Smooth Chill (formerly Chill) is a British digital radio station dedicated to

chill out Chill-out (shortened as chill; also typeset as chillout or chill out) is a loosely defined form of popular music characterized by slow tempos and relaxed moods. The definition of "chill-out music" has evolved throughout the decades, and generally ...

, ambient and

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...

music. On 3 September 2019, Chill was rebranded as Smooth Chill to align it with the Smooth Radio brand. It is owned and operated by

Global Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

. Originally, the station broadcast solely online and in Greater London as well as on Radioplayer and Global's own Global Player, but was made available nationally on

Digital One Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covered more than 90% of the population from 137 transmitters. Coverage was extended to Northern Ireland in July 2013. It cont ...

on 9 April 2020. As of September 2023, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 562,000 listeners, according to

RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and RadioCentre. RAJAR's predecessor was call ...

The station

Originally, the station broadcast on DAB multiplexes across the UK and also through internet streaming services. The station's aim was to help listeners relax and put stress behind themselves. It broadcast 24 hours a day and until September 2019 featured no news bulletins or commercials with only some sponsored programming. Chill originally had no presenters, interspersing tracks with pre-recorded links featuring messages voiced by

Davinia Palmer Davinia Palmer (born 7 March 1980) is a Welsh TV presenter and voiceover artist now based in the US. Radio career Davinia Palmer began her career in entertainment as a radio host in 1997. She was a ‘new music’ reviewer on Leigh Jones' eveni ...

that reinforced the laidback atmosphere of the station. One of these described the station as "

tai chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...

for your ears". The station encouraged interaction with its listeners, who suggested new songs and artists for the playlist, as well as relaxation techniques, via the Chill website and

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. Global announced on 2 September 2019 that Chill would be replaced with a new station, Smooth Chill.

History

The station was launched in early 2005, although it is claimed that Chill went live as early as December 2004, as a means of filling empty slots on DAB multiplexes owned by GWR prior to its merger with

Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...

. Group Corporate Development Director Gregory Watson and Programme Director Bern Leckie devised a format for a relaxing, ambient station, aimed at 18- to 35-year-olds. On the station website, the founders claim, "We used to make compilation tapes for ourselves and friends to chill out to. That's where the idea for our station came from, and we make it the same way we made the tapes – listening to lots of music, swapping ideas, seeing what happens." In June 2006, Chill bid for its first analogue licence, for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, citing the city's record in producing

trip-hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos ...

artists such as

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was releas ...

, Portishead and Tricky in support of its application. However, in September 2006, Ofcom awarded the licence to Canwest and its Original 106 format. It is not currently known if Global Radio will bid for any more analogue licences with the Chill format. In August 2006, the station launched its first regular programmes on weekday evenings, "The Garden of Delights", presented by Pete Lawrence and "The Deep End", presented by Paul Noble, two of the organisers of The Big Chill festival. It also introduced a nightly programme made up of listener requests, and inherited the ''Chiller Cabinet'' sequence from its sister station Classic FM, which plays "ambient soundscapes, movie soundtracks and classically inspired chillout music". Late in 2006, Chill upgraded from a 32 kbit/s internet stream to a 128 kbit/s stream, offering internet listeners the same quality as the cable and satellite viewers. The station stopped being broadcast on Sky and Virgin Media on 3 July 2007, with other GCap stations

Capital Disney Capital Disney was a British digital radio station aimed at 8 to 16 year olds which used to broadcast across the UK on DAB Digital Radio in selected areas. Capital Disney launched on 16 September 2002 as a joint venture between GCap Media PLC ...

Core Core or cores may refer to: Science and technology * Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages * Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding * Core (optical fiber), the signal-carrying portion of an optical fiber * Core, the centra ...

and

Classic Gold Digital Network Classic Gold Digital Network was one of the biggest 'gold' (oldies) formatted radio networks in the United Kingdom, with a potential audience of 47 million. Classic Gold was broadcast on analogue and DAB digital platforms, as well as Sky channel ...

. It is speculated that this is connected with cost-cutting measures under previous owners GCap. In November 2008, Chill reappeared on Sky and Virgin Media, following the closure of jazz radio station

TheJazz theJazz was a British jazz digital radio station run by GCap Media that started on Christmas Day of 2006DAB ensemble In telecommunications and computer networking, multiplexing (sometimes contracted to muxing) is a method by which multiple analog or digital signals are combined into one signal over a shared medium. The aim is to share a scarce resource - a ...

s across the UK to allow for an expansion of

the Galaxy network Galaxy was a radio network owned by Global Radio and broadcast across the British Isles on FM in regional areas of England and Scotland, through the digital platform with Sky and DAB and online respectively. Stations included stations: Galaxy Bi ...

, but would still broadcast in London, some parts of the West Midlands and central Scotland. A spokesman indicated that this move was also financially led. It was announced on 28 August 2009 that Chill Radio would be replaced in Edinburgh and Glasgow by LBC Radio. On 20 October 2009, it was announced by Bern Leckie that Chill Radio has moved from stereo to mono output on DAB Radio in the London area. However the range in which Chill can be heard has slightly extended to an extra 20 miles or so from London. Rajar figures for the third quarter of 2009 showed an increase of weekly listeners by 9,000, bringing total listenership to 209,000. In March 2012 it attracted 229,000 listeners per week. On 15 July 2010, Chill ceased broadcasting on

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...

channel 961. On 8 June 2012, Chill ceased broadcasting on the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

multiplex, leaving London as the only area where the station broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio. On 24 August 2012, Chill ceased broadcasting on

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

channel 0177. In September 2014, TuneIn Radio announced that Chill Radio had received the 100k 'follower' mark, one of the most listened-to UK and worldwide stations, via its various apps and websites. In September 2015, Global Radio confirmed that Chill would return to DAB in Nottingham and Leicester, replacing XFM. This is because XFM would be re-branding, and launching nationally on Digital One. Since its return to DAB in Nottingham and Leicester, Chill can also be heard on DAB in Derby. Global announced on 2 September 2019 the station would be replaced with a new station, Smooth Chill. The station re-launched nationally on 8 April 2020 on

broadcasting in 32 kbit/s DAB+.

Music

The Chill playlist was largely drawn from the mainstream end of

and ambient music, mixed with downtempo

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, vocal

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

tracks, film scores and the occasional classical piece.

Programmes

A notable programme was '' The Chiller Cabinet'' – from Arctic Circle Radio

DAB multiplexes

*Chill broadcast on DAB using the London 1, Leicester and Nottingham multiplexes.

Former multiplexes

Chill closed in March 2009 due to Office of Fair Trading ruling on the merger of GCap and Global Radio: * Leicester *

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

* West

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

Chill closed from August 2009 on these multiplexes: Replaced with Galaxy: *

NOW Bournemouth Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquarter ...

and Bath *

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and Newport * NOW Cornwall * Exeter and

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

NOW Peterborough Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquar ...

* NOW Plymouth *

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

and Basingstoke *

Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

and

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It ...

* NOW Sussex Coast *NOW Kent Taken off air: *

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

, Shrewsbury and

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in t ...

Replaced with

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadca ...

: *

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Closed on the following multiplex in June 2012: *

References

External links

*
Links to archived audioArchive of music played
{{Global Radio Global Radio Digital-only radio stations Radio stations established in 2005 Electronica/Chill radio stations 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom Smooth Radio