I woke up on December 3rd to an onslaught of Spotify Wrapped posts, think pieces on Spotify Wrapped both for and against, group chats blowing up, and frankly, I was over it. As an admitted fan of seeing my own taste as cute animations and designs, it was tough to sit through the whole spiel knowing that Spotify was directly connected to Israeli military investments during a brutal, 3 year live-streamed genocide (not to mention hosting ICE recruitment ads and having one of the worst payment structures for artists in the music industry). Needless to say, I was one of those people who was like “Fack it (Charli XCX voice), who wants to see my 2025 Wrapped but it’s actually me writing about it?!” and…yeah, to my post-caffeinated dismay, people were actually interested.
So here goes: this is my 2025 Music Wrapped. What are the metrics? Well, I reviewed all of the albums that I listened to on Bandcamp and Spotify (before I deleted it, which I highly recommend), and I selected the albums/comps/tracks/mixes that I kept going back to. I included the ones that sparked a rabbit hole expedition, and the ones that opened my mind (a la Ratatouille moment when he eats the cheese and the grape for the first time and sparks fly). I write some thoughts about my album selections and then simply list the rest of the items (comps, dj mixes, etc.) because if I had to write more then I wouldn’t publish this until later this year which is a little sad because it’s already 2026. ENJOY!
Albums
I’ve been following Oklou ever since she dropped “Friendless” in 2018 and popped up on my Spotify alg (the irony is not lost on me) — right on time for the deep yearning phase I was going through at the time. I remember sending Friendless to the group chat with the homies and being like, “I think this is the most perfect song I’ve heard in recent memory” and then…there were crickets LOL. This just goes to show how insufferable I was about music I loved before I started DJing.
Anyhow, I was really excited for this album to drop and when I listened to it, it rewired everything for me. I listened to this album on a drive from SF to Sacramento (there’s a theme here), and it was so incredibly tender, sweet, and medieval. Similar vibes to Lifetime (up next), but the difference for me between the two are the presence of drums; this album is more floaty, silky, sheer, airy than Lifetime’s more rhythmic arrangements. When I listen to this album I feel like I’m walking through either London or San Francisco right after the rain and with clouds still hanging over and the ground still wet. There’s a floaty, fun, chill, optimism that you feel when listening to this and you must listen to it in it’s entirety to feel the high of the optimism that this album has the potential to unlock in you. My two alt picks for favorite tracks are “family and friends” and “ict”, with “harvest sky” and “blade bird” being my two dance-y favs on the album.
This album will forever hold a special place in my heart since my nervous system was completely shot when this album dropped — for anyone who is an eldest daughter of immigrant parents who’s marrying outside of her culture and being stubborn about having full creative control of her wedding day, you will understand why. From the week this album dropped until my wedding day, I listened to this album at least once a week to calm my nerves, and miraculously it worked.
I’m not even sure how Lifetime was suggested to me, but I came across it on Bandcamp when it first dropped and it changed my understanding of how genres can be melded together in a soundscape that’s both incredibly melodic and also keeps your hips moving. I had started 2025 seeped in dance music from my various gigs and music discovery practices in 2024, and after listening to “choke enough”, I was excited to listen to something that had the ethereal sensibilities of “choke enough”, with the rhythm of r&b and hiphop (spoiler alert: there’s jungle on there). I remember that I played it for the first time during a drive back to SF from Sacramento right before my wedding, and my husband and I were driving on the flyover on 101 right before exiting onto Oak St, and the rain was coming down, and the music was so sexy, and I thought, “holy shit, this is a perfect moment.”
Holy shit. I don’t even know what to say. I’ve been a long time Father/Awful Records fan so once this was announced on Bandcamp I was excited to see what was next for Father. This album was so sick because it felt like he was reclaiming the sounds of Black techno artists from Detroit and incorporating it into his style. The 303 permeates through the album and it just sounds so sick and vintage but also new but also VERY father in it’s tongue in cheek strip club kinda way.
I had the chance to open for him in SF when he was touring for this album, and he mentioned to me that he had the concept for this album in his head for a long time but needed the time to understand how to use the tools/sounds/etc to create exactly what he wanted. I respect his effort of sticking to his vision, even when he has so many excuses not to at this stage in his career. It gave me the impression that he still had the juice of a young artist starting out, which pleasantly surprised me.
Our World by Tears of Technology (not 2025 but I listened to this soooo much)
I’ve recently been watching Eddie Huang and his wife Natashia’s podcast Canal Street Dreams on Youtube, and they interviewed Jubilee, a DJ based in NYC who’s originally from Florida. In the episode they dove into growing up in Orlando, going to underground raves, and the sauce that’s Florida breaks, and I was hooked. As a lover of 90’s trance and breaks, it was the perfect genre that scratched an itch I didn’t know I needed scratched. This led me down a rabbit hole of exploring Florida breaks artists DJ Icey, DJ Baby Anne, and Colombo, and then I stumbled this album by Tears of Technology that dropped in 2007. It’s so fucking good, the effects on the vocals, the breaks, the pure, happy, trance-y euphoria that emanates from it. It’s like if someone made album for Tron or the Matrix but it was happy and sexy and it made you feel sick as fuck listening to it.
