Ed Sheeran

Coined in July 2009 by Carles, a blogger for Hipster Runoff, chillwave — aka glo-fi aka hypnagogic pop — has spread like digital lichen across the world wide web and currently occupies a unique if hazy corner of the synthpop/electronic galaxy. For some, the genre is a bit of a joke, a stew of over-processed ambience; for others it's a vital reflection of the constantly morphing times in which we live . . . but wherever you stand in the chillwave debate, and however you rate its chances of survival, these Essentials reveal a mellow, lo-fi, chopped-and-screwed version of the electronic '80s — prepare your ears for dense cloaks of reverb, as the crystalline precision of synthpop is dulled by fuzzy edges to spacey, soporific effect. From genre pioneers Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and Panda Bear, to superstars Toro y Moi and Memory Tapes, this is chillwave.