Music might move faster than ever, yet, in 2025, it demanded more of our patience - and thankfully so. Looking back, the year offered fertile ground both on and off the dance floor, defined by contrast rather than consensus. Tempos stretched, genres dissolved, and rigid frameworks loosened.
Attentive listening gained new depth this year: genre-fluid productions that reward focus, a growing field of listening bars and events, and a slow shift to offline experiences. At the same time, club culture sharpened its experimental edge: polyrhythmic DJ sets, dub-infused low end, and subtle returns of early minimal traced their way through contemporary nightlife. No single narrative emerged, only a sense of musical freedom, where listening spaces and dance floors inform each other, and sound remained a tool for both joy and challenge. This list reflects albums that stayed with us throughout 2025. It is not definitive, nor exhaustive – simply a selection of records that resonated, sparked conversation, or lingered long.
*Albums are listed in random order
Meitei / 冥丁 - Sen'nyū / 泉涌
Sen’nyū finds Japanese composer Meitei immersing himself in the misty, geothermal world of Beppu’s historic onsen culture, capturing steam, bubbling vents, and water‑worn stones as the core palette of its meditative ambient canvases. Recorded during a residency in the hot‑spring city to commemorate Beppu’s 100th anniversary, the album unfolds like mist itself, drifting from one sacred bath site to another, turning field recordings and environmental impressions into an embodied sound ritual shaped by place. In this work, Meitei’s long‑standing “Lost Japan” aesthetic deepens into a tactile encounter with land and memory, making Sen’nyū feel like a sonic biography of Beppu’s mineral‑rich landscape.
Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe - Lateral
Lateral, the latest collaboration between Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe, marks the meeting of two creative forces at the crossroads of conceptual art and environmental work. After connecting for the first time at a 2022 SXSW talk on Art and Climate, the two came together again in London while exhibiting their respective art pieces at galleries, which sparked the creative chemistry that led to this record. The album unfolds as a single, evolving composition - “Big Empty Country” - moving from sparse, meditative drones to subtly layered textures, showcasing how Eno’s ambient mastery and Wolfe’s melodic sensibilities merge into a contemplative journey through time.
Efdemin - Poly
Smooth as ever, but probably the tightest to date, is Efdemin’s latest album release Poly. His characteristic pairing of house and techno makes up a playful yet serious album that sits finely within Berghain’s household label Ostgut Ton. Resembling the same emotive touch as his Wrong Movements release back in 2021, the sophistication of Phillip as a sound artist radiates through each track. From Drift to Below the Surface, this album is to be listened to as a whole.
Paul St. Hilaire w/ The Producers - Paul St. Hilaire w/ The Producers
Dub master Paul St. Hilaire (aka Tikiman) invited a roster of contemporary producers to join him on his compilation album, Paul St. Hilaire w/ The Producers, released on friend and peer Richard Akingbehin’s Kynant label. Together with artists such as Mala, Priori, Azu Tiwaline, and Batu, he crafted a mighty compilation that breathes, swirls, and grooves. Collaborative projects like this have the power to push this beloved niche within a broader audience, binding generations to a genre with roots that reach far beyond the founding days of electronic music.
Serena Gabriel & Steve Roach - Izar
With two hours of deeply meditative, psychedelic electro-acoustics, Izar feels like a sanctuary for the mind and soul. Serena Gabriel, a sound-healing practitioner, co-produced the album with ambient legend Steve Roach, translating a vast ethereal sound world that blends global influences with the atmospherics of the Tucson Desert. Rich, immersive, and quietly powerful, this is music to lose yourself in.
Okgwa - Hayan Kkot
The South Korean Okgwa self-released her first album Hwan Se 환세, back in 2024. In her search for a like-minded music community, she recently moved to Berlin, where she worked on her second album, Hayan Kkot. This captivating release blends traditional instruments with refined drones and haunting vocal work – all imbued with a strong touch of spiritual depth.
irini - lost in dreams
When we say Giegling, you say… The seasoned Traumprinz aka Prince of Denmark aka DJ Metatron aka Prime Minister of Doom aka DJ Healer fan is trying to keep up with his work through Reddit forums and word-to-mouth storytelling, but it’s fairly impossible to keep track of it all. Now, an all-encompassing, uplifting techno-leaning-to-trance album has been released as "irini" - the latest alias of Traumprinz. If the mix of this album struck you four years ago, this release may comes as a sweet gift.
