low light mixes

  One of my favorite genre rabbit holes that I went down in 2025 was instrumental rock music. That title covers a lot of styles from post-rock to stoner rock to prog rock to cosmic country to fusion to psych rock etc. I've always listened to music that falls into this category whether it's Khruangbin or Causa Sui or Oren Ambarchi but this year my interest in this genre exploded.  So I thought I would create a mix of some of my favorite instrumental rock albums from 2025. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the heavy stuff. This mix has a nice blend of a few heavy tunes with some Khruangbin-like tracks, a couple kraut rock style tracks, a jam band cut, a prog tune, even a dub track, and a bunch of other difficult to categorize music.    >>>LINKS TO ALL THE MUSIC USED IN THIS MIX<<< 01 - https://actiontensionspace.bandcamp.com/album/new-dimensions 02 - https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/yawning-man-pavement-ends 03 - https://ambarchiberthlingwerliin.bandcamp.com/album/ghosted-iii 04 - https://elparaisorecords.com/product/causa-sui-in-flux/ 05 - https://piotrkurek.bandcamp.com/album/songs-and-bodies 06 - https://elparaisorecords.com/product/edena-gardens-dispossessed/ 07- https://barrywalker.bandcamp.com/album/barry-walker-unit-at-the-13th-moon-gravity-well 08 - https://jeffthebrotherhood.bandcamp.com/album/magick-songs 09 - https://kungensman.bandcamp.com/album/resande-i-rockmusik 10 - https://markusreuter.bandcamp.com/album/truce-3 11 - https://re-stoned.bandcamp.com/album/the-loom-maxi-single 12 - https://townportal.bandcamp.com/album/grindwork 13 - https://holmisanisland.bandcamp.com/album/behind-curtains 14 - https://yuuf.bandcamp.com/album/alma-s-cove 15 - https://eliwinter.bandcamp.com/album/a-trick-of-the-light   I know this isn't the usual LLM ambient fare but it is still somehow trance inducing. I hope you enjoy this deviation from ambient bliss.   Cheers!   T R A C K L I S T : 01)  00:00   Action & Tension & Space - Folkemusikk fra Kvala (New Dimensions 2025) 02)  04:47   Yawning Man - Bomba Negra (Pavement Ends 2025) 03)  09:45   Oren Ambarchi, Johan Berthling, Andreas Werliin - Chahar (Ghosted  III 2025) 04)  15:49   Causa Sui - The Circus is Back (In Flux 2025) 05)  17:32   Piotr Kurek - Nothing Holds Still (Songs And Bodies 2025) 06)  22:26   Edena Gardens - Fills The Well (Dispossessed 2025) 07)  27:50   Barry Walker Unit - High in the Hummocks (At the 13th Moon Gravity Well 2025) 08)  32:51   Jeff The Brotherhood - Many Moons Dub (Magick Songs in Dub 2025) 09)  37:27   Kungens Män - Resande i rockmusik  (Resande i rockmusik 2025) 10)  42:40   Markus Reuter - We Have Your Back (Truce <3 2025) 11)  47:20   The Re-Stoned - The Loom (The Loom 2025) 12)  52:24   Town Portal - Gold-Plated (Grindwork 2025) 13)  56:18   Holm - Behind Curtains (Behind Curtains 2025) 14)  60:08   Yuuf - Alma’s Cove (Alma's Cove 2025) 15)  63:37   Eli Winter - A Trick of the Light (A Trick of the Light 2025) 67:16   end

    Oh man, what a way to end the year! Erwin has been curating excellent Berlin-school mixes for us all year and now he finishes it off with this massive end-of-the-year update. I've been in this headspace for a while now so this perfectly satisfies my craving. Thanks to Erwin for a great year of electronic mixes.   Here what he has to say about this year-ender:   "Another smorgasbord of what the electronic music scene has to offer these days and another invitation for space travelling! It's an extra long mix given my incapacity to choose from the wide offer of sublime tracks and albums that were released in 2025. The diversity in styles within this music category is remarkable; synth pop, retro, contemporary and progressive Berlin School, cosmic sound tapestries, contemplative/meditative/emotional (drone) ambient and a lengthy deep house track. Special mention for two female electronic music artists Andrea Cichecki and Lisa Bella Donna. Unfortunately, women are rare in this line of music, but these ladies more than deserve their place in this mix with thrilling evocative compositions. Check it out & enjoy your trip!"    