ACL 2025 ~ Fall Music Preview

Electronic

Fall Music Preview ~ Electronic

Positive reviews for the remake of Naked Gun share a similar theme: the times are so bad that moviegoers simply needed a reason to laugh. A similar thing can be said about electronic music: in the current climate, we all need a reason to dance. Fortunately, this year’s fall slate provides a full spectrum of beats, from chill to IDM and everything in-between. Several imprints are also celebrating anniversaries this season, from DJ-Kicks to Timedance, while classic producers are returning with fresh sets and renowned artists are changing up their timbres. Whether you’re feeling nostalgic this fall or want to hear something fresh, there’s some great electronic music on the way!

Our cover image is taken from Auntie Flo‘s Birds of Paradise, covered below.

Album titles often draw our attention, and in that category, Okkyung Lee‘s ambient-electronic just like any other day (어느날): background music for your mundane activities is a clear winner. We also love the track title “lying here half awake, i hear kids outside laughing with their hearts and i think this must be the end then…” The mallet-happy music is gentle and sweet, enacting just what the title says (Shelter Press, September 5). Here’s one we didn’t expect: Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) + William Tyler‘s 41 Longfield Street Late 80’s, which mixes ambience and electronics in a seamless, engaging fashion (Temporary Residence, September 19). Also splitting the difference between electronic and ambient, Takao returns with The End of the Brim, a melodic release that features organic instruments, with vocalists on three tracks (EM, September 19).

Ørdop Wolkenscheidt‘s The Years of Rain and Thunder is a meditation on the fragility of our changing environment and the array of potential human responses. The artist keeps the timbre light and hopeful, a calm encouragement (September 5). The warm, enveloping self-titled album from Verses GT is mostly instrumental, so it’s a light surprise that the key track, “Feel Your Light,” contains vocals. The track was released in summer and has a mid-season feel; and we could all use a little more light (LUCKYME®, September 12). Daniel Avery may be shifting more to the vocal realm, as his new album features copious guests, but we suspect there are also a few engaging instrumentals on Tremor (Domino, October 31).

Lowercase trip-hop beats and samples populate Don Philippe‘s velvet breaks, which hearkens back to a golden era, with a nostalgic tint (Sonar Kolletiv, October 10). We’ve already featured a track from Sven Wunder‘s Daybreak in our article, Ten MORE Tracks That Sound Like Summer. The full album has a chill, throwback vibe, referencing the daisy era (Piano Piano, September 26). Auntie Flo‘s Birds of Paradise has a happy, tropical vibe, reflecting its Goa origin. To listen is to return to a time not too long ago when we felt that things were moving in a positive direction, realizing that the world was one (A State of Flo, October 23). Listening to the beachy “Skylarking,” one can imagine a tropical paradise; it’s a slight irony that Bitchin’ Bajas‘ new record is called Inland See (Drag City, September 26). Robin Richards of Dutch Uncles is set to release solo debut Taproots, featuring an array of honored guests including GoGo Penguin pianist Chris Illingworth. The music has a warm, upbeat vibe despite its occasionally dark themes (PRAH, September 19).

After two EPs, Lyndhurst is releasing its hotly anticipated debut album. Tapes pushes the duo’s sound deeper into gorgeous textures and enticing rhythms, while preserving a sense of flow (September 5). Combining piano and electronics, Grandbrothers produce an inviting, crossover sound. Elsewhere is released September 26, but still sings of summer’s joy (_and_others). Superpoze returns with Siècle on October 3, preceded by the ambitious title track, which places piano and strings in an electronic setting (Grand Musique). Sam Prekop continues to evolve, drawing a clear line between his solo work and The Sea and the Cake. Open Close is a bubbly exercise in modular synth, developed live on tour (Thrill Jockey, September 26). It’s hard to call The Wonder Of It All (music for a performance by Daniel Linehan/Hiatus) a change-up from Rutger Zuydervelt, as the artist has so many timbres at his disposal, but this one does sound different. A slowly-developing, slowly recessing, hour-long dance piece, the center is awash in club rhythms and New Order-esque guitar (September 9).

Liquid Center is Elektro Guzzi‘s eleventh album, an amazing achievement; even better, the group remains relevant, with engaging rhythms and sub-textures (palazzo, October 24). Warm beats inhabit Nocturne, which also exudes a summery vibe: a surprise, as MARINI & Purple Ice‘s EP is out on Halloween (Egoplanet). Lord of the Isles tackles “anomalous phenomena” on Signals Aligned, suggesting a dance floor version of the X-Files (September 12). Lukid‘s loops and beats return on Underloop, each snippet lovingly woven into the mix (Death Is Not the End, September 26).

