Admittedly, I spent far more time at gigs than in my headphones this year. There were many overly-ambitious days running from here to there solely to indulge my pressing desire to be in rooms full of people and nonstatic energy. Looking back, this was a way to wrangle myself unstuck from frequent bouts of rumination. From countless aluminum-free DIY shows; to upscale renown theaters trying on their experimental hats; and sore feet traipsing home from hardcore techno clubs in “Bush-Ridge” – I was chronically outside. The albums that stuck with me were those that were able to communicate a similar sentiment: music that made me say “I wish I could hear this live!” – yaz lancaster

1. Julek ploski – "Truth" (feat. Martyna Basta & Patrick Shiroishi)

One of my earliest favorite releases of 2025, Polish experimental artist Julek ploski’s Give Up Channel traverses contemporary classical, sound collage, and electronic music idioms. “Truth” is a perfect representation of this, combining MIDI instruments with live collaborators (ie. Patrick Shiroishi’s unmistakable singing saxophone lines), and plundered samples. Pristine production ties ploski’s sonic landscapes together – he refreshingly dips into the realms of techno and club music with danceable beats, explicit build ups and drops, and even the use of DJ tags as motivic gestures.

Album: Give Up Channel
Label: mappa

2. Charmaine Lee – "HGT"

It was a monumental year for New York’s Charmaine Lee: a monstrous 50-state tour, an album release on her own “Kou Records,” and an unforgettable performance at this year’s Ende Tymes that shook down bits of Pioneer Works’ ceiling. A genius with microphones, her sputtering and undulating creates a rhythmic ecosystem. On “HGT,” she thrashes and boxes with urgency, fluidly sculpting energy halfway between mechanical and organic rawness. In just two minutes, she distills the visceral essence of her distinctive artistic language.

Album: Tulpa
Label: Kou

3. Chris Williams – "Waning"

Lamenting solo trumpet calls ascend out of a cavernous gloom on Chris Williams’ “Waning.” Tinkering metals and bells punctuate the atmospheric soundscape amidst birdcall. Foreboding static drones churn beneath it all, grounding us in his world-building. The Brooklyn-based composer-performer conjures shadowy, meditative, ceremonious ambience all across his album Odu: Vibration II. It’s a multi-dimensional unfolding across time and space.

Album: Odu: Vibration II
Label: AKP

4. Rafael Toral – "Easy Living"

A fresh take on conceptualizing the reboot – Rafael Toral’s Traveling Light takes familiar jazz charts and melts them down into hazy recollections. A once jubilant song – Living for you is easy living. It’s easy to live when you’re in love. And I’m so in love! – Toral’s “Easy Living” becomes a wisping grasp towards a memory. The obfuscated changes are strrreeetttcched out with woodwinds’ woozy melodies swirling over top. It’s a similar kind of nostalgia induced by looking at the grains of a softening 35mm photograph.

Album: Traveling Light
Label: Drag City

5. BAKUDI SCREAM & Alarm Will Sound – "BrownApe.wmd"

An in-depth interrogation of the South Asian-American diaspora experience, BAKUDI SCREAM’s Prey harbors complexities and juxtapositions that mirror the intricacy of dissecting one’s identity. On “BrownApe.wxe,” BAKUDI solders hypnotic dubby grooves to episodes of explosive, psychedelic shouts of praise. Scratched vocals lock into the sunken flow, before a full-on veer into the seemingly distant culture of western worship music – all in a strikingly cohesive fashion. And a brown ape clanking a heavy chain loops at the end of the track, a simplicity that feels heavier in its starkness.

Album: Prey
Label: Self-released

6. Natacha Diels – "This is a Bridge" / Somewhere Beautiful

I recently learned that the opposite of a “trigger,” happens to be a “glimmer” – rather than activating our fight-or-flight anxieties, glimmers are small moments of joy and safety that can occur at any moment. This is how I’d describe my encounter with Natacha Diels’ Somewhere Beautiful. On the peculiar “This is a Bridge,” she sings with innocence and candor while gorgeous electronic textures feather and sparkle. This is a car. There is a broken window. There is a comforting whimsy to her sound, like the timeless image of a puppy that no longer wants to walk and resists getting led down the sidewalk. This car is going somewhere beautiful.

Album: Somewhere Beautiful
Label: Carrier