A look back at some of the best Electronic music compilations released in 2025
It’s been one of those years to say the least, as we’re sure many of you have noticed. Whilst we’re not going to dwell on the state of things too much, one thing that has stood out over the last 12 months is the amount of music (old and new) that’s been given the compilation treatment. It’s easy to underestimate the place that a well thought out and lovingly researched collection of music from a label, genre, artist or era can play in terms of providing access to unexplored areas of music. They often shine a light on works that have otherwise been overlooked or yet to be discovered, or have simply become so collectable that the original price tags have ended up gaining exorbitant figures – making a new pressing all of a sudden quite attractive.
To round off 2025, we’ve picked out some our favourite packs that came out during the last year, to try and nail down a selection that are worthy of your attention, time and money. Not least because the music on offer has and will stand the test of time, it certainly won’t look out of place in your collection or near/on your record player, if you hunt one (or more) of these down.
Laurant Webb / Yossi Amoyal – Strange Weather: A Different Kettle Of Fish (feat Housey Doingz, The Ron Honey Experience, Space Bunny)
Sushitech have done it again with this heartfelt tribute to Strange Weather Studios and the talented individuals who brought its magic to life.
For the uninitiated, Laurant Webb, Dave Coker, Justin Bailey, and Dave Pine were the key figures behind this creative Southeast London hub that helped shape the very early sound of Tech house, in the UK’s capital. Collaborating with friends and partners on several projects, they produced a number of influential records that were key in helping define the genre. Recording under a whole range of aliases such as Housey Doingz, 7th Voyage, and Space Bunny. This triple vinyl release is a treat for long time fans, as it is for the new generation of heads with this superb selection of 11 tracks, carefully selected by Laurant Webb and label head Yossi Amoyal. It goes without saying that quite a few of these cuts are highly sought after releases in their own right, all lovingly restored and remastered from DAT and pressed up across six sides of vinyl that makes this a real treat.
As well as a no-brainer if you’ve been looking to own some of this great music that was significant in the evolution of genre, we really can’t recommend this pack enough.
www.sushitechrecords.bandcamp.com/album/strange-weather-a-different-kettle-of-fish
www.discogs.com/release/32591634-Various-Strange-Weather-A-Different-Kettle-Of-Fish
Princess P – Infinite Sonore
Swiss DJ Princess P may not be the biggest household name, but her nous and love of leftfield Electronic music is second to none. Muriel Sorbet is better known in digger’s circles, primarily for the years she worked for Plattfon Records in Basel, one of the pearls of Swiss recordstores where she helped shape the shop’s musical agenda in buying and selling.
Coupled with her work behind the turntables, it’s pretty clear she has enjoyed an excellent listening education. After all, access to a seemingly never-ending pool of new releases, editions and purchased collections forms the ideal basis for continually developing and refining one’s taste in music.
In ‘Infinite Sonore, she presents a selector’s compilation and journey, spanning over a decade’s worth of rare lo-fi, post-rocky and indie styled builds, all awash with the blanket buzzes of tape and saturation. Sporting liner notes from her good friend Optimo’s JD Twitch (RIP), this is a wonderful case of a properly mix album released over individual tracks. Over 12 tracks and 3 slabs of vinyl, the music spans West Coast US dance music, industrial, and kitsch pop from 1980 to the present, sporting a wide array of “file under” tags including rave, retro, space rock, cosmic, introspective, minimal, acid and ambient.
www.princessp.bandcamp.com/album/princess-p-infinite-sonore
www.discogs.com/release/33280209-Princess-P-Infinite-Sonore
Telepathic Fish: Trawling The Early 90s Ambient Underground
Touted as the first-ever illustrated compendium recounting the seminal underground South London ambient party – Telepathic Fish – that surfaced at the axis through which the crews which made up likes of Ninja Tune, Warp and Rising High flowed.
The night and collective shared fertile waters with both Megatripolis and The Big Chill, who established themselves in the early 90s London as the go to back room chill-out spaces.The compilation documents the sights and sounds of this seminal ambient party, hosted by Chantal Passamonte (aka Mira Calix – RIP), David Vallade, Mario Aguera and Kevin Foakes (aka DJ Food) – who were collectively named Openmind. With the help of Mixmaster Morris (The Irresistible Force) and Matt Black (Coldcut), they put on some of the earliest chill out events in London.
