Sleepy Robot
Senior Member
Not much to say about how 2025 has been, other than the fact that January lasted for what felt like half a year, and the rest went by in the equivalent of 2 business days. Plus, as this post is going to be a repeat of 2024 in terms of LotR-ness, there’s no time – by which I mean characters – to waste.
I. 2025 END OF YEAR TOP 20
This go around, my TOTY is not one of the illegal kind (like in 2024), but two of the tracks in the top 10 (#3 and #9) are, while the others are debatable. All I’m saying is that ‘progressive’ and ‘hypnotic’ from the rule info box thingamajig are doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Even so, if any of them are considered entries so heinous they need to be exiled from the final count, feel free to chuck them into your nearest active volcano or black hole (not the label). In the meantime, here’s what my top 20 looks like:
2025 Track Of The Year: 01. Enigma State ft. The Jinx Brothers - Essence of Life [Transtate Records]
I’d say that for some this is perhaps a surprise, but a welcome one. Well, Palpatine would say that, but you get what I mean.
When I read the title initially, my thought for a brief moment was ‘Why is there just one Jinx brother listed? What terrible things have befallen the other one(s)?’ Considered for a second that it was another situation like The Thrillseekers, but that’s not the case.
Miscellaneous stupidity on my part aside, in the dedicated thread, I mentioned Essence of Life among the tracks that got multiple replays from me around the time the album was released. In the months since, said replays have only multiplied.
Though the rest of the album is excellent – more on that later – this is by far the highlight for me. Great melody, awesome breaks, and frankly just amazing sound design in general, in other words, all the trappings of a track worthy of the top spot.
Thus, it’s the 2025 TOTY for me. Great job @EnigmaState and Craig.
02. Peter Steele & John Dopping - Survival [Pure Trance NEON]
What an absolute belter of a track. Considered this for TOTY more than once, but regardless of its position in the top 20, it’s fantastic in every respect: from the melody, to the choice of synths and the atmosphere. Best in class.
I suppose there would be one not so fantastic aspect of it, which is the fact that it’s not on Bandcamp.
@Peter steele dj @JohnD if you haven’t already, you should do this again in the future. The collab thing, I mean.
03. Arkanna - The Unknown (Hedflux Instrumental Remix) [Luminus Music]
This one’s going to require a bit of a preamble.
It was originally released near the tail end of April on Bandcamp, as part of a six-track remix EP (3 vocal tracks + their instrumental counterparts). Not only that, it was the only DnB track of the lot, as the other two were other genres.
I added this to my wishlist and some time later, when I went back to buy it, the track was gone from both YouTube and Bandcamp. Can’t seem to find any explanation as to why.
Mind you, it shows up as greyed out on Spotify, but with a release date of February 7. A full sample is however available via Hedflux’s site (which is what I linked at the #3 spot above), so that’ll have to do in the meantime.
As for the remix itself, very big fan. It’s probably one of my most played tracks this year, in no small part due to its smooth as hell sound. It has the right number of melodic touches and just glides from beginning to end. Wish it had a longer runtime, but you can’t have everything.
04. Magnus - Revolution [Self Released]
Is this technically part of the album coming out in 2026? Yes. Was it released this year along with the title track? Also yes. Can this be included in 2025’s top 20? Don’t know, but it’s a bit late to change this now.
I know some people will gravitate towards Lighthouse – as they should, it’s a great track -, but I felt it was fair to highlight this one too.
In some ways, the beginning is reminiscent of perhaps an obscure remix in the @Magnus discography, i.e. the psybreaks one for Reactive. Though this reminiscence isn’t the only reason, it’s among those that have turned the start of the track into one of my favorite parts.
Bearing all the touches of his signature sound, Revolution has me very hyped for the upcoming album.
05. Ephedra & Ohm Mind - Acid Road to Rhum [Goa Madness]
Closing track of Liquid Pattern Theories and one of my favorite goa tracks of the year.
Has plenty of weirdness in its near 9 and a half minute runtime, and as I said in the dedicated Goa & Psytrance thread, I’m very fond of that build starting at 5:35. Could not have been released on a more appropriately-named label.
06. Astral Projection - For All Mankind [Iboga Records]
An AP track makes it to my top 10 for the first time since 2022 – though that very same track from 3 years ago is included on the album this track is part of too.
