Ibiza Café

The twin camps of the Ibiza music scene exist in perfect harmony — the legendary super-clubs are the island's flagships, designed to offer night-crawlers the time of their lives, but just as crucial for the satisfaction of body and soul are the daytime chill-out spaces — those come-down bars and cafés where spent energy is replenished . . . and it's into those mellow zones that we now venture. The warm rhythms of dub and reggae settle us into our seats, served up by New Zealand jam band Fat Freddy's Drop ("Pull the Catch") and Belgium's Aeroplane ("We Can't Fly"), while Azaxx and Thievery Corporation channel exotic Eastern influences into "Loungin Place" and "Facing East," respectively.

Steady yourself with a warm cup of gorgeous female vocal, in Next Steps.

Along with Egyptian cotton duvets, hot chocolate, and the underside of a sleeping kitten, the soft tones of a mellow female vocal must rank among the most life-affirming and therapeutic of all possible human sensations. Which is why we've chosen to open up this batch of rejuvenating Ibiza Café Essentials with three exceptionally soothing singers: Everything But the Girl's Tracey Thorn, who induces contemplation with the hard-to-answer question "Why Does the Wind?" from third solo album Love and Its Opposite (2010); Erykah Badu, riding the windmills of our collective mind with "Gone Baby, Don't Be Long"; and Sally Shapiro, enchanting as ever with "Love in July."

The Big Crunch Theory can explain everything, in Deep Cuts.

Whichever side of bedtime you find yourself while supping on a morning juice in Ibiza, your sonic accompaniment should work like a gentle massage to the temples: nothing too abrasive, but nothing too bland either — that's a tough equilibrium to find, but we think we've achieved it here among our Ibiza Café Deep Cuts, where Flowers and Sea Creatures combines melody and minimalism to magical effect on "A.M." (as mixed Ewan Pearson), and the Time and Space Machine achieves an almost medieval level of relaxation with the (very) old-school stylings of "Trip Sideways." And the Big Crunch Theory, fronted by cherubic Lisa-Li Lund, takes the edge off with "Distortion."

Next time the sky takes on the texture of dirty concrete and it starts to rain really hard, just say to yourself two words — Ibiza Café — and shut your eyes. Immediately, your imagination will ferry you out to that storied, groove-spackled, sun-dappled Mediterranean island, and offer you a waters' edge seat at an establishment where the soundtrack alone can refresh those parts of the soul other music struggles to reach. Yes, our free-spirited friends, what you need to complete the sweet illusion is this stellar collection of Ibiza Café Essentials: sounds crafted by artists who truly understand the meaning of the words relaxation, happiness, and aaaahhhh — that's really mellow. Doesn't matter what the world is throwing at you: with these tunes, the sunset is golden, the sea is turquoise, and life is rosy.