Aeropsia is a brand new word for us, but not a new experience; it’s the illusion of seeing things floating or shimmering in the air due to atmospheric conditions. Steve Hauschildt translates this phenomenon into music with tracks that imitate the effect (Simul, October 17). Another new word for us is Oneiric, which “refers to things connected with dreams.” (Give yourself mad credit if you knew both of these words!) The new album from Norway’s Rural Tapes sounds like a reverie, and includes guest appearances from members of Hot Chip and The Ladybug Transistor (Clay Pipe Music, October 17). Old school synth is enhanced by Moog, clarinet and trombone on Kaukolampi‘s Synestopia Variations 1-4 (Öm-Sound, 5 September)!

After a year of releasing singles, avant harpist Kety Fusco is finally ready to unveil her full-length debut, BOHÈME. The album includes a surprising guest appearance from Iggy Pop and exudes a late-night, dim-lit sensibility (A Tree in a Field, September 12). “Dissociative dance music” is the description of Rian Treanor & Cara Tolmie‘s Body Lapse, rife with spoken word and vocal improvisations (Planet Mu, September 12). CxBxT is a new trio of Adrian Corker, George Barton and Tujiko Noriko. Their album .After (yes, there’s a period before the word, that’s not a typo) pushes experimental pop to its outermost limit, within an electronic frame. Vocals are present, but seldom straightforward (Constructive, October 31). Ben Chatwin is the rare artist to appear in three different categories in our reviews. The Sleeper Awakens (2025 Edition) is a remastered edition of a decade-old album, released with a bonus disc of alternate interpretations, existing in the liminal space between electronic, experimental and drone (September 5). Those who like polyrhythms should head directly to Blessed Planet, a solo album from goat’s Nabob Tespo (Takafumi Okada). The album tingles with life and pulses with vibrancy (South of North, September 8).

Venera‘s Exfinite is dark, mysterious and cinematic, influenced by producers such as Ben Frost. The duo’s second album reflects the filmic background of one of the composers, and includes a guest appearance from FKA Twigs (PAN, September 12). Suspense film scores are referenced by Dictaphone on Unstable, a moody album enhanced by guest musicians on saxophone, clarinet, violin, trumpet and spoken word (Denovali, September 26). Unearthing a decade-old imaginary film score, Maps wants to make sure your Halloween is properly soundtracked. The spooky first chapter of Welcome to the Tudor Gate almost convinces one that the film is real (Mute, October 31). Torpa‘s New Low is tailor-made for the cinema, with tracks that dip into film noir, suspense, espionage and more. A light trip-hop vibe is also evident, especially on “In Search of Another Distance” (September 5). Wataru Abe composed Oblivion as the score to a fictional sci-fi film; the industrial beats and claustrophobic atmosphere suggest Alien: Earth (October 8). Skambidt‘s Abstraktionens Essens is moody and confined, a slow-churning maelstrom that unfolds like a film, including the end credits (Vicious-cph, September 5).

We don’t receive many albums involving radishes (last year we received only one, in our Field Recording and Soundscape section), so The Reliable Radish may end up being our Radish Album of the Year. Melding wild samples, trippy rhythms and a tongue-in-cheek approach, Jetski makes vegetables sound more fun than they are (Hausu Mountain, September 2). Also on Hausu Mountain, Pulse Emitter releases Tide Pools, a turbulent and energetic set that includes some playful titles, including “Jellyfish and Friends” (September 26); and then Melvin Gibbs‘ Amasia: Anamibia Sessions 2 unites 12 musicians (like Jesus!) for a series of beat-laden, abstract jams (October 14). The video for Characo Orb looks like an extract from a trippy children’s show; the full album, Spots, as just as playful, the work of duo Joasihno, whose music is infused with 8-bit energy (Alien Transistor, November 7). Even more video game-esque is BPD SUPERSTAR ULTRA, a flamboyant offering from hyphyskazerbox that boldly pushes the levels of distortion (Suite 309, September 26).

Ugif_notfound‘s Postulate may sound brutal, with harsh guitars and slow, tough beats, but it’s only a reflection of life during wartime, when a bomb could fall any minute, anywhere. The album is unveiled September 9 on I Shall Sing Until My Land Is Free. A similarly dark mood visits Richie Culver‘s I Trust Pain, obvious in the title, cover art and release date (Supernature, October 31). Alexander Tucker enlists the aid of Justin K. Broadrick on Microcorps, the daunting lead single from Clear Vortex Chamber. The sense of menace is palpable (Downwards, September 19).

