5 Chill EDM Artists for Studying, Yoga and Slow Evenings

The best chill EDM artists to start with are Kasbo, ODESZA, Petit Biscuit, Shallou and RÜFÜS DU SOL. Kasbo suits slow focus sessions. ODESZA suits long drives and warm, cinematic work playlists. Petit Biscuit suits yoga and stretching. Shallou suits late-night listening, and RÜFÜS DU SOL suits long study blocks or evening wind-downs. A good pick has a slow to mid tempo, soft or sparse vocals, and builds that swell instead of hitting hard.

Most EDM is built for festival fields. A search for relaxing electronic music usually gives you 100-song playlists and forum threads with no clear starting point. "Chill EDM" also covers melodic downtempo, future bass, chillstep and deep house, so it is hard to know which name matches your mood. Below, each artist gets a short profile, three ways in, and the setting where the music works best.

At RIKIO ROCKS we follow the EDM scene every day, and that includes its quieter corner. These five are the ones I would hand to a friend who says they do not like loud electronic music.

Kasbo is a Swedish producer who came up in the same orbit as ODESZA and toured with them early in his career. His sound is slow, spacious and emotional. You hear soft synth pads, light percussion, and high, processed vocals that float over the beat instead of pushing it.

His debut album, Places We Don't Know (2018), was released with ODESZA's help and is the cleanest introduction. Nothing on it demands your attention, so it works as background music without turning into wallpaper.

Start with these three, then let the album run:

• "Places We Don't Know", the title track and the best snapshot of his sound
• "Found You", one of his best-known singles
• "Lay It On Me" (feat. Keiynan Lonsdale), a vocal track with a smooth drop

Kasbo fits studying and writing, because the even tempo holds a rhythm without surprises. Some listeners with ADHD say steady, low-lyric electronic music like this helps them focus. It varies from person to person, so test a few tracks before you build a long playlist.

Kasbo is the safest first click if you want chill EDM that never spikes.

ODESZA is the Seattle duo of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, and they are the biggest name on this list. They have released four studio albums, the latest being The Last Goodbye (2022). Their sound is warm and cinematic. Live-style drums, brass, guitar touches and chopped vocal samples sit on top of their own synth style.

They are chill in mood, not always in energy. Some tracks build into big, festival-sized moments, so the playlist you make matters more here than with the other four artists.

Pick from the calmer end of their catalog:

• "Line of Sight" (feat. WYNNE and Mansionair), from A Moment Apart
• "Say My Name" (feat. Zyra), from In Return
• "A Moment Apart", the title track of their 2017 album

ODESZA is the right choice for long drives and focused desk work, when you want music with some forward motion. For yoga, skip the bigger builds and stay with the album's slower pieces. The mood of A Moment Apart leans toward nostalgia and hope, so it also works for a reflective evening.

ODESZA is chill EDM with momentum, so choose your tracks by how much energy you want.

Petit Biscuit is the French producer Mehdi Benjelloun, who has played cello since he was five. That classical training shows in how carefully he layers sound. His signature is soft synth leads and chopped, twisted vocals over unhurried beats, which gives his music a dreamy, slightly surreal feel.

He broke out online as a teenager on SoundCloud and YouTube, and his debut album Presence arrived in late 2017. It is still the best place to hear what he does.

Try these first:

• "Sunset Lover", the track that made his name
• "Once Again", a gentle, melodic follow-up
• Presence, played front to back

Petit Biscuit is my pick for yoga, stretching and slow mornings. The tempo is easy to move or breathe to, and the textures are soft enough that nothing pulls you out of the moment. It is also good for reading or light studying, since the melodies are simple and repeat in a comforting way.

If you only try one artist for yoga, make it Petit Biscuit.

Shallou is a producer who gained traction through word of mouth after his 2017 debut EP, All Becomes Okay. Singles from that period reached SiriusXM and the Billboard Dance charts. His sound is intimate, melodic and a little melancholy, with gentle vocals and bright, lightly bouncing synths.

His records tell stories. All Becomes Okay follows the cycle of the seasons, and the follow-up EP Souls traces the stages of a new relationship, from happy to hurt. Souls was made in his bedroom and features several collaborators.

Begin with:

• "You and Me", from Souls
• All Becomes Okay, a short EP that plays well in one sitting
• Souls, for the full relationship arc

Shallou works best in the evening and at night. It suits reading, cooking, or driving home when you want something with feeling but no pressure. It is a little more vocal-driven than Kasbo or Petit Biscuit, so it is better for relaxing than for deep concentration.

Shallou is what you play when you want chill EDM with a story attached.

RÜFÜS DU SOL is a Sydney trio, Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt, formed in 2010. They sit at the deeper, more hypnotic edge of chill EDM, where melodic house meets indie songwriting. Tracks are longer, build slowly, and reward headphones.

They are the right artist if you find shorter, sweeter chill tracks too light. The vocals are present but restrained, and the grooves are steady enough to disappear into.

Three solid entry points:

• "Innerbloom", from Bloom (2016), a slow build of roughly nine minutes
• "Underwater", from Solace (2018)
• Solace, a full album that holds one mood from start to finish

Use RÜFÜS DU SOL for long study blocks, creative work and evening wind-downs. Long tracks mean fewer interruptions, which matters if track changes break your focus. For yoga, choose the quieter moments, since the grooves are more rhythmic than Petit Biscuit's.

RÜFÜS DU SOL is the pick when you want chill EDM that lasts an hour without a seam.

Once these five click, you will notice who they sound like. Playlist curators group the same names with SG Lewis, BAYNK and Tyzo Bloom, so follow those links on any streaming service. Build a playlist by mood, not by artist. Put Petit Biscuit and Kasbo first for quiet focus, then add ODESZA and Shallou for later in the day.

If you need the opposite energy, the CARDIO HITS 2026 playlist on Spotify is a good place to switch gears for a workout. Then come back to this list when it is time to cool down.