Illustration by Imy George @imysketchysketchy.

During this period of collective anxiety, there remains one calm-inducing medium for all circumstances: music.

Whether you’re on your (single) daily outdoor venture, sitting idle at home, or even queuing for supermarket essentials, we’ve got you covered. For as the neurophysiologist Jamie Wheal said: “Music is the wallpaper of our minds.”

Admittedly, such activities are mild in themselves. But without the frame of relaxing music, your thoughts are liable to see-saw between past and future tense. After all, bypassing the present moment is anxiety personified.

As an antidote, here’s five essential songs to assist your serene state:

1. Brian Eno – An Ending (Ascent)

The man who coined ambient music in the 1970s to describe his drifting soundscapes – Brian Eno was at once a cool alternative to frenzied rave culture, and the forerunner to thirty-odd progressive years of chill out music.

2. Air – La femme d’argent

During the ‘90s, the ‘chill out’ genre swelled to encompass further sounds. Among the welcomed acts were French duo Air with their multi-platinum-selling Moon Safari album, hosting a subtle merge of electronics, soft lounge beats, and folk guitar.

3. Thomas Newman – Any Other Name

A classic mood-setter with trademark piano chords against an ethereal background, Thomas Newman’s work is a signature piece of countless film and television productions. Like Eno, this style doesn’t call attention to itself and provides a dream-like foundation to colour your visual field with.

4. Zero 7 – In The Waiting Line

Fronting the early noughties, this single, combining bass, organic drums, and synth is reminiscent of Air. Throw the soothing vocals of Sophie Barker into the mix and you have a seductively smooth melody.

5. Aphex Twin – #3

Known as Rhubarb by fans, this wistful dreamscape was symptomatic of the lucid dreaming that apparently inspired Selected Ambient Works Vol. II. The deep ‘less is more’ tone is slowly progressive and repeats like delicate outward-bound ripples in water.