I took a circuitous route to Bambii — I was introduced to the Toronto club scene via Nino Brown, a South Asian DJ and party curator that I’d come to admire based out of Toronto. Nino’s presence on IG really spoke to me, it showed me that it’s possible to have an underground scene outside of the UK that’s deeply loyal to the Caribbean soundsystem culture that’s at the root of almost all of the major club sounds that we hear today. And that’s how I learned of Bambii, from a lineup that Nino posted.
Infinity Club II, at its root, is so soooo sensual and femme. It feels so cunty, with drum patterns that are OG UK club — jungle, drum and bass, and the like. Infused with floaty, reverby vocals, with punchy percussive elements, it’s a bad bitch album front to back. I really felt so seen in my femininity while listening to this, and it still didn’t abandon the club musically. Also, something about the hi hats, and bass sounds that she uses sounds so organic and satisfying to listen to, as if she sampled live instrumentation. It’s so artfully done to me, no element is overdone. A true no skip album that I keep going back to for inspiration.
This year was the year of me diving further into my love for footwork, juke, ghettotech, ghetto house and so when Khadija’s album came out, it was a no brainer. There’s something about how precise her tracks are that get me, the arrangement is airtight, each track is it’s own story, and they’re all so damn danceable. Bounce It On The Flo activates me every time if you’re looking for a go-to banger on the album, but honestly the storytelling and range on this album is so well crafted. I had the opportunity to see her play at Monarch at a show Flux Aeterna put on in October of 2025, and it was my favorite set of the year. It felt like that for her set, there was no better place to be in the world other than in that room. That’s how her music makes you feel, alive.
I came across this album via International Chrome, a record label based out of Berlin that has put out music of the likes of Jensen Interceptor, DJ Babatr, and Dagga. Since the label focuses on club music, I was surprised by the variety, depth, and inventiveness of Change. Retromigration weaves in “…footwork, jungle, African/Caribbean rhythms and samples all still evolving around jazz, soul and hip hop influences” and it truly felt like I was listening to a history lesson. This album has been a standard at my Maja Blast sets and constantly gets a “what’s this track ID?” whenever I play it.
This album is all over the place sonically, but I promise it makes sense. Think of ambient, nature sounding electronic music (heavy on rain sounds), then transforms into breaks and techno at the end of the album. It’s a whole soundscape and honestly it sounds like you’re on a vibey nature acid trip in mossy Ireland without the listener even knowing that Rory is Irish. You can just FEEL it.
I came across this album in the Whatsapp group I’m a part of for Drifting.fm, a newsletter/party series co-run by Surusinghe. I’ve discovered so many sick albums and met music lovers from all over the globe as a part of this group, and it’s been one of the many pros of my 2025 :)
As the Dynasty Grows by DE SHUURMAN
Bubbling is a genre that I only came into recently, esp after listening to Jyoty’s sets and tasking myself with really understanding the music that comes out of the Netherlands outside of house/trance/techno. Bubbling is essentially sped-up dancehall that originated in the 1980s by Caribbean immigrants in the Netherlands, and has continued to grow and expand into dance styles, genre-blending variations such as bubbling house, and even festivals dedicated to celebrating this sound. DE SHUURMAN is a contemporary champion of this genre, so I started with him since he was the first recommend artist. I was hooked on this album, the off kilter drum pattern, the loud synths that sounded like horns, even some bass and dubsteppy tones (can you tell I’m new to writing about music?). It became clear to me that I’d only scratched the surface on learning about this genre, and this album marks an awakening in my musical journey. What DE SHUURMAN does so well as a contemporary is that he blends bubbling with electro, breakbeat, r&b, and various other genres to create new dialects. I played his music at my Yung Singh set at Club Six in August, and his tracks were instant heaters and blended effortlessly into classic breakbeat and house tracks, while maintaining the distinct bubbling tone (you simply have to listen to it to get it).
Honorable mentions:
Emotional Heat 4A Cold Generation by JIL
This album feels post apocalyptic, like I’m like last person walking through earth. That’s all you need to know, really. If I had to pick a track, I’d suggest listening to “Freak feat. Salomon Faye”, it makes you feel like you’re a giant on a new planet.
My dad would play this album every day on the way to school in the car from 1st grade - 3rd grade (it was either this album or the Sound of Music soundtrack). Singing and making up choreography to these songs in the living room of the condo we rented are deep core memories of my childhood and are cemented in my musical foundation.
Fun fact — this is AR Rahman’s first movie album ever; he was doing ads & jingles prior to being discovered by Mani Ratnam for this film.
Comps
Tracks
DJ Mixes
There’s so much more I can add to this, and as I’m editing I’m already thinking of additional pieces of music to talk about, but I suppose you’ll just have to wait for it!
xx jaag
loved lifetime and choke enough this year too! also took a listen to the rory sweeney album too and it was so good
Oooh so many albums that are new to me, definitely gonna try to go thru as many as I can, love it!