LINKS TO ALL THE MUSIC USED IN THIS MIX: 01. https://aevanelstprojects.bandcamp.com/album/the-art-of-ae-live-2 02. https://fritzmayr.bandcamp.com/album/eye-of-the-storm 03. https://cosmiccadence.bandcamp.com/album/alien-artifacts 04. https://epigenetics.bandcamp.com/album/tunes-for-the-trip-to-alpha-centauri-2025-album 05. https://cyclicaldreams.bandcamp.com/album/everything-dies-cyd-0139 06. https://cyclicaldreams.bandcamp.com/album/gemstones-vi-cyd-0141 07. https://cyclicaldreams.bandcamp.com/album/a-sequence-of-colours-cyd-0147 08. https://sphericmusic-shop.de/gb/featured/1889-mergener-peter-chip-meditation-2025.html     https://www.groove.nl/shop/peter-mergener-chip-meditation-2025/?v=910955a907e7 09. https://moonsatellite2.bandcamp.com/album/litanie-des-songes 10. https://tronestamjohan.bandcamp.com/album/settlers 11. https://caughtinjoy.bandcamp.com/album/equilibrium-double-album 12. https://matthiaslehmann.bandcamp.com/album/autumn-rhapsody-season-quadrology-part-iv-album 13. https://sequentia-legenda.bandcamp.com/album/timeless     https://cyclicaldreams.bandcamp.com/album/timeless-cyd-0143 14. https://jimottaway.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-odyssey 15. https://dacker.bandcamp.com/album/saudade     https://www.groove.nl/shop/dacker-skoulaman-saudade/?v=910955a907e7 16. https://lisabelladonna.bandcamp.com/album/dawn-of-a-new-age 17. https://mahorka.bandcamp.com/album/making-things-happen-netlabel-day-10th-anniversary-compilation 18. https://mattgoodluck.bandcamp.com/album/portals 19. https://phelios.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-planetarium-erkrath 20. https://unisphereerikrene.bandcamp.com/album/opus-tria 21. https://drune-music.bandcamp.com/album/beyond 22. https://joerg-dankert.bandcamp.com/album/back-to-berlin 23. https://hellomrklaus.bandcamp.com/album/angels-memento-mori 24. https://mindphaser2.bandcamp.com/album/analogue-birth-of-the-universe 25. https://tectonia.bandcamp.com/album/luna-the-moon 26. https://cyclicaldreams.bandcamp.com/album/the-vanishing-point-cyd-0145 27. https://hrresonance.bandcamp.com/album/dream-mooring 28. https://quietdetails.bandcamp.com/album/yesterday-sky 29. https://tim-stebbing.bandcamp.com/album/spacehopper 30. https://colinrayment.bandcamp.com/album/optical-perceptions 31. https://galacticsoundstation.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-the-mental-health-of-astronauts-volume-1 32. https://astro-sphere.bandcamp.com/album/fading-sun-endless-blue 33. https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com/album/the-world-will-never-survive-without-you-ambient-works Happy New Year to everyone and here's to 2026 being another fantastic year of music. Cheers!   T R A C K L I S T : 01. 00:00:00   AE Van Elst Projects - Take-Off (The Art of AE Live) 02. 00:05:58   Fritz Mayr - Wind & Rain (Eye Of The Storm) 03. 00:07:12   Cosmic Cadence - Alien Artifacts (Alien Artifacts) 04. 00:11:45   Epigenetics - Leaving Everything Behind (Tunes for the Trip to Alpha Centauri) 05. 00:16:04   Rodrigo Passannanti - Blue Skies (Everything Dies) 06. 00:20:08   Andrea Cichecki - Fragmented Reality (Gemstones VI - Cyclical Dreams label compilation) 07. 00:25:00   Michael Brückner - Sequential Blue (A Sequence Of Colours) 08. 00:30:48   Peter Mergener - Julia Quantity (Chip Meditation 2025) 09. 00:35:14   MoonSatellite - Litanie Part 04 (Litanie Des Songes) 10. 