For All Mankind does its job well as a title track, and is among the stronger cuts from the album. Classic Astral Projection sound, which is why I really like it. By far my most played track, followed closely by Himalaya on the more downtempo goa / psybient end of the spectrum.
The latter reminds me a little of Unbelievable Technology, the psybient variant of AP’s very own Tryptomine Dream.
07. Enlusion & Subtara - Norscent (Exotek Remix) [Forescape Digital]
I liked the original from @Enlusion and Subtara, but this remix added just that little extra tweak to take it over the top.
Exotek steers it, in many ways in a heavier direction atmospherically, compared to the track it’s remixing. That said, it’s not to the point that it becomes, for lack of a better word coming to mind, ploddy. Very well done.
08. Henry Saiz - The Pulse [Bedrock Records]
Is this prog of some sort? Is this melodic house? Maybe techno? Is it whatever the hell Beatport decides to label it? The answer is yes or maybe to all the above.
Throwing the genre categorization into the garbage, because nobody seems to agree on what this actually is, the track is great. Yes, ‘top 10 of the year’ great for me.
Now the question remains, will it be chucked into the volcano or not?
09. ASC - Fear Of The Deep [Spatial]
Slotting in at number 9 is the second – and final – track in this top 20 that I’ve decided to pre-throw into a volcano / black hole (not the label).
This is the opening track for Next Time You Fall, the latest album from ASC, maker of my favorite album of 2023, The Depths of Space.
The entirety of the LP is worth checking out, but Fear of the Deep is the one I’ve played a concerning number of times. I tend to lean more towards atmospheric DnB, but as with trance, not everything labeled as such has the same vibe. ASC though, nails it every time for me. Highly recommended.
10. Lunar Sequence - Full Moon [OM Mantra Records]
Rounding off the top 10 is Full Moon, which as a point of comparison in overall feel, is right around MWNN’s Axis Flip. Very vibey, sort of psybient-sounding track.
Recommend checking out First Quarter from the same album Full Moon is part of, which gets into near CBL territory at points.
11. Narel & Sunda - Refractor (Façade Remix) [Landscapes Music]
It’s so nice to see @facade1984 interrupt his production of ghosts – the logistics of which elude me -,
to put together a fantastic remix for this @Narel and @Sunda collab.
Reminds me in places of the remix for The Weeping Willow from back in the before times™, and might just be one of my favorite releases from @Horizons Landscapes Music.
Narel’s Ambient Edit from the same remix package is worth a shoutout as well. Great alternate take on the original.
12. Lab 4 - The NRG (Definitions Remix) [Borderline]
Second entry in the top 20 from the Dopping man himself, though cloaked in another alias.
Very solid respray, entirely respectful of the source material. I’d go as far as to say I prefer this to the original.
13. DJ Reiz - System D [Union Trance Mission]
Although to some, this particular subgenre / style may sound very ‘upstairs neighbor renovating the apartment at 6AM’, I do like it. Lovely arp as well.
14. Grant Trowbridge - Eventide [Borderline]
Had to include this one. Lovely melody, near the beginning of the track a bit reminiscent of The Thrillseekers remix for Autumn Tactics to me. Makes sense though, as they’re both going for a lighter, somewhat floaty feel.
Big fan of the gating that’s used juust the right amount. @Grant Trowbridge
15. Astral Projection - Mahadeva (Save the Robot Remix) [Iboga Records]
This might ruffle some feathers, but what are those for if not to be ruffled?
I understand preferring the original over other takes, but as far as remixes go, it’s far from a bad one. The BPM drop suits this, if you ask me.
16. Brandt Hoff - Aurora Pulse [TF.R]
The Orison EP is my favorite TF.R release of the year, and this track in particular is my pick from the EP.
Very airy atmosphere in Aurora Pulse, making it just the right thing to contrast the cold weather outside. Artwork’s great too.
Wouldn’t mind more of this in the future @Reverb1234 .
17. David Broaders - Solace [Euphonic]
Was first exposed to David’s work around 13 years ago (when I was still following Enhanced) via The Best Is Yet To Come. As I said in the TF Radio 23/24 thread, those damn Enhanced promo jingles are basically burned into my brain.
Getting back to Solace, it’s clearly a similar sound. That said, the overall vibe is a lot more refined, though not to the point that it sounds, for lack of a better comparison, like it’s made of plastic. In short, beautiful track.