Conrad Pack - Commandments
Hailing from the urban depths of London, rising talent Conrad Pack opens a new realm of electronics through steppers-influenced dub, industrial textures, and stripped-back, loopy basslines reminiscent of Ruskin’s and Function’s early work. On his debut album Commandments, nine tracks weave relentless bass pressure, ritualistic rhythms, and post-industrial sound design into a compelling underground statement that channels UK soundsystem culture while pushing it into hard-driving territory. The album stands out as one of the most potent techno-dub hybrids of the year, showcasing Pack’s ability to harness raw energy within finely balanced, deliberate compositions.
Malibu - Vanities
Vanities – the debut album of French ambient producer Malibu – floats with a cinematic mix of lush, formless synth washes, sparse vocal etudes, and field‑recorded textures that evoke loneliness and reflection. Barbara Braccini’s fragile, hymnlike voice and moments of piano and cello give emotional weight to the hazy soundscapes, pulling the intimate and the atmospherically vast into the same space. Listening to her work over the years, this album can be seen as a matured statement of the sound she is known for. A timeless, coherent narrative written in Malibu’s dream-esque world.
Polygonia - Dream Horizons
This year brought a versatile release from Polygonia – which is expected from the multi-acoustic producer. With Dream Horizons, she moves towards a leftfield sound, but doesn’t fully let go of her techno origins with impactful tracks such as Secret Desire. The whole release feels lush and playful, especially Set Me Free. A release ready for creating fun moments on the dance floor.
Kangding Ray - Sirāt (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Kangding Ray’s Sirāt takes his textural approach into the cinematic realm. The soundtrack of 52 minutes flows between ambient stretches and subtle rhythmic pulses, mirroring the film’s narrative and desert landscapes. It’s a rare electronic score that feels alive, immediate, and deeply human. With a Golden Globe nomination under its belt, Sirāt is another strong example of how electronic music can translate tension and atmosphere beyond the dance floor only.
Conrad Pack - Commandments
Hailing from the urban depths of London, rising talent Conrad Pack opens a new realm of electronics through steppers-influenced dub, industrial textures, and stripped-back, loopy basslines reminiscent of Ruskin’s and Function’s early work. On his debut album Commandments, nine tracks weave relentless bass pressure, ritualistic rhythms, and post-industrial sound design into a compelling underground statement that channels UK soundsystem culture while pushing it into hard-driving territory. The album stands out as one of the most potent techno-dub hybrids of the year, showcasing Pack’s ability to harness raw energy within finely balanced, deliberate compositions.
Malibu - Vanities
Vanities – the debut album of French ambient producer Malibu – floats with a cinematic mix of lush, formless synth washes, sparse vocal etudes, and field‑recorded textures that evoke loneliness and reflection. Barbara Braccini’s fragile, hymnlike voice and moments of piano and cello give emotional weight to the hazy soundscapes, pulling the intimate and the atmospherically vast into the same space. Listening to her work over the years, this album can be seen as a matured statement of the sound she is known for. A timeless, coherent narrative written in Malibu’s dream-esque world.
Polygonia - Dream Horizons
This year brought a versatile release from Polygonia – which is expected from the multi-acoustic producer. With Dream Horizons, she moves towards a leftfield sound, but doesn’t fully let go of her techno origins with impactful tracks such as Secret Desire. The whole release feels lush and playful, especially Set Me Free. A release ready for creating fun moments on the dance floor.
Kangding Ray - Sirāt (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Kangding Ray’s Sirāt takes his textural approach into the cinematic realm. The soundtrack of 52 minutes flows between ambient stretches and subtle rhythmic pulses, mirroring the film’s narrative and desert landscapes. It’s a rare electronic score that feels alive, immediate, and deeply human. With a Golden Globe nomination under its belt, Sirāt is another strong example of how electronic music can translate tension and atmosphere beyond the dance floor only.
