Chill out music emerged in the early and mid-1990s in "chill rooms" at dance clubs, where relaxing music was played to allow dancers a chance to "chill out" from the more emphatic and fast-tempo music played on the main dance floor.

The genres associated with chill-out are mostly ambient, trip-hop, nu jazz, ambient house, New Age and other sub-genres of downtempo. Sometimes the easy listening sub-genre lounge is considered to belong to the chill-out collection as well. Chill out as a musical genre or descriptive is synonymous with the more recently popularized terms "smooth electronica" and "soft techno" and is a loose genre of music blurring into several other very distinct styles of electronic and lo-fi music.

The earliest mentioned 'chill out room' was at the legendary Madchester nightspot, Konspiracy[1]. In these rooms, visitors would find couches, comfortable pillows, psychedelic light shows projecting entrancing images and music that was decidedly downtempo, especially when compared to what was going on a few feet away on the dance floor. Its history began in the UK, with post-punk band The Durutti Column being an abstract influence on the genre in the '80s. Higher Intelligence Agency (the HIA) helped move the chill room concept from sideshow to main event with their Oscillate chill party events in Birmingham and elsewhere in the early to mid nineties. Their first releases came out on the now defunct Beyond record label and soon thereafter in the U.S. on the Waveform label - who describes the music as 'exotic electronica.'

In 1990 the KLF released their seminal ambient house album named Chill Out.

A number of compilations with "Chill Out" in their titles were released in the mid-1990s and beyond, helping to establish the genre as being very closely related to downtempo and trip hop but also incorporating, especially in the early 2000s, slower tempo varieties of house music, nu-jazz, psybient, and lounge music of approximately 80 to 110bpm . The genre also includes some forms of trance music, ambient music, and IDM, and it has entirely subsumed the older genre Balearic Beat, although that term is still used interchangeably with chill out. Chill out is generally tonal, relaxing (or at least not as "intense" as other music from the styles it draws from), although when used to describe the music played in chillout rooms at raves, it can also encompass extremely psychedelic experimental sounds of great variety.

An entire culture surrounding chill out music has evolved, with many fashionable bars and clubs, designed with a retro or retro-futuristic ambience, devoted to the genre. Ministry of Sound in London has hosted many chill out events in places such as Ibiza and there are hundreds of mix compilation titles including the words "chill out" or just "chill" that cater for the chill out audience. As of 2005 "chill out" is recognized by all major UK dance magazines and their charts. Ministry of Sound released an album in 2008 named "Chilled", they described the songs in the album "the best chill out songs from 1991 to 2008."

Chill out rooms at dance clubs fill a safety need for users of Ecstasy, which has had problems and deaths due to dehydration or heat stroke. In 1992 a UK rule required dance clubs to provide free water and chill out rooms in response to a number of Ecstasy-related injuries and deaths[2].

A few notable DJs that specialize in chill out and have achieved popularity are: José Padilla, Chris Coco, Pete Lawrence, Alex Paterson, Phil Mison and Mixmaster Morris, who is also known for having released Global Chillage and also records under the pseudonym The Irresistible Force.

Some of the labels with the most important rosters of chill out artists and largest catalogs of releases and compilations are (also in no order of precedence): ESL Music, Instinct Records, Café del Mar, Music For Dreams, Water Music, Pork Recordings, Ninja Tune, Mole Listening Pearls, Six Degrees Records, Beyond Records, Waveform, Compost Records, Liquid Sound Design, and Ultimae. The chill out genre's increased following was noticed by the Ministry of Sound, a record label which specializes in dance music, which then began to produce a series of albums called The Chillout Sessions.

Among the most popular and influential of globally-available radio stations and programs are Groovera, Groove Salad (Soma FM), Musical Starstreams , Chillsky and 4 Clubbers FM

High-turnout festivals and events include The Big Chill, Sundaze, and Shambhala. The Big Chill festival, established by Pete Lawrence, is a large annual event catering for chilled out clubbers and families in Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire with resident acts including Gilles Peterson and Norman Jay. Sziget Festival in Budapest also has a large chillout area.

Чил-аут (от англ. Chillout, Chill out music) — стиль электронной музыки, название которого произошло от английского сленгового to chill out — остынь, расслабься.

Зародившийся в начале 1990-х годов чил-аут был относительно выдержанным и медленным. В это время было выпущено несколько основополагающих альбомов с приставкой «Chill Out» в названии. Эти альбомы были тесно связаны также со стилями даунтемпо, трип-хоп, медленными вариантами хаус-музыки, ню-джаза, псибиента и лаунжа. На этот музыкальный стиль также повлиял транс, эмбиент и ай-ди-эм. Термин «чил-аут» в основном используется для описания тональной, «расслабляющей» музыки или, по крайней мере, не такой напряжённой, как в вышеозначенных предшественниках. К чил-ауту неверно относить различного рода гипнотические ритмы. Иногда вместо чил-аута используют название «софт-техно».

В последнее время чил аут стал популярен среди прогрессив-транс и прогрессив-хаус музыкантов, делая их творчество более разнообразным. Поэтому иногда этот жанр называют Ibiza Trance/Balearic House — по имени острова Ибица так же, как и Гоа-транс по названию Гоа, Индия. Эта музыка отражает атмосферу острова Ибица, и, как говорят поклонники жанра, слушая эту эйфористическую и духовно поднимающую музыку, вы можете ярко представить себе средиземноморский закат. Этот эффект достигается за счет использования синтезированных звуков струнных инструментов, звуков волн, мандолин и гитар, а также «шепчущего» вокала.

Чил-аутом также называют отдельный танцпол на достаточно крупных концертах (вечеринках) в стиле гоа-транс и его производных или вообще зону отдыха в танцевальных клубах. В чил-ауте обычно играют расслабляющую музыку вышеупомянутых стилей, танцующие на основном танцполе приходят туда отдыхать.