Best Of 2025: Electronic

From abrasive to contemplative and from beat-driven to song-based, there was no shortage of variety among last year’s electronic releases. And there was a lot of it, too, so take your time with the playlist, and make sure to seek out the albums that are only available on Bandcamp.1

Eli Keszler - s/t “This self-titled masterpiece is a culmination of all those pursuits, blending crime jazz, atmospheric electronics, and explosive percussion.”

Luca Bevacqua - Alpi Graie e Pennine “…beats, abstraction, and deep thoughts animate this second EP…”

Staying: Leaving Records Aid to Artists Impacted by the Los Angeles Wildfires “If you’re looking for an overview of some fantastic music, this compilation is a great place to start!”

Elsa Hewitt - Dominant Heartstrings “…lovely clouds of song and sound based on live improvisations…”

Various Artists - comp. 02_Canyons “This compilation by People Places Records, Toronto’s bastion of the ambient and the cutting edge, puts 22 tracks on offer to raise funds for the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.”

Ben Seretan - Astral Projecting Into Flavortown “Another tasty collection of mostly ambient and occasionally kicky electronic sounds from the polymathic singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist.”

Matthewdavid - Zithertronics “This collection of 21 electronic sketches in 25 minutes from the founder of Leaving Records is brilliantly entertaining throughout.”

Pink Must - s/t “…revel in the textures - from gauzy to gritty to shiny - and the offbeat melodies….”

Ben Carey - EMP012 Gränstillstånd “Modular-generated tones from another Australian master of the synthetic.”

Nickolas Mohanna - Speaker Rotations A “phantasmagoric assembly of sounds, which has me flashing back to Cluster at their finest…”

Whatever The Weather - II “It may be just what you need to reset your emotional thermostat.”

Aidan Baker/Saåad/Frédéric D. Oberland - No Night Is Long Enough To Dream Twice “You’ll be pulled through these 30 minutes as if through a short film made of sound instead of sight…”

Sukkube - Turning Point “…uses melodic material to paint lightning across the nuanced backdrops.”

Nick Storring - Mirante “Combining percussion, cello, electronics, and field recordings with great wit and beauty, the album is also a miracle of multitracking…”

Molto Ohm - FEED “…your invitation to the rave where you dance on the bones of late capitalism while the DJ tries to sell you investment advice.”

more eaze/claire rousay - no floor “…there is an exquisite sense of balance throughout this latest collaboration from the tireless sonic explorers.”

LMNL - Rainbow “A one-hour sonic collage anchored by a ghostly Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow…”

Michael Scott Dawson - Guitar, Solo “…surrounds his guitar tones and textures with marvelous atmospheres…”

Mario Diaz De Leon - River Of Life “…an extraterrestrial electronic meditation…”

Bakudi Scream - Prey “…discover a new narrative in how these genius noises resonate with your heart and soul.”

Raiiio - Otros Principios “Layering keyboards, guitars, flutes, drums, and samples, Atal shows a sure hand at narrative architecture.”

Ian Hawgood - Well, Here We Are “This deeply consoling album is full of warm, natural sounds and comforting melodies…”

Anysia Kym & Loraine James - Clandestine “This transcontinental collaboration…is brief, yet highly diverting.”

Kara-Lis Coverdale - From Where You Came “…a series of rapturous and even utopian miniatures filled with gently intertwining synths of various tones and textures…”

Sarah Belle Reid - Unwound “This one-track album is a different animal altogether, with Reid using a Eurorack Modular Synthesizer, MaxMSP, and her voice for an exploratory live recording that seems to tell a dark tale.”

Yeule - Evangelic Girl Is A Gun “On album four, they lean further into the pleasure principle…”

claire rousay & Gretchen Korsmo - quilted lament “…sublime clouds of sound, threaded through with field recordings…”

Dickson & Familiar - All The Light Of Our Sphere “It’s meditative, immersive, and gorgeously produced.”

Lia Kohl & Zander Raymond - In Transit “The whole album is equally contemplative and delightful, with some of the playfulness of Raymond Scott’s early electronic music…”

Various Artists - Water Bodies “…intriguing collection of ambient tracks, many incorporating the sounds of or ideas about water…”

Molly Joyce - State Change “…a riveting song cycle that uses adaptive instrument technology to create lush sound-beds…”

Patricia Wolf - Hrafnamynd “Wolf’s music, created with the UDO Super 6 synthesizer and occasional acoustic guitar, is so transporting…”

Qur’an Shaheed - Pulse “…an environment where ambient sound and song blend and bounce off each other like wax in a lava lamp.”

Sofi - Hypergloss “Using SuperCollider software, Latvian synthesist and composer Sofia Zaiceva builds environments that open up a variety of narratives for the receptive listener.”

Disiniblud - s/t “Rachika Nayar and Nina Keith have…given us something uplifting and optimistic in tone.”

Sofie Birch & Antonina Nowacka - Hiraeth “Play it once, and you’ll long to get back to the mood it creates.”

kuuma - HATSUNE MIXTAPE Vol. 1 “Few artists better understand the interactions between nostalgia and the future.”