Acopia - Blush Response
After grabbing our attention back in 2023, Australian trio Acopia delivers once again with their third full‑length album Blush Response. Across eight tracks, the album merges dream‑pop and melancholic indie textures with downtempo and post‑punk minimalism. Durman’s expressive vocals, layered synths, guitars, and dynamic percussion convey emotional distance, unresolved feelings, and quiet tension, balancing vulnerability with strength. The lyrics are not light; they explore existential feelings and confused emotions: ‘Guess I want to get better, but I can't have it all,’ they sing softly. Absolute tear-puller with a cool edge to it.
James K - Friend
Highly praised this year was James K’s third album, Friend, and we gladly join that praise. In dreamy shoegaze, we follow her in poetic ponderings about romance’s inconveniences, trust and letting go. A warm album that feels much more like a friend to hug than music to listen to.
Saffron Bloom - Saffron Bloom
This debut album by Saffron Bloom (also known as Sepher) is an ode to heartbreak, loss, and grief, ‘written while hurting like a pathetic, sick puppy,’ to quote the artist. This pain gathers into a rich, compelling trip-hop journey. While coming from a place of hurt, the album as a whole feels pretty bad-ass, with tracks like Curtain Call and Jealous Desire delivering beats that guarantee head-bop-in-the-car moments.
Biosphere - The Way of Time
Biosphere’s The Way of Time on AD 93 feels like an echo from the past, drawing on the icy, minimal textures and expansive soundscapes that defined Jenssen’s classic albums while refracting them through a new, literary lens. Operating from the remote northern reaches of Norway, Jenssen weaves sampled voices from the 1951 radio adaptation of the novel The Time of Man through sparse drones and subtle synth patterns, touching upon his concerns about climate change and the end of things.
Loraine James - Whatever The Weather II
Whatever The Weather II sees Loraine James deepen her ambient‑experimental alias with a warmer, more cohesive set of tone poems that drift between granular synth textures, minimalist rhythms, and emotive field recordings. Each track’s temperature‑based title frames an “emotional weather” palette, from glitchy cold atmospheres to sunlit textures and subtle sonic vignettes, giving the album a uniquely organic, intuitive flow.
Kaisei - Sketchbook
Sketchbook might be too modest a title, but with 22 tracks, it also kind of makes sense. On Kaisei’s latest outing, you can tumble through all sorts of variations of psychedelic techno, from trippy dub to raging tekno to freaky psy. Fast or slow, Kaisei truly masters it all. Earlier this year, we premiered the wonky track Tongues, showcasing the multi-talented output of this Melbourne based talent.
Xenia Reaper - Nept Polarisation
Berlin based Xenia Reaper’s Nept Polarisation starts off with soothing IDM, but Decay.fold, the fourth track of the Delsin release, preludes a crumbling take on IDM turned inside out, where rhythmic textures alternate almost too quickly to notice. Sometimes hasty, sometimes in abrupt halt, each track drags you into a playfield of textures, sounddesign, and glitch. A workout for the brain (to be listened to on headset or on a solid system).
Quade - The Foel Tower
Another great release on AD 93 – who manage to maintain a high standard of consistent, convincing output – is the latest Quade album The Foel Tower. Tucked away in an old barn in a Welsh valley for ten days, the four band members and friends created this soft-feeling post-rock album, featuring great electronic-instrumental experiments (with Nannerth Ganol standing out) and deliberately off-key murmuring vocals that are as much sad a soothing.
Pavel Milyakov & Lucas Dupuy - HEAL
This year, Pavel Milyakov teamed up with UK-based visual artist Lucas Dupuy to present HEAL - an electro-acoustic ambient record, rooted in 90’s new age music. Subtle loopy tracks featuring flute, guitar and field recordings of Japan lead into the 18-minute, majestic closing track end. Heavy on emotion, high on energy, this record gets the most out of contemporary listening music.
.webp)
.webp)
