Need Music to Work By (chill out edition)

January 19, 2017 7:29 AM

Basically my favorite song to work to is "You Wish" by Nightmares on Wax. Largely instrumental, upbeat, melodic, a bit of funk, and just interesting enough that I can hear it but not listen to it, if you know what I mean. If you like this song, what else do you like?

Here's the song (video):

https://youtu.be/TwDOa-lvizM

Something about this particular type of electronica/instrumental perfectly occupies the antsy part of my brain so the rest of me can really get shit done. I have built a Pandora station around this song (it tends to pull in Zero7, Air, Bonobo, Thievery Corporation, that type of thing, which is fine) but am wondering what I am missing. Sometimes Pandora tips me too far into "sappy easy listening" and sometimes too far into "dissonant ambient" so I'm looking for more anchor songs that occupy this funky, melodic middle ground.

If you like this song, what other songs do you like?

posted by nkknkk to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

Piero Piccioni
Buffalo Daughter


I find that Youtube is better at leading me to new things like this than Pandora is.
posted by tofu_crouton at 7:47 AM on January 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

William Orbit.
posted by lovableiago at 8:02 AM on January 19, 2017

Best answer: Feel free to fork my Pandora station that's trying to be roughly this... or the slightly funkier version.
posted by anotherthink at 8:10 AM on January 19, 2017

Best answer: Practically the entire Emancipator album Soon it will be cold enough.

Love, love, love this. I can work, swim, AND run to this. Great driving music, too.
posted by foxhat10 at 8:38 AM on January 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

A Grand Love Story by Kid Loco is similar.
posted by bifter at 8:42 AM on January 19, 2017

Lemon Jelly - Return to Patagonia
posted by clumbsy at 1:58 PM on January 19, 2017

Best answer: Marumari
Ulrich Schnauss
rjd2
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:57 PM on January 19, 2017

Best answer: Yeah, I love that tune! Here are some other albums I have in my "Work Upbeat" playlist along with Nightmares on Wax:

Conversions: A K&D Selection

Tosca - Dehli9

Clive Tanaka y su orquesta - Jet Set Siempre 1°

Midnight Snack Volume 1

I also have a bunch of the "Mushroom Jazz" albums and the occasional Lemongrass album.
posted by Otis at 5:04 PM on January 19, 2017

Best answer: Air's Moon Safari might do you good.

One of my favorite non-electronic albums in a similar funky-chill vein is John Scofield's A Go Go.
posted by STFUDonnie at 6:58 PM on January 19, 2017

Pretty Lights.
posted by sonmi at 7:28 PM on January 19, 2017

Best answer: That was a great piece of lounge music. My picks are slightly more in the rock vein, but I think you'll like them all the same.
Christie Front Drive- anything off their Ferment album, particularly Dirt
The next two are shoegaze, which I find extremely well suited to background/ zone out music.
Swervedriver In particular the album Mezcal Head, like Never Learn
Catherine Wheel has a great album called Ferment, I can listen to it in its entirety, but I always come back to the song Black Metallic
Good stuff.
posted by Champagne Supernova at 8:14 PM on January 19, 2017

Four80East
9 Lazy 9
The Dining Rooms
Pretz
B Durazzo
DJ Krush
Herbaliser
Visioneers
Pete Rock
Sound Defects
Wagon Christ
Blockhead
Birdy Nam Nam
You might like the Samurai Champloo soundtracks/those artists
posted by heatvision at 6:45 AM on January 20, 2017

That was a chill groovy instrumental "All Along the Watchtower", right? Thanks for the question, I had the same.

fwiw, I have a personally culled list of Thievery Corp (~2-3hrs worth) but any instrumental music along those lines (like these) are appreciated!
posted by petebest at 6:56 AM on January 23, 2017