillwave," was created by combining sounds from the past, such as soft synthesizers, old recordings, and relaxed drum beats. Though few musicians openly called themselves chillwavers, the style became very popular and influenced many later artists, including Tame Impala and the creators of lofi study beats.
The term "chillwave" first appeared in a blog post written in July 2009 by a person named "Carles," who managed a website called Hipster Runoff. The blog, which was active from 2008 to 2013, often joked about trends in music and culture. In one post, Carles suggested names for a group of similar-sounding bands, including "Chill Bro Core" and "CumWave." He also proposed the term "chillwave" to describe the music.
Around the same time, a journalist named David Keenan wrote about a music trend he called "hypnagogic pop." This style used old recording techniques and focused on feelings of nostalgia. Chillwave was often grouped with hypnagogic pop and another term called "glo-fi," though "glo-fi" was not widely used for long.
Chillwave and hypnagogic pop both used sounds from the 1980s and 1990s, but chillwave had a more catchy and commercial sound. Some critics, like Miles Bowe of Pitchfork, said chillwave became a way to describe the "cynical" use of hypnagogic pop by artists who changed their style to make more mainstream music. David Keenan later said he was disappointed with how chillwave became a way to praise poor taste in music.
Carles later said he had only wanted to make fun of the situation by suggesting silly names. Alan Palomo of Neon Indian believed the term "chillwave" became popular because it was sarcastic and fit the time when music blogs were very influential. The term gained more attention in early 2010 when it was written about in major newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Peak popularity
Chillwave became popular in 2008 and 2009, reaching its peak during the "Summer of Chillwave" in 2009. This time was known for many artists using names and song titles that mentioned summer, the beach, or surfing. Songs from this genre were usually slow to medium in speed and used old-fashioned, analog instruments that sounded like music from the late 1970s and early 1980s. While there was no single place where chillwave began, it was most common along the southern and eastern coasts of the United States, with Brooklyn, New York, being the most notable area. Neon Indian (Alan Palomo), Washed Out (Ernest Greene), and Toro y Moi (Chaz Bundick) were the leading artists of the chillwave movement. All three were solo musicians from the southern United States, and Greene and Bundick were friends who worked together on some projects.
Washed Out's song "Feel It All Around" (July 2009) became the most famous song of the genre. It was later used as background music for the opening of the television show Portlandia (2011–2018). The song was made mostly from a slowed-down version of Gary Low's 1983 song "I Want You." Sian Rowe from RBMA described it as having the key features of chillwave: simple synthesizers, relaxed vocals that were slightly altered, and photography that looked like it was taken with a basic camera, often showing the beach or water.
Neon Indian's first album, Psychic Chasms (October 2009), was another early example of the genre. Songs like "Deadbeat Summer," "Terminally Chill," and "Should've Taken Acid With You" helped define chillwave. Toro y Moi's first album, Causers of This (January 2010), also stood out for its style of old-fashioned, simple pop music. The album received praise from critics and was endorsed early by Kanye West, which increased its popularity. Rolling Stone magazine called Bundick the "godfather of chillwave."
In 2019, Ian Cohen from Stereogum argued that Dayve Hawke (also known as Memory Tapes, Memory Cassette, and Weird Tapes) was the fourth leading artist of the chillwave era. Cohen described Hawke's 2009 album Seek Magic as the best of that year and possibly the greatest chillwave album ever made.
Vaporwave is a type of electronic music that started as a humorous version of chillwave. It was inspired by the work of artists like Ariel Pink and James Ferraro and used old popular culture and the "nostalgia for old technology" found in chillwave. Vaporwave music is highly experimental and made almost entirely from samples. It used music from the 1980s and 1990s, such as smooth jazz, retro elevator music, R&B, and dance music. Effects like slowing down, cutting and repeating sounds, and looping were also used.