18. PROFF & Diana Miro - Momentum [Monstercat Silk]
Shock and horror, one of those damn comatose house tracks has snuck into my top 20.
Outrageous as it may be, it’s quite a nice little track. To add even more to the outrage, it has vocals too, which aren’t terrible. In some ways it reminds me of the 2AM Club Mix for Rush from last year, which I discovered when I made a big ‘ol list of everybody’s suggestions from the 2024 equivalent of this thread.
Though admittedly I was a bigger fan of Silk pre-Monstercat acquisition – stuff like Dewdrops and Moth to name but a couple tracks – Momentum is one of those recent releases I quite enjoy. Hence its presence here.
19. Kineta - Aqua Drifter [Ute.Rec]
Though to me Ute hasn’t been as strong this year, this I had to include. Love the groove.
20. Lauge & Baba Gnohm - Frozen Horizon [Lost Note Productions]
Capping off the top 20 is Frozen Horizon, which sits around the ambient / IDM / downtempo genre area. One could say it is hypnotic…or perhaps that it is progressive…in that it progresses from beginning to end. In a hypnotic way, of course.
Whether or not this track is volcanoable (yes I know, not a word) per the rules, I leave it to the TF overlords.
It’s still a great track though, either way.
II. 2025 SPECIAL MENTIONS
As a quick reminder, in the special mentions section, side A is for tracks I feel need to be highlighted, despite their flaws. Side B is for tracks that could have made it to side A, were it not for some unfortunate production choices. Not bad tracks mind you, just ones with certain choices I couldn't get past.
II.A. Highlights
A1. Lorien Testard ft. Alice Duport-Percier & Victor Borba - Une vie à t'aimer
The first of the highlights is going to be from the original soundtrack of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
Though not a genre I usually play, the art direction and soundtrack were what drew me to this game, and I’m glad they did.
The entire OST can be had for what’s frankly a steal on Bandcamp, given that it’s around 8 hours of music. Of those 8 hours, Lumière would be another track worth checking out.
Some may recognize the male vocalist (Victor) in the track above as the same one from the theme song of a certain approaching storm.
A2. Dynamedion - Pax Romana
The second highlight is also from a game, namely Anno 117, which is set at the height of the Roman Empire (hence the name).
I’ve played (and still continue to play) all of the Anno games, and though the game series has been around for longer, the OST has been handled by Dynamedion as a production company for around 20 years.
They’ve put together some absolute bangers like 1404’s When Cultures Meet, 2070’s Distant Shore and Monolith, or 2205’s The Vortex and Space Lift Engineering. Can’t forget Anno 1800’s main menu music, The Crown and the Lion.
TL;DR: Listen to some of them, or all of them. Highly recommended.
A3. Evanescence - Afterlife
No, you read that right. Even if I wasn’t that much of a fan of the Netflix DMC adaptation, this track did come out of it. Amy Lee somehow still sounds as good as she did in Bring Me to Life, however many years ago that was. Great track.
A4. DROIDGLOW - Totem [NRW Records / New Retro Wave]
Though not terribly complex in its arrangement, I do really like the industrial, sort of crunchy vibe this gives off. Worth checking out, imo.
A5. John Askew - Tooth Decay On Tuesday (Eshericks Remix) [VII]
Shame there isn’t a longer sample, but I do like the direction Eshericks has taken the track into.
Was rather fond of his remix for Hyper’s Spoiler (Recoil) too or, if you really want to go back quite a few years, his take on Serotonin Syndrome. Especially around 2:50.
A6. Unknown Reality - Snow Ballad [Self Released]
Exactly what it says that it is. Been a fan of Ralph’s psychill / downtempo / ambient stuff for over a decade, from Water – Part I to Fresh Fruits, Dream and beyond. Great artist.
A7. Chi-A.D. - Astral Warrior (Atlantis 2025 Remix) [Global Sect]
Compilation opener for VA – Reincarnation. There’s another Atlantis remix from around 5 years ago, but this updated one is so much better.
A8. Ephedra - Dialing Wrong Numbers [Goa Madness]
Ephedra did make it to the top 10 with Acid Road to Rhum, but I had to highlight this too. Part of VA – Orbiting The Void, this is another excellent goa slice, not unlike the title track of his 2024 album, Resilient Horizon.
(this recap continues in the next post)
Great list, many tracks could have been in my list too.
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