SYBAX uses movie and dialogue samples, a la Public Service Broadcasting, and ventures into post-rock and industrial music on TWIN, splitting the difference between light and dark (TC Prog, September 26). Speaking of Public Service Broadcasting, the band is the latest to offer an entire album to remixers. Night Flight – The Last Flight Remixes is the result, released October 10. SCALER occasionally uses guest vocalists on Endlessly, but the dark instrumentals really get the pulse going, “Broken Entry” a club banger with a surprise guitar solo (Black Acre, September 26). Industrial distortion permeates TRSXX‘s A Mass Deliberately Deprives Itself of Reason, which pulsates with a techno undercurrent, yearning to break free (Wodawater, September 15).

pdbq offers healthy slices of electro magic on the EP Sermons of the Electrifying Messiah, which contains a couple remixes to round out the package. The pretty teal vinyl is available September 19 on Synaptic Cliffs. Tom Jarney‘s daybreak alternates tempos and styles, including breakbeat and house, featuring occasional snippets of voice (intercept, September 12). Psych and disco collide on The Downey Groove, which has nothing to do with Iron Man and everything to do with underground clubs. Elninodiablo is releasing the album on his own label, El Niño Diablo Music, on September 19. Moscow’s The Diasonics loves birds and disco-funk. Ornithology has a throwback vibe, and a danceable flavor (Record Kicks, October 3). The title Norwegian Electronic Folk Music is fairly self-explanatory; Kenneth Lien & Center of the Universe inject a happy club vibe (Hello, September 19).

Dub techno and IDM are influences on Ixona, from Chicago’s Lynyn (Conor Mackey). The music is warm and inviting and synthetic, inviting one to dance or flow (Sooper, September 5). Throwing Snow recalls 2010’s London on Jackals, an EP influences by the subcultures and clubs of the era (Mesh, September 12). GRDN. translates particles, course into IDM textures, clean and pristine, working on “the outer edges of electronic sound” (Wandering Astray, September 26).

Capacity precedes Casha Mour‘s AAOO, a dance set with a subtle ambient underpinning. The quieter “Silver” was unveiled a month later, and the album is released today! Semtek offers Four More Dubs for those who enjoyed the earlier ones; on this EP, tiny vocal snippets join steady house beats (Don’t Be Afraid, September 19). Guentner Spieth blends ambient and dub on Conversion, deliberately composed to be played “after hours” (Affin, October 3). Pure dub fills the grooves of Dubs from Vortex Beach, a trumpet-laden album from the sci-fi loving Alien Trackers. Our only caveat: we wish the album had been released in summer! (Jahtari, September 25).

We’re amused at the description of Silvestre‘s work as “moronic dance music,” and hope that the artist doesn’t get in trouble for the sample at the beginning of Dead feat. Oneofunderworld, but it’s definitely a curve ball! Fantasma is out on Studio Barnhus September 26. Ebi Soda is similarly playful, as one can hear on “when pluto was a planet and everything was cool,” one of the preview singles from frank dean and andrew, which contains helpings of jazz, rap and lounge, a true outlier with a really fun cover and sticker pack (Tru Thoughts, September 19).

Can be-bop and techno get along? We’re about to find out. Mateusz Kowal sprinkles T-Bop: Prologue with a healthy dose of trumpet along with other organic instruments and a lot of verve (Lamour, October 7). Jung Ar Tagen takes a different approach, mixing Otoacoustic emissions with techno on Revenge of the Speaker People, opening up the second disc to a wide variety of remixers (Editions Mego, September 26). On Recycler, Brandon Juhans saves money while proving that one can sample one’s self to come up with new material. The practice of “extreme sampling” often obscures the identity of the pre-existing material (Relaxin, September 5).

Until the End of the World is the lead single from John Tejada‘s The Watchline. The track has a lovely build, more romantic than apocalyptic (Palette, September 5). Techno synth inhabits Reset, an EP from Netherlands artist Identified patient (Dekmantel, September 19). Boasting a harder edge, the four track Radiance EP from Swarm Intelligence uses steady beats and distorted chords to extend the energy (Natural Selection, September 19). Culmine de la Conciencia is billed as a dialogue with machines, but the message seems to be that machines really like to dance! There’s little to fear in Rxxchx‘s future, and only beats to gain (Subsist & Faith Disciplines, September 5).

Already making waves on techno dance floors, Nastia Reigel‘s Identity is poised to push the artist to the next level. The Berlin DJ knows the scene inside out, and her confidence shows (Infrastructure New York, September 26). A Rhythm Protects One is a mix CD from Call Super, a fluid collection that will introduce listeners to some exciting new names. The music has a pleasingly intentional feel (Dekmantel, September 28). The latest installment of the DJ-Kicks series comes from Modeselektor, who stitches together tracks from Aho Ssan feat. 9T Antiope, Ben Klock and more (!K7, September 12).

The massive 23-track TD10 celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Timedance imprint, showcasing brand new techno tracks from label founder Batu, Jasss and more. Happy anniversary to the label whose output encourages those who can’t get to the club to dance at home (October 10)!

(Richard Allen)