00:41:34   Johan Tronestam - Pioneers (Settlers) 11. 00:48:36   Caught In Joy - Cathedrals Of Light (Equilibrium) 12. 00:53:03   Matthias Lehmann - Stubai Fall (Autumn Rhapsody - Season Quadrology Part IV) 13. 00:57:15   Sequentia Legenda - Love Feeds Love II (Timeless) 14. 01:01:03   Jim Ottaway - Cosmic Odyssey (Cosmic Odyssey) 15. 01:07:36   Däcker & Skoulaman - Hiraeth (Saudade) 16. 01:15:56   Lisa Bella Donna - Reach For The Light (Dawn Of A New Age) 17. 01:22:14   Fallen + Philippe Blache - Supplique Au Vent (Making Things Happen: Netlabel Day 10th Anniversary Compilation) 18. 01:26:22   Matt Goodluck - After Hours (Portals) 19. 01:29:35   Martin Stürtzer - Return To Earth (Live at Planetarium Erkrath)                          20. 01:35:56   UNI Sphere - Shifting Your Horizon (Opus Tria)                21. 01:43:10   Drune - Nucleia (Beyond)  22. 01:49:44   Joerg Dankert - Checkpoint Velocity (Back To Berlin) 23. 01:53:12   Hello Mr Klaus - Uriel Angel Of Light (Angels "Memento Mori") 24. 01:58:36   MindPhaser - Mellotron Resonance (Analogue Birth Of The Universe)  25. 02:00:32   Tectonia - Tranquility Base (Luna - The Moon) 26. 02:02:50   Grant Beasley - Zero Point (The Vanishing Point) 27. 02:10:55   Subtle Shift - Dream Mooring (Dream Mooring)              28. 02:29:14   Shawn Rudiman - Psyconnex (Yesterday Sky) 29. 02:35:44   Tim Stebbing - Deep Freeze (Spacehopper) 30. 02:43:23   Colin Rayment - Mysterious Illusion (Optical Perceptions) 31. 02:46:26   Terminus Void - Zero Gravity (Music for the Mental Health of Astronauts Vol. 1) 32. 02:52:01   Astropilot - Fading Sun Endless Blue (Fading Sun Endless Blue) 33. 02:55:34   Jay Hosking - Prince, The Poet (The World Will Never Survive Without You) end 03:03:44  

    Not much to say in this post other than here is part two of my favorite ambient albums of 2025. I'll also repost the full list here with links. Alexander Knaifel - Chapter Eight Almost An Island - Almost An Island Andrew Heath - Signals and Codes Anthéne & Simon McCorry - Wellspring Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Dreaming In Gamelan Byron Metcalf - Spiral Exchange Clarice Jensen - In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness Dictaphone - Unstable Emily A. Sprague - Cloud Time Erik M - Soft Wish Florian TM Zeisig - A New Life Lab's Cloud and Flavio Salvaje - Kalima Loneward - Musings of a Painted Sky M. Sage - Tender / Wading Martin Stürtzer - Nexus-6 offthesky - form.radio offthesky - Nocturnas Peter Gregson - Peter Gregson Rod Modell - Northern Michigan Snowstorms Seabuckthorn - A Path Within A Path Six Missing - Without Mind Steve Roach - The Reverent Sky Taylor Deupree & Zimoun - Wind Dynamic Organ, Deviations Xu - Murmurs of the Machine Yorkshire Modular Society + Peter Digby Lee - Beneath the Hanging Sky zakè - Silentium Here's to more excellent ambient music in 2026.   Cheers!     T R A C K L I S T : 00:00   Lab's Cloud and Flavio Salvaje - Sandwhistle (Kalima) 04:12   Byron Metcalf - Voices Of Vision (Spiral Exchange) 09:25   Seabuckthorn - Shadow Of The Land (A Path Within A Path) 12:15   Steve Roach - The Nuturing  Ground (The Reverent Sky) 20:10   Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Reverie (Dreaming In Gamelan) 23:35   Almost An Island - Perfume Gloves (Almost An Island) 27:40   Andrew Heath - Delegate 24 (Signals and Codes) 33:00   Anthéne & Simon McCorry - Summer's Glow (Wellspring) 37:20   Taylor Deupree & Zimoun - Deviation V (Wind Dynamic Organ, Deviations) 42:55   Xu - Echoes from the Ether (Murmurs of the Machine) 45:50   offthesky - form.radio 3 (form.radio) 50:12   zakè - Pax Animi [ft. Tyresta] (Silentium) 53:20   Loneward - Shrouded Sighs (Musings of a Painted Sky) 59:48   end

