Alex Gallacher

Our End of year Playlist is out, featuring over 8 hours of music and covering over 100 albums from intimate folk and boundary-pushing jazz to ambient and experimental works. You can listen via Apple Music, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify and YouTube.

I put this playlist together on an early Sunday morning after a foggy, cold walk, back at my desk, drinking my first cup of coffee of the day. That early-morning stillness is captured in the calm waves of Passerpartout Duo (pianist Nicoletta Favari and percussionist Christopher Salvito) and in the otherworldly sounds of Tarawangsawelas and their contemporary interpretations of sacred music from Sundanese West Java.

Ahead of her upcoming tours with Stereolab and Jane Weaver, Emma Tricca has released a new live album, Prisms of Winter. Recorded in Shoreditch with Simon Alpin, the collection captures the raw, fragile intimacy of her songwriting against a backdrop of East London street sounds. It’s a soulful reimagining of her catalogue, offering fans a beautifully unpolished, heartfelt experience.

more eaze (Mari Rubio) announces her new album, sentence structure in the country, out March 20, 2026. While her background in traditional fiddle is long-passed, she imbues these new arrangements with a deep reverence for the evolution of folk forms. Lead single “bad friend,” featuring Wendy Eisenberg, navigates social alienation through a masterful, non-traditional approach to pedal steel and electronics.

As the frost settles, KLOF Mag returns with an essential winter folk mixtape. This curated journey balances the haunting beauty of Anne Briggs and Plinth with the psychedelic folk of Trees and Leo Kottke’s intricate guitar work. From Mummering traditions to evocative poetry and communal singing, these “winter warmers” are the perfect companion for the festive season.

Listen to Part Two of our End-of-Year Mixtape Series, which includes tracks from our 2025 Albums of the Year. There’s a broad mix of genres from folk and jazz to experimental and ambient. It includes Alex Rex, Jim Ghedi, SML, Chris Brain, David Grubbs, Jim White, Eiko Ishibashi & Jim O’Rourke, Emily A. Sprague, Eli Winter, Fuubutsushi, Cameron Knowler, Glenn Kimpton, Bridget Hayden, Buck Curran and lots more.

Bill Callahan arrives with the new single, “Lonely City,” from his upcoming album, My Days of 58. A profound meditation on the familiar, ever-changing relationship we have with our cities. The stunning music video showcases over 15 years of photography by street photographer Daniel Arnold.

Welcome to another Monday Morning Brew Playlist. This selection leans heavily into UK and US folk traditions, featuring artists like Steeleye Span, Lal Waterson, John Jacob Niles, and contemporary torchbearers such as Jake Blount and Lisa O’Neill. There’s a nice emotional resonance between some of those featured, including Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, and Sufjan Stevens, as well as some newer inclusions from the likes of Ganavya & Sam Amidon.

It’s that time of year again: Our End-of-Year Album longlist is finally here. 100 meticulously selected top albums that shaped the year, covering a vast sonic landscape—from intimate folk and boundary-pushing jazz to the dense topography of ambient and experimental works. Dive in now, read the essential review highlights, and listen to the music that made 2025 unforgettable.

Acclaimed artists ganavya and Sam Amidon share two new songs, “Would Be Better” and “Willow Street (feat Sam Gendel),” recorded at LEITER’s Funkhaus Studio. The double single traces a tender dialogue between distance and belonging, finding a way home through chosen siblinghood. Amidon’s experimental folk meets ganavya’s devotional depth, joined by Sam Gendel’s distinct ambient jazz.

French-Algerian icon Souad Massi returns with “Samt” (Silence), the hypnotic first single from her upcoming album Zagate, out March 6, 2026. Produced by Justin Adams, this Afrobeat-infused track redefines silence as a spiritual refuge rather than resignation. Accompanied by a video from Yann Orhan, “Samt” paves the way for Massi’s most liberated and outspoken work to date.

Multi-instrumentalist Colleen (Cécile Schott) announces her new album Libres antes del final, arriving March 20, 2026, on Thrill Jockey. Inspired by her journey overcoming a 30-year water phobia, the record serves as an ode to movement and resilience. Schott shares the euphoric lead single “Antídoto,” a “whirlwind of synthesis” acting as the album’s joyful centrepiece, alongside upcoming US and EU tour dates.