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Downtempo (or Downbeat) is a laid-back electronic music
Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
 style similar to ambient music
Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses on the timbre characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality....
, but usually with a beat
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
 or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic
Hypnotic

Hypnotic drugs induce sleep, used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia. Because drugs in this class generally produce dose-dependent effects, ranging from anxiolysis to production of unconsciousness, they are often referred to collectively as sedative-hypnotic drugs....
 feeling. Sometimes the beats are more complicated and more featured instead of being in the background, but even then they are usually less intense than other kinds of electronic music like Trance
Trance music

Trance is a style of electronic dance music developed in the early 1990s. Trance music is generally characterized by a tempo of between approximately 128 and 150 beats per minute, melodic synthesizer phrase , and a musical form that is progressive as it builds up and down throughout a track....
.






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Downtempo (or Downbeat) is a laid-back electronic music
Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
 style similar to ambient music
Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses on the timbre characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality....
, but usually with a beat
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
 or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic
Hypnotic

Hypnotic drugs induce sleep, used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia. Because drugs in this class generally produce dose-dependent effects, ranging from anxiolysis to production of unconsciousness, they are often referred to collectively as sedative-hypnotic drugs....
 feeling. Sometimes the beats are more complicated and more featured instead of being in the background, but even then they are usually less intense than other kinds of electronic music like Trance
Trance music

Trance is a style of electronic dance music developed in the early 1990s. Trance music is generally characterized by a tempo of between approximately 128 and 150 beats per minute, melodic synthesizer phrase , and a musical form that is progressive as it builds up and down throughout a track....
. Often the name chill out music
Chill out music

Chill out , a term derived from a slang injunction to relax, emerged in the early and mid-1990s as a catch-all term for various styles of relatively mellow, slow-tempo music made by contemporary producers in the electronic music scene....
 is used to refer to songs demonstrative of the genre, but those names also refer to other styles of music, and downtempo encompasses a wider variety of styles than those terms alone would indicate. Another related genre is Trip hop
Trip hop

Trip hop is a music genre also known as the Bristol sound. The trip hop description was applied to the musical trend in the mid-1990s of downtempo electronic music that grew out of England's hip hop music and house music scenes....
, though Downtempo usually uses a slower tempo
Tempo

In musical terminology, 'tempo' is the speed or pace of a given musical piece. It is an extremely crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece....
 than Trip-hop. Due to the relaxing and often sensual or romantic feel of most downtempo music, along with the absence or minimal use of lyrics or vocals, it is a popular form of background music in 'chill out rooms' of dance parties, and many alternative cafes.

History

The 1990s brought on a wave of slower paced music which was played throughout chillout rooms - the relaxation sections of the clubs or dedicated sections at electronic music events. Downtempo music started to surface around in Ibiza
Ibiza

Ibiza is an island and town located in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km off the coast of Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands autonomous community ....
, when DJs and Promoters would bring down the vibe with slower rhythm and gentler electronic music upon approaching sunrise. In 1994, Trip hop
Trip hop

Trip hop is a music genre also known as the Bristol sound. The trip hop description was applied to the musical trend in the mid-1990s of downtempo electronic music that grew out of England's hip hop music and house music scenes....
 emerged from Bristol
Bristol

Bristol is a City status in the United Kingdom, unitary authority area and Ceremonial counties of England in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff....
, which combined elements of hip hop
Hip hop

Hip hop is a cultural movement built largely around the music genre of hip hop music, which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans....
 beats, drum and bass
Drum and bass

Drum and bass , also known as jungle, is a type of electronic dance music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast Break #Break beat , with heavy sub-bass lines....
 breaks, and ambient
Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses on the timbre characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality....
 atmospheres at a lower tempo. At the end of 1990s a more melodic instrumental electronica
Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing....
 incorporating acoustic sounds with electronic styles emerged under its own umbrella name of downtempo.

In the late 1990s, the Austrian duo Kruder & Dorfmeister
Kruder & Dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister, named after members Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister, is an Austrian duo most known for their downtempo-dub music remixes of pop music, Hip hop music and drum and bass songs....
 popularized the style with their downtempo remixes of pop, hip-hop, and drum and bass tracks with influences of the 70's soul jazz
Soul jazz

Soul jazz was a development of hard bop which incorporated strong influences from blues, gospel and rhythm and blues in music for small groups, often the organ trio which featured the Hammond organ....
. The British Steve Cobby
Steve Cobby

Steve Cobby is a UK musician, composer, DJ and producer based in Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire.Cobby co-founded Fila Brazillia with David McSherry in 1990....
 and Dave McSherry, producing under the name Fila Brazillia
Fila Brazillia

Fila Brazillia is an electronica collaboration from Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire in North-East England. Formed in 1990 by Steve Cobby and David McSherry....
, released a handful of downtempo, electronica
Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing....
 and ambient techno albums that propelled the style further. Meanwhile the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
 locals Eric Hilton and Rob Garza, better known as Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation

Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C.-based recording artist and Disc Jockey duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists....
, have introduced the Brazilian sound into the style after discussing the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim

Ant?nio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim, was a Grammy Award-winning Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist....
, and enriched it further by combining elements of Jamaican dub and reggae
Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Music of Jamaica, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady....
.

See also

  • Groovera
    Groovera

    Groovera is an independent, multi-channel, commercial-free, and listener-supported Internet-only radio station dedicated to the loosely-typed genres of music "smooth electronica", "soft techno" and most commonly "chill out music"....
  • Lounge
    Lounge music

    Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s encompassing the exotica, easy listening, and space age pop genres....
  • Chillout
    Chill out music

    Chill out , a term derived from a slang injunction to relax, emerged in the early and mid-1990s as a catch-all term for various styles of relatively mellow, slow-tempo music made by contemporary producers in the electronic music scene....
  • List of electronic music genres
    List of electronic music genres

    This is a list of electronic music genres, sub-genres and styles, though for the latter, not all possess their own article .*Ambient music**Ambient house...