Berlin School EM 2025 End Of Year XL Update by Erwin Broers

 

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!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

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

Favorite Ambient Albums of 2025 Part 2

 

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.

1. Alexander Knaifel - Chapter Eight

2. Almost An Island - Almost An Island

3. Andrew Heath - Signals and Codes

4. Anthéne & Simon McCorry - Wellspring

5. Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Dreaming In Gamelan

6. Byron Metcalf - Spiral Exchange

7. Clarice Jensen - In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness

8. Dictaphone - Unstable

9. Emily A. Sprague - Cloud Time

10. Erik M - Soft Wish

11. Florian TM Zeisig - A New Life

12. Lab's Cloud and Flavio Salvaje - Kalima

13. Loneward - Musings of a Painted Sky

14. M. Sage - Tender / Wading

15. Martin Stürtzer - Nexus-6

16. offthesky - form.radio

17. offthesky - Nocturnas

18. Peter Gregson - Peter Gregson

19. Rod Modell - Northern Michigan Snowstorms

20. Seabuckthorn - A Path Within A Path

21. Six Missing - Without Mind

22. Steve Roach - The Reverent Sky

23. Taylor Deupree & Zimoun - Wind Dynamic Organ, Deviations

24. Xu - Murmurs of the Machine

25. Yorkshire Modular Society + Peter Digby Lee - Beneath the Hanging Sky

26. zakè - Silentium

Here's to more excellent ambient music in 2026.

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

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

Favorite Ambient Albums of 2025 Part 1

 

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, with links to each album:

1. Alexander Knaifel - Chapter Eight

2. Almost An Island - Almost An Island

3. Andrew Heath - Signals and Codes

4. Anthéne & Simon McCorry - Wellspring

5. Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Dreaming In Gamelan

6. Byron Metcalf - Spiral Exchange

7. Clarice Jensen - In holiday clothing, out of the great darkness

8. Dictaphone - Unstable

9. Emily A. Sprague - Cloud Time

10. Erik M - Soft Wish

11. Florian TM Zeisig - A New Life

12. Lab's Cloud and Flavio Salvaje - Kalima

13. Loneward - Musings of a Painted Sky

14. M. Sage - Tender / Wading

15. Martin Stürtzer - Nexus-6

16. offthesky - form.radio

17. offthesky - Nocturnas

18. Peter Gregson - Peter Gregson

19. Rod Modell - Northern Michigan Snowstorms

20. Seabuckthorn - A Path Within A Path

21. Six Missing - Without Mind

22. Steve Roach - The Reverent Sky

23. Taylor Deupree & Zimoun - Wind Dynamic Organ, Deviations

24. Xu - Murmurs of the Machine

25. Yorkshire Modular Society + Peter Digby Lee - Beneath the Hanging Sky

26. 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!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

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

First Snow

 

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!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

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

Dreaming In Gamelan by Andy McNeill

 

I have a special treat for everyone with this new mix. It's a guest mix from friend of Low Light Mixes, Andy McNeill. Andy records as Maple Mountain Sunburst and has created two previous mixes for LLM and they are both excellent. You can find them here:

http://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2024/10/a-moon-full-of-stars-and-astral-cars-by.html

https://lowlightmixes.blogspot.com/2025/01/we-did-it-again-by-andy-mcneillmaple.html

Andy has a new album out, under his own name, that is a little different from his other recordings. That new album is the inspiration for this new mix which is really something special. I'll let Andy tell you about it:

"Mallets, gongs, tintinnabulations, things that go ping. Here we have a mix of percolating exotica to float away on for an hour. I’ve included three tracks from a recent collaboration with percussionist and fellow composer Bill Brennan. Our album Dreaming In Gamelan blends West Javanese gamelan traditions with contemporary ambient electronics. Recorded with traditional hand-forged bronze instruments, the tracks were then augmented and treated in the studio. Also joining us was the brilliant electric violinist and sonic explorer Hugh Marsh. The album was mixed for immersive Dolby Atmos by Ron Searles (Atmos version available on Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon)."

https://lnk.to/dreamingingamelan

https://brennanmcneill.bandcamp.com/album/dreaming-in-gamelan

Thanks to Andy for curating and mixing this great collection tracks. And thanks for the excellent new album.