Rooted deep in the heart of the electronic underground they all started DJing and decorating house parties or squats with mind-blowing installations and wholly idiosyncratic design, hosting the likes of Aphex Twin, Andrea Parker and Tony Morley (The Leaf Label). Three decades (give or take a year or two), the crew’s remaining members Kevin Foakes AKA DJ Food, Mario Aguera and David Vallande have reunited to celebrate the sound and legacy via this brilliant compilation of 90s chill-out treats.
As you’d expect, the compilation is full of brilliant, mind-altering fare. From the deep space dub of Global Communication’s ‘Incidental Harmony’ and the IDM shuffle of ‘Skinned Clean’ by Insides, to the dusty bliss of Caustic Window’s ‘Cordilatron’ (a Richard D James rarity), The Orb’s ambient rework of Keichi Suzuki’s ‘Satellite Serenade’ and David Morley’s immersive rework of Orbital side project Golden Girls’ hit ‘Kinetic’. There’s a lot admire and enjoy in this neatly package set of 10 tracks over 2 pieces of vinyl.
www.discogs.com/release/34990262-Various-Telepathic-Fish-Trawling-The-Early-90s-Ambient-Underground
Dubby / Antal – Techno Kayo Vol 1: Japanese Techno Pop 1981-1989
Compiled by Tokyo digger Dubby and Amsterdam’s finest selector Antal – head of Rush Hour Records. This compilation and first volume traces the rise of techno kayo, a short-lived but influential blend of Kayokyoku songcraft and European-inspired electronics where catchy pop melodies meet the futuristic sounds of synthesizers and drum machines.
The set spans 7 tracks of chart pop, underground oddities and proto-club like experiments, highlights include The Peters’ ‘Happy Time’, a breezy, neon-lit cut with 80s disco undercurrents, and Kuniko Yamada’s irresistible ‘Tetsugaku Shiyo (Viens Philosopher)’, where French pop meets a Japanese touch.
Kyoko Koizumi’s ‘Microwave’ tilts into playful uptempo, snare-filled futurism, while Hikashu’s ‘Melonno Nakano Hitsuji’ pushes further into avant-pop territory, whilst ‘City Train’ by Targets captures the spirit of urban modernity. This is a vivid snapshot of 80s Japan, reimagining pop all the whilst pushing the boundaries of experimentalism in the machine age. Strangely catchy and enduringly fresh, it’s captivating material and certainly lays the ground for further exploration.
www.discogs.com/release/35501431-Various-Techno-Kay%C5%8D-Vol-1-Japanese-Techno-Pop-1981-1989
Various Artists – Mental Groove Classics Vol 4
Mental Groove’s Classics series returns with its fourth volume, diving back into label founder Olivier Ducret’s personal archive. Unearthing a goldmine of yet more tracks that helped shape Switzerland’s underground rave culture back in the early 90s. A key player in the country’s acid house era, Ducret is a well respected figure among those early pioneers who ran both a record shop and several labels.
Where many in Switzerland gravitated towards trance or garage in the early ’90s, Ducret and his crew embraced bass, breaks and techno, drawing on a heavy influence from the sounds emerging from the UK. These selections echo epic all night parties with the boundary-smashing energy of a scene fueled by optimism and sonic exploration.
Amongst the selections, you’ll find tracks like the electric and original B-Side killer from Desert Storm called ‘Scoraig 93′. An epic slice of progressive house that still finds itself ahead of the pack even at these times today. The deeply spun hypnotic groove of The Sound Vandals – ‘On Your Way’ (Deep mix) and a freah remaster of the evergreen ‘Hell Or Heaven’ (extended mix) by LUPO. Also featured is The Beloved ‘s acid house underground classic ‘Pablo (Special K Dub)’. A track which shows the formative sounds of the band that would later become a worldwide smash hit.
Mental Groove Classics Vol. 4 is part autobiography and part historical document. Looking back at a time when genres blurred and dance floors were united by curiosity and freedom. For cratediggers, rave historians and anyone chasing that rush of discovery, these compilations are a window into the story behind the music.
www.mentalgroove.bandcamp.com/album/mental-groove-classics-volume-4
www.discogs.com/release/35678416-Various-Mental-Groove-Classics-Vol-4
Planet Mu 30 1995 – 2025
In the world of compilations there are basically two types. The retrospective, packed with classics and significant musical moments from bygone days, which might have been forgotten. Or, you find an all-new musical showcase that marks where an label is at right now.
