As I mentioned recently, list-making is not, generally, my idea of a good time. But at the invitation of Pitchfork and The Wire, which tally up the lists of critics at the end of each year, I did get together a set of 25 albums I loved in 2025. I break down my vague color-coding below.
The top 10 of these I feel particularly strongly about. The next second set of 9, from 11 to 19, are in their own zone, in terms of my frequency of listening. Then come two albums by artists I follow quite closely, closely enough that I may veer toward uncritical.
And the list closes with a set of four mainstream hip-hop albums that helped me, this year, find a way back into the rap fold. (Doechii is another favorite.) I’ve always been listening to hip-hop instrumentals — far less so, however, the full tracks. Something shifted this year. For one of my final social media solicitations of 2025, before I entered into a year-end hiatus, I asked folks for recommendations of albums based on my affection for these recent four, and I’m still working through the excellent titles that resulted.
Broadcasting from Nowhere originates, in fact, somewhere, a virtual place where musicians collaborate without ever entering the same physical space. More specifically, Tokyo and Italy align in an elegant Venn diagram of lowercase music and post-classical, of strings and electronics, of everyday sound and expert musicianship, of five musicians heard to varying degrees of prominence. This is Ondelunghe, the name for the collaboration between Hiromu Yamaguchi (”piano, field recordings,” per the brief liner notes) and Guido Lusetti (”free electrons, found voices”). On the title — and first available — track from their forthcoming album, due out December 16 on the Bristol-based Facture label, graceful cello pushes up against what sounds like the granular pause of glass breaking. That is likely Henrik Meierkord on cello, as he is listed as a guest, as are Ed van der Berkel (trumpet) and Daniele Varelli (shakuhachi). What opens with a dreamy, spring-loaded alarm clock lets piano occasionally gather on the surface of the multi-faceted drone.
Orchid is an album by Magnetic Loops, a musician based in Bristol, UK. The title takes its name from an instrument, the Orchid, developed by Telepathic Instruments, a project from Kevin Parker, founder and core member of the group Tame Impala. Magnetic Loops reports, of the Orchid: “it enabled me to pull together these tracks quickly and seamlessly.” The five tracks that comprise Orchid are an appealing set of assemblages, mixes of held chords, gentle melodies, and what appear to be processed field recordings. “Fire” is a syrupy bit of shoegaze with dream echoes of Angelo Badalamenti. “Flower” feels at times more like an installation soundtrack than foregrounded music, all sonic gleams, distant drones, and natural textures. More on the instrument at telepathicinstruments.com.
On Sundays I try to at least quickly note some of my favorite listening from the week prior — things I would later regret having not written about in more depth, so better to share here briefly than not at all.
▰ A video of textural synthesis, as a preview of a forthcoming “Procedural Ecosystem” for algorithmic composition, courtesy of Emiliano Pennisi.
▰ Aphex Twin posted a pair of versions of a new track, “Zahl am1,” to his SoundCloud account. Longtime listeners will appreciate familiar sounds.
▰ An album from Steve Hamman of EMF (electromagnetic field) sonic explorations, We Are Bodies of Light, walks cautiously between the poles of gentle and caustic.
The Assignment: Make music with a browser-based Omnichord as your sole sound source.
/ By Marc Weidenbaum
Each Thursday in the Disquiet Junto music community, a new compositional challenge is set before the group’s members, who then have five days to record and upload a track in response to the project instructions.
Membership in the Junto is open: just join and participate. (A SoundCloud account is helpful but not required.) There’s no pressure to do every project. The Junto is weekly so that you know it’s there, every Thursday through Monday, when your time and interest align.
Disquiet Junto Project 0726: Chord of Omnis The Assignment: Make music with a browser-based Omnichord as your sole sound source.
Step 1: In the early 1980s, an instrument called the Omnichord was introduced by Suzuki. There is now a browser-based version at onlineomnichord.com.
Step 2: Make some music using only the online Omnichord as your sound source.
Tasks Upon Completion:
Label: Include “disquiet0726” (no spaces/quotes) in the name of your track.
Upload: A person participating in the Disquiet Junto should post only one track per weekly project (SoundCloud account preferred but not required). If on occasion you feel inspired to post more than one track (whether to a single account or across multiple accounts), you should clarify which is the “main” rendition for consideration by fellow members and (if on SoundCloud) for inclusion in the SoundCloud playlist.
License: It’s preferred (but not required) to set your track as downloadable and allowing for attributed remixing (i.e., an attribution Creative Commons license).
Please Include When Posting Your Track:
More on the 726th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Chord of Omnis — The Assignment: Make music with a browser-based Omnichord as your sole sound source — at https://disquiet.com/0726/.
