UK act Nightmares on Wax helped to pioneer downtempo electronica in the early 1990s, drawing on dub reggae and hip-hop. 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. See also: Ambient music, Chill-out music, Electronic dance music, and Trip hopĭowntempo emerged from the UK's late-1980s Bristol sound, which developed a slow, psychedelic fusion of hip hop with electronic music known as ' trip hop' and birthed artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky. Gentle melodies: artists typically include more melodic phrases than straightforward ambient music.Slow beats: songs typically feature beats around 90 BPM.Atmospheric sound: artists focus more on layered sounds and mood than on catchy melodies or riffs.Characteristics ĭowntempo music is a broad genre but is united by several characteristics: Other prominent artists to emerge in the style include Underworld, Orbital, Fluke, Boards of Canada, Nicolas Jaar, and Bonobo.

In the 1990s, the style was heard internationally in artists such as Kruder & Dorfmeister, Fila Brazillia, and Thievery Corporation. The style emerged in the late 1980s with the UK's Bristol scene that birthed artists like Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky. Examples of downtempo subgenres include trip hop, ambient house, chillwave, psybient and lo-fi hip hop. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may be played in chillout clubs or as 'warm-up or cool-down' music during a DJ set. Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music.

Trip hop wiki