Chill’s effort in their 1986 underground debut Chill Out was strong enough to merit some major label attention; 3 years later, Capitol/EMI granted the Southern California outfit just that, through their Orpheus imprint. The resulting album, Cold Fresh Groove melds the hard Minneapolis-style grooves, with a more modern R&B sound for the times. Chill, whose core had reduced to a foursome of original members Rob Thompson (bass and bass synth), Herbert Thompson (drum programming), Phil Orara (keyboards), and brand-new vocalist Michael Ian Elias, managed to retain most of its original feel despite the change.