People had difficulty telling vaporwave, chillwave, and hypnagogic pop apart. Some online forums jokingly called vaporwave "chillwave for Marxists." Vaporwave gained more popularity around 2012, especially on websites like Last.fm, Reddit, and 4chan. Soon, many subgenres and variations of vaporwave emerged, some of which were meant to be playful or lighthearted.
Decline
Chillwave became very popular in mid-2010, but it also faced a lot of criticism that same year. Many reviews and blog posts used phrases like "soundscapes," "dreamy," "lush," "glowing," and "sun-kissed" to describe the music. These terms became overused. In December 2009, Christopher Weingarten of The Village Voice noted that most writing about glo-fi often mentioned "the summer," even though summer had already ended months earlier.
The chillwave scene eventually ended. One reason was the sudden increase in the number of artists creating similar music, which happened because the genre was easy to produce. Reed Fischer of New Times Broward-Palm Beach wrote that Pitchfork's negative review of Millionyoung's album Replicants (2011) signaled the end of the genre. Bundick explained that once chillwave became popular, people lost interest in it, even the artists who made it.
In 2015, Fitzmaurice observed that the three main artists of chillwave—Washed Out, Toro y Moi, and Neon Indian—continued their careers even after the genre declined. Tom Hawking said the chillwave era would likely be remembered as a small part of music history, showing a brief expression of middle-class anxiety during a difficult time. However, he added that studying chillwave is still valuable because it reflects the experiences of a generation more than the music itself.
Legacy and critical perspective
The chillwave music genre began as a way for people to look back to the past, seeking comfort and a sense of calm. It was inspired by the 1980s and often focused on feelings of nostalgia, relaxation, and escape. This style of music became popular in Brooklyn and was linked to the middle class, as it reflected a time of economic challenges after the 2007 financial crisis. Unlike punk music, which expressed anger and a desire for change, chillwave was more about finding peace and avoiding stress.
Eric Grandy of The Stranger described chillwave as a longing for a simple, idealized childhood, with a relaxed and indifferent attitude. Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted that chillwave artists often used low-budget, electronic sounds inspired by 1980s pop music. Frank Guan of Vulture said the genre connected summer with quiet, comfortable moments, like sitting at home with air conditioning and listening to music. A Pitchfork writer mentioned that chillwave was hard to describe because it focused more on atmosphere than specific lyrics or themes.
In 2009, Pitchfork published an article about the "summer of chillwave." The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, known for his emotional and creative struggles, was compared to chillwave artists. An editor explained that Wilson's influence came from his personal story, not just his music. The article suggested that chillwave music mixed memories of summer with a sense of loneliness and a dreamy, hazy feeling.
Chillwave was one of the first music styles to gain recognition online and one of the last to appear before social media platforms like Twitter became dominant. Garin Pirnia wrote that the internet, not geography, helped define chillwave. He explained that bloggers and journalists grouped bands with similar sounds into a genre, even if they were not connected by location. The Guardian's Emilie Friedlander said chillwave inspired other internet-based music styles, like vaporwave and witch house.
Chillwave and similar styles became popular on YouTube, often as ironic or meme-like songs. Some critics, like Dave Schilling of Grantland, said the term "chillwave" showed how vague and meaningless other music labels were. George McIntire of the San Francisco Bay Guardian called the term a simple, unhelpful label for low-budget, 1980s-inspired music. By 2011, some artists said the term was not taken seriously, but others saw it as a positive way to connect with fans. In 2015, most people agreed that chillwave was not a real genre but a made-up label. By 2016, the term had fallen out of use, though some artists still felt proud to be associated with it.
Related terms
Glo-fi is a type of music that was first used to describe hypnagogic pop and chillwave. This style comes from post-noise. In 2010, The Guardian published an article by music critic Simon Reynolds, who said that "post-noise microscenes like glo-fi" kept the tradition of sharing music on tapes, releasing songs in very small numbers, as few as 30 copies, and wrapping them in artwork made from copied and pasted images. That same year, The Quietus compared "glo-fi" to chillwave and hypnagogic pop. The New York Times also compared the term to chillwave.