Andrew Staniland - The Laws Of Nature “…created using EEG output from dancers captured by a new electronic instrument called JADE…Thankfully, he’s given us much, much more than a technical demonstration.”

Magda Mayas and Jim Denley - One Another “Piano and “objects,” played by Mayas, blend with Denley’s flutes to form a new sound-world…”

Jorge Espinal - Bombos Y Cencerros “You can almost picture Espinal running around the studio, knocking out wild lines on a prepared electric guitar, beating a bass drum or cowbell, scrambling on the floor to trigger pedals, and then dashing to his laptop to loop and process sounds.”

Daniel Wohl - Artificial “The result is filled with a swirling optimism that suggests dystopia could have a beautiful soundtrack.”

Gayle Young & Robert Wheeler - From Grimsby To Milan “An exploration of the sonic possibilities of the combination of Young’s hand-built Amaranth zither and Wheeler’s EML synthesizer…this album is both witty and unsettling.”

Kara-Lis Coverdale - A Series Of Actions In A Sphere Of Forever “Lovely, contemplative piano solos…”

Eli Keszler - Pet Shop Days OST “More moody and noirish sounds from the percussionist and composer…”

Lawrence English - WhiteOut “…incorporating field recordings of animals, aircraft, and the rapidly changing land and water into a mind movie of unique intensity and beauty.”

Arid Landscapes - s/t “…filled with an assured deployment of textures, colors, and moods…”

Nine Inch Nails - Tron: Ares OST “…if the new Tron is half as good as what Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and company have given us here, it will be a fine flick indeed.

Gideon Broshy - Nest “Whether seeking invigoration or peace, Nest is an environment you’ll want to revisit often.”

Chris Williams - Odu Vibration ii “With drones below and horns above, you’ll easily find space for your own mind as you follow every thread the players pull…”

Cristina Lord - If It All Falls “The sense of a quest into the heart of electro-acoustic music—which is, after all, a search for balance between flesh and technology—pervades this wonderful record.”

Collin J. Rae - The Last Noel and DYSTOPIK X-OTIKA “…a distinctive brand of earwax-dislodging cacophony that, when it matches your mood, matches it perfectly.”

Marcel Sletten - Chinatown Hennessy “…delivers an impressive array of moods and textures.”

Kelly Moran - Don’t Trust Mirrors “…Moran and her prepared piano and electronics provide plenty of sparkle and reflection on this colorful and involving collection.”

Thomas Kotcheff / Bryan Curt Kostors - Between Systems “While there is undeniable pop appeal to this addictive collection, there is no artistic compromise…”

Seabuckthorn - A Path Within A Path “The subtlety and restraint throughout only make me listen more deeply to this gorgeous tapestry.”

Kirin McElwain - Youth “…it’s always surprising how well the old string and wind instruments coexist with software and synthesis.”

Emily A. Sprague - Cloud Time “This album…honed down from improvised sets during a tour of Japan, feels different, more meditative and translucent.”

Cenk Ergün - Patient’s Belongings “…the last thing I was expecting from this austere master was five juicy electronic tracks, filled with resonant textures.”

Nicole L’Huillier - Respuestas “…essentially a series of field recordings from an art exhibition.”

Loula Yorke - Time Is A Succession Of Such Shapes “Lush, colorful soundscapes by a synth whiz…”

Lea Bertucci - The Oracle “It’s one thing to call your album “The Oracle”; it’s quite another to sound oracular.” In 2025, Bertucci also released I Know the Number of the Sand and the Measure of the Sea, a spectral collaboration with Olivia Block, whose synth and tapes blend seamlessly with Bertucci’s processed voice and field recordings.

claire rousay - a little death “…rousay has pushed her art forward with expansive chamber arrangements encompassing violin, viola, pedal steel, clarinet, and piano in addition to her highly individual use of electronics and field recordings.”

Stephen Vitiello and Edwin Torres - sublingual infinities “Around the words and voices, Vitiello builds sound sculptures of glass and gleaming chrome from synths, guitar, and piano…”

Juana Molina - Doga “Filled with intriguing textures and overlapping vocals, DOGA is a lovely invitation into Molina’s world…”

Danz CM - LÄRM! “…there’s plenty of mystery and charm to this project…as luminous synth sounds and spare rhythms draw you into its hermetically sealed world.”

Doug Bielmeier - Electric Rodeo Revival “…an entertaining collection that often dislocates you, like a radio dial tuned between stations…”

Yaz Lancaster - AFTER “…deep soundscapes that find a portal between the phantasmal and the quotidian…”

Lia Kohl - Various Small Whistles And A Song “How much detail and emotion can Kohl and her collaborators…pack into one minute?”

Kara-Lis Coverdale - Changes In Wind “Adapted from an installation in a Norwegian floating sauna, Changes In Wind can transform your space into a spa-like retreat.”