When end-of-the-year list season began I wasn't sure if I was going to do a favorite ambient albums list. I wasn't as locked into ambient as much this year as in the past. I spent most of my listening time in indie, jazz, and berlin-school. I had several ambient albums that would for sure make my list so I started with those and the next thing I knew - I had a list of 26 albums that are my 2025 favorites. Here are my favorite ambient albums of 2025, in alphabetical order: Alexander Knaifel - Chapter Eight Almost An Island - Almost An Island Andrew Heath - Signals and Codes Anthéne & Simon McCorry - Wellspring Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Dreaming In Gamelan Byron Metcalf - Spiral Exchange Clarice Jensen - In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness Dictaphone - Unstable Emily A. Sprague - Cloud Time Erik M - Soft Wish Florian T M Zeisig - A New Life Lab's Cloud and Flavio Salvaje - Kalima Loneward - Musings of a Painted Sky M. Sage - Tender Wading Martin Stürtzer - Nexus-6 offthesky - form.radio offthesky - Nocturnas Peter Gregson - Peter Gregson Rod Modell - Northern Michigan Snowstorms Seabuckthorn - A Path Within A Path Six Missing - Without Mind Steve Roach - The Reverent Sky Taylor Deupree & Zimoun - Wind Dynamic Organ, Deviations Xu - Murmurs of the Machine Yorkshire Modular Society + Peter Digby Lee - Beneath the Hanging Sky zakè - Silentium I made two mixes so it will be a little easier to digest. This post is for part one. I hope you enjoy this look back at 2025. Cheers! T R A C K L I S T : 00:00   Erik M. - Tall as Grass (Soft Wish) 03:55   Offthesky - Poised Above A Place (Nocturnas) 08:06   Rod Modell - Snowstorm In Munising (Snowstorm In Munising) 13:40   Emily A. Sprague - Osaka (Cloud Time) 19:23   Florian T M Zeisig - Earth Loop (A New Life) 21:00   M. Sage - Fracking Starlight (Tender / Wading) 26:18   Dictaphone - 122 (Unstable) 29:50   Six Missing - Sit Down and Play (Without Mind) 35:38   Peter Gregson - Prism (Peter Gregson) 38:37   Clarice Jensen - From A to B (In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness) 44:05   Alexander Knaifel - Chapter Eight: Stanza XXIII-XXXII (Chapter Eight) 49:15   Martin Sturtzer - Nexus-6 (Nexus-6) 55:30   Yorkshire Modular Society - Beneath the Hanging Sky (Beneath the Hanging Sky) 01:09:28   end

This is a mix I originally created back in December of 2006, during my first year of posting mixes online. This one never made its way to Mixcloud so I figured, with all the cold and snow I'm getting in my neck of the woods, now would be a good time to resurrect this set. The original post here on the blog has a bad link to the mp3 so I wanted to post it her as well. It's interesting to see the artists that I was listening to at the time. Such as Freescha, Svalastog, Yellow 6, Klimek, and the track by Clint Mansell from the soundtrack to The Fountain, which I was absolutely obsessed with for a few years. Every tune has one of these words...snow, winter, cold, frozen, ice, or freezing, in the title. Btw, the pic is my mom, taken in the mid 1970s. :-)  Cheers!   T R A C K L I S T : 00:00 Scott Solter - The Great Cold 04:20 Klimek - Snowfall 1 13:15  Greg Haines - Snow Airport 14:20  Corker & Conboy - Colder 17:20  Clint Mansell - First Snow 18:20  Library Tapes - It was a cold day in February... 20:15  Loren Connors - Falling Snow 24:40  Yellow 6 - (The First) Of Winter 30:00  Svalastog - Snow Tracer 35:20  Taylor Deupree - Snow Sand 39:00  Last Days - Snowing 42:30  Outputmessage - Snow 47:20  Trentemoller - While the cold winter waiting 49:20  Brian Eno - Cold 50:40  Freescha - Frozen Stiff 54:15  Hammock - Winter Light 56:45  Forrest Fang & Carl Weingarten - Freezing Days 60:10  Boc Scadet - Ice Shelves & Glaciers 65:20  Stuart Busby - Snow Fall