Planet Mu founder Mike Paradinas AKA U-Ziq is very much in the camp of the latter, to mark the occasion of his legendary experimental label’s 30th birthday. There’s plenty to get your blood pumping and the synapses fizzing across the wealth of 25 tracks on show, from the jittery footwork-IDM fusion of Jlin’s ‘B12’, the mutant future-boogie tweak out of Venetian Snares on ‘Drums’, the earbending glitch of Nondi or the twisted hyperpop stylings of Falty DL’s ‘Usually I’m Cautious’, to the dense noise of Slikback. There’s really a lot to wrap your ears around.
You’ll find Paradinas dropping a suitably racey synth and drum workout on ‘Imperial Crescent VIP’, whilst Nik Colk Void’s industrial gunk on ‘A Tough Design (demo)’ gets to the core of the matter, with the added D&B ambience of Xylitol’s ‘Nevada’ making for sunnier moments, DJ Girls crazy ‘Bonito Applebum’ certainly raises a smile, as does the sample-rich instrumental hip-hop of Luke Vibert ‘Bullet Drop’. There’s a lot to take in, but when you’ve been around for 3 decades – there’s a lot to admire.
www.planetmu.bandcamp.com/album/planet-mu-30
www.discogs.com/release/33973521-Various-Planet-Mu-30-1995-2025
Susumu Yokota – Magic Thread Volume 1
Part of the Skintone Edition series of re-issues box set, ‘Magic Thread’ is a seminal LP from Japanese artist Susumu Yokota, best described as delicate and meditative music that first appeared on the Skintone label in 1998 as a limited-edition CD of 500 copies. In part a celebration of his work and also marking a decade since he passed away, the series has been brought out in association with the Yokota family, to celebrate his extraordinary musical legacy.
Magic Thread is deeply soothing, replete with a spartan palette of sounds and textures, where Yokota taps into a fundamentally human need to fuse and connect disparate fibres, magically forming work which glistens and pulsates. Weaving a deeply human and spiritual soundscape, subtle yet rich with emotional resonance. Intended originally for the Japanese market, the original release arrived in a transparent case, adorned only with a sticker and a poetic reflection on the mystical nature of thread and creation. Brimming with quiet beauty that connects you to something ancient, essential and profoundly serene.
‘Somewhere in the process of evolution, the spinning and weaving of thread became possible for humankind. How did this come to pass? It can only be that the thread is possessed of magical properties.’ – Yokota, 1998.
www.susumuyokota.bandcamp.com/album/magic-thread-skintone-edition
www.discogs.com/release/34844108-Susumu-Yokota-Magic-Thread-Skintone-Edition
Various Artists – TD10 [Timedance]
The sound Timedance has been cultivating over the course of its first decade is so idiosyncratic, you could almost use its name as an adjective. To mark the label’s (and former club night) ten year anniversary, Bristol-based architect Batu has invited a cast of TD all-stars to join a host of kindred spirits from across the globe and celebrate their creativity in style.
Having nurtured experimentation between techno propulsion, soundsystem pressure and innovative sound design since the very beginning and rarely resting in one space. TD10 brings together 23 forward-facing cuts to demonstrate that the tradition and force remains very much at the front and centre – celebrating with a strong cast of scene-leading heavyweights and emergent talent.
The wide-ranging styles on TD10 are bound together by a shared affinity for bass pressure and vibrant, three-dimensional production. Fractured, artful deconstruction from Daisy Moon, Marco Shuttle and Verraco sit alongside the snarling half-step pressure of re:ni and Lurka and the jagged drum intensity of Lechuga Zafiro, 33EMYBW, Ayesha, and Jabes. There’s space for big room anti-anthems from Pearson Sound, Bambounou and Batu himself, wildcard swerves from Minor Science and Skee Mask and more emotive melodic sensibilities from Polygonia, El irreal Veintiuno and BADSISTA. At every turn the ideas are fresh, throwing open the possibilities for what it might represent in the future.
In an era where technology has eroded the boundaries between the generic formulae of dance music’s past and helped set the pace for innovation, presenting compelling music across a range of tempos. TD10 marks out a place and space with its gaze fixed firmly forwards the next chapter in proudly unpredictable style.