Lawrence English and Stephen Vitiello - Trinity “For their third collaborative album, English and Vitiello have added a wild-card third member to each track.” Also, don’t miss Brush, an EP that has Vitiello’s guitar in luminous dialogue with Taylor Deupree’s Wurlitzer 200a piano and ride cymbal.

Tristan Perich and James McVinnie - Infinity Gradient “…a starlit and shifting tapestry that incorporates ideas from minimalism and electronic music.”

Essvus - What Ails You “…beautifully produced, with a rich depth overall, announcing Morigami as a sonic architect of the first order.”

Various Artists - Mandatory Liberation Vol. 2 “…proceeds support G.L.I.T.S., a Black, trans-led advocacy organization that combats systemic discrimination, and the music is as diverse as the people served by this stellar nonprofit.”

Eli Keszler - Remixes “These four deconstructions of tracks from Keszler’s self-titled album only increase the atmosphere generated by that marvelous release…”

Raays - Plaays “Using modular synths and drum pads in a spirit of free improvisation, Raays has created a wonderful soundtrack for dreaming and thinking.”

Zeynep Toraman - Afterimages “Consisting of two electronic tracks…the album draws you in with its patient build of atmosphere, tension, and beauty.”

AF13 - Day 23 Track 3 “…a two-chord wonder that moves at a stately rhythm, creating an ideal backdrop for pulsing bass and expansive guitar explorations.”

Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Gush While not quite as hyper as her last solo album, 2022’s Let’s Turn It Into Sound, there’s a lot of playfulness here, culminating in the bleep-bloops of In The Dressing Room, the 44-second final track, which is almost a parody of electronic music. Before that, the album shades from spacey to sensual, with Smith’s signature layers weaving around her treated voice. This prolific artist also shared her more reflective side on Thoughts On The Future, a 22-minute EP of sweetly yearning instrumentals.

E Ruscha V - Music To Watch Seeds Grow By 004 Whether colorfully ambient or rhythmically driven, there’s always an elegance to this latest from Ruscha, which is perfect for “extended moments of communion with nature,” as he suggests—or with anything else. Most of the sounds are made by Ruscha alone, building up tracks with synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, processors, effects, guitars, piano, percussion, and stringed instruments. However, I also note that his son, Milo, plays guitar on two tracks, making for the third creative generation of Ruschas. Keep’em coming!

M. Geddes Gengras - QUIK-MELT, SLOW MELT, and Seattle O9.2025 Gengras was very busy last year making these three albums, all of them tied to live performances. The first was recorded in preparation for a live set at Public Records in March, opening for They Will Destroy You, with four long tracks that combine textures in gloriously colorful ways. As spacey as QUIK MELT is, Slow Melt, an hour-and-20-minute rework of the same material that he calls “sonic taffy,” is an epic star field that feels appropriately infinite. The third album is a 40-minute track rehearsal for a performance in Seattle. By including tones and effects that relate it to pop and dub, Gengras further reveals the broad listening that feeds into his work. One of my life goals is to see Gengras in concert!

Ethel Cain - Perverts Some of Cain’s fan base, devoted as they were to the gothic Americana of Preacher’s Daughter, her 2022 debut, seemed to take this album as a slap in the face. For me, it was more of a kick in the pants to pay attention to an incredible talent. I know I listened to Preacher’s Daughter and thought it was fine, but I never reviewed or revisited it. When the online static about this album got too loud, I got interested—and was rewarded with a descent into musical madness. In the best way, of course: 90 minutes of dark, occasionally abrasive, ambient electronics that, save one song, steer clear of songwriting entirely. But who cares? That would come later, with the release of Willoughby Tucker, I Love You, which I will include on a different list. For now, I urge you to soak in Cain’s mastery of depthless backdrops over which she drops gleaming details with perfect weight. Not an easy listen, but a remarkable one.

ÅÅsAA - s/t As Shitkid, Åsa Maria Söderqvist was a mainstay of Stockholm’s indie-punk scene centered around the PNK SLM label. After a hiatus during which she worked as a nurse, she launched this new project, which features minimalist yet involving grooves as a background for her girlish voice. While it’s a world away from the lo-fi rock’n’roll of her previous incarnation, the caustic and fun-loving attitude remains the same on tracks like Funk You and in da club. In a clever trick, ÅÅsAA succeeds as electronic dance music while also acting as a critique of EDM.

Locsil - Lake Fire and Ash Over more than two decades of electronic explorations, Vancouver’s Scott Morgan has honed his practice to a fine point. On the first of these related albums, he manages to sustain a hushed, suspenseful mood for nearly an hour, while still including variety, from sounds resembling charcoal brushwork to landscapes that pulse gently. Ash, conceived to accompany a series of Morgan’s moody photographs, dismantles some of the building blocks of Lake Fire with unsettling results.

As usual, there was more where this came from, so check out the archived playlist. Follow along with 2026 here.

Share

Best Of 2024: Electronic
Best Of 2023: Electronic
Best Of 2022: Electronic
Best Of 2021: Electronic
Best Of 2020: Electronic
Best of 2019: Electronic
Best of 2018: Electronic
Best of 2017: Electronic
Best of 2016: Electronic