LINKS TO ALL THE MUSIC USED IN THIS MIX:

>Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Tunnels of Light
https://lnk.to/dreamingingamelan
>another fine day - Child’s Play
https://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/album/a-good-place-to-be
>Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas (from Birdy soundtrack)
https://open.spotify.com/album/6ZTQcgutsPhQ50FRZk3BYl?si=Af0sn6YnTaq84N4kJPk1ug
>Thomas Newman - Bullet (from White Oleander soundtrack)
https://open.spotify.com/album/76i4SD0LNBtIZtAumvcJsS?si=mAj14pOYTYqT8_QS-S8h1Q
>Genesis - The Waiting Room (excerpt)
https://open.spotify.com/album/49BxISwAbZZfmlhqD6Vh88?si=91fRitQ_QPK6Uh5GHyNb7w
>Wanderwelle - An Offering of Gratitude
https://silentseason.bandcamp.com/album/gathering-of-the-ancient-spirits
>Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Morning Beams
https://lnk.to/dreamingingamelan
>Thomas Stronen - Confronting Silence
https://open.spotify.com/album/6xEg7P0N3edYKhptbNxo5c?si=ZCwZBplZRdeT_vaWWooXnQ
>Michael Brook - Distant Village
https://open.spotify.com/album/7t48EroHL8dzsBTdUS3pRp?si=Q7PfBPDGQxCfXI-wvtXv0w
>Connecta Quartet - Madeira River (P.Glass)
https://open.spotify.com/album/4h0827roLiZ3IDt4UK6MfS?si=7hAx96RaQnSn-i42L3bUBA
>another fine day - green thought (in green shade)
https://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/album/life-before-land
>Bartosz Kruczyński - Dream 1
https://earthtraxonline.bandcamp.com/album/dreams-whispers
>Shuta Yasukochi - Sakura
https://shutayasukochi.bandcamp.com/album/harmonies-of-flowers
>Marilyn Masur - Bell-Painting
https://open.spotify.com/album/5HZk4QJRTXSQaauqz5SHAL?si=WbplnlyZRYydr9vaWBiTSw
>Four Tet - Lush
https://fourtet.bandcamp.com/album/new-energy
>Jon Hassell - Time and Place
https://open.spotify.com/album/6p97ys8xZeV60gh427TwMz?si=o8f6zwf7SNiDkBdp-IYnGw
>Boston Modern Orchestra Project - Suite for Violin with American Gamelan - III. Air (Lou Harrison)
https://bmopsound.bandcamp.com/album/lou-harrison-la-koro-sutro
>Pierre Favre Ensemble - Frog Songs (excerpt)
https://open.spotify.com/album/4i3JU3zB3PfVceKEq89mx7?si=GI0PfPDbRsG4pHCXpCdOgw
>Marilyn Masur - Spirit Of Air (excerpt)
https://open.spotify.com/album/5HZk4QJRTXSQaauqz5SHAL?si=WbplnlyZRYydr9vaWBiTSw
>Four Tet - You Were There With Me (excerpt)
https://open.spotify.com/album/2BKXRpAaq7jZStXo6A10qK?si=kfBOKOGwR_-uWyseYAk-kQ
>Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Reverie
https://lnk.to/dreamingingamelan

Cheers!

[ s t r e a m ]    [ d o w n l o a d ]    [ a p p l e _ p o d c a s t s ]

T R A C K L I S T :

00:00   Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Tunnels of Light (Dreaming In Gamelan 2025)

02:35   another fine day - Child’s Play (a good place to be 2015)

07:03   Peter Gabriel - Slow Marimbas (Birdy soundtrack 1985)

10:01   Thomas Newman - Bullet (White Oleander soundtrack 2002)

10:31   Genesis - The Waiting Room excerpt (The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway 1974)

11:15   Wanderwelle - Her Name is Vairumati (Gathering of the Ancient Spirits 2018)

16:13   Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Morning Beams (Dreaming In Gamelan 2025)

19:07   Thomas Stronen - Confronting Silence (Relations 2024)

19:23   Michael Brook - Distant Village (Hybrid 1985)

23:15   Connecta Quartet - Madeira River (P. Glass) (Pulse And Echoes 2024)

28:10   another fine day - green thought (in green shade) (life before land 1994)

34:18   Bartosz Kruczyński - Dream 1 (Dreams & Whispers 2024)

37:20   Shuta Yasukochi - Sakura (Harmonies of Flowers 2024)

39:47   Marilyn Masur - Bell-Painting (Elixir 2008)

40:19   Four Tet - Lush (New Energy 2017)

43:40   Jon Hassell - Time and Place (Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street

2009)

47:17   Boston Modern Orchestra Project - Suite for Violin with American Gamelan - III. Air (Lou Harrison) (La Koro Sutro 2014)

50:37   Pierre Favre Ensemble - Frog Songs excerpt (Singing Drums 1984) overlayed with Marilyn Masur - Spirit Of Air excerpt (Elixir 2008)

52:02   Four Tet - You Were There With Me excerpt (Everything Ecstatic 2005)

55:22   Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill - Reverie (Dreaming in Gamelan 2025)

1:05:29   end