25 tracks for a quarter of the century

Here's a deeply personal selection of electronic music of the last 25 years that has inspired me in one way or another, that I've heard countless times, or that I think has brought something new or different to this now well-trodden genre. The kind of music that, upon hearing it, makes me instantly think: "this is a classic" or "I should listen to this more often". Note: in this list, remixes count as de-facto tracks in their own right.

#25 Rebolledo ft Matías Aguayo - Pitaya Frenesí (Vocal Version) (2009)

Probably the weirdest track of this list, a true musical UFO. I remember hearing this track for the first time in a set that Matías Aguayo did in Paris in 2009 and being spooked by its weird chirp-like melody. Aguayo's voice sounds louder than ever while Aguayo Rebolledo brings his syncopated, unresting motorik drums to the mix.

Listen to it.

#24 Oklou - Blade Bird (2025)

The whishful closing track of Oklou's is a weird declaration of love, I think its interpretations are quite open. What I like about it is that I feel that Oklou's style has evolved over the years and also that it's easy to sing along to it.

Listen to it.

#23 Konono numéro 1 - Lufuala Ndonga (2004)

First you hear some electrified likembé notes, then the beat arrives. The sounds are multi-layered and hypnotic, sometimes full of distorsion, with chants composed in call and response style and with pressing whistles. The group has released other, more polished records, but it's the raw quality of the first one that I find so appealing.

Listen to it.

#22 Le Parody - La Puerta (2019)

East and west, Africa and Europe, tradition and modernity, pre-recorded music and live improvisation. Le Parody's universe seems to be at crossroads of continents, times and styles. In La Puerta, Andalusian voices instruments turns into an accelerated rave, with the lyrics making the link between everyday life and dreamlike visions.

Listen to it.

#21 Paavoharju - Ilmaa Virtaa (2005)

I don't know if this song by Finnish collective Paavoharju counts as folk, rock or electronic music, but its distorted guitar sounds, sampled rhythms, bleepy melodies and dreamlike voices are warm to the heart. Lo-fi or die.

Listen to it.

#20 Sofia Kourtesis - Cecilia (2023)

2023 was in my opinion a great year in electronic music. Of Sofia's wonderful "Madres" records there are many good songs, but this one feels special because of its sung-along melodies and the use of conversation samples that brings a sense of familiarity. Be sure to check out the other records put out by Sofia, specially the Volver EP.

Listen to it.

#19 Aphex Twin - Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount (2001)

For years, I thought that the title of this track was just the same thing translated into English, but afterwards I discovered that there's a Saint Michael's Mount in Cornwall (where Richard D James AKA Aphex Twin is from), which is spiritually linked to the (more famous) Mont Saint Michel in France. Bells call briefly on an acid bleep before a bacchanale of breaks falls upon you. Sweet melodies appear and even soft voices. If you ever visit one of the mounts, listening it there (with headphones!) is a must.

Listen to it.

#18 Kode9 & SpaceApe - Quantum (2006)

A track from the era when dubstep was gaining mainstream momentum, Quantum is punctuated by Zelda samples, hyper crisp arpeggios and strings and of course the deep bass frequencies that would soon take over the world. SpaceApe delivers his lines in a deadpan tone describing a mystical science-fiction reality. This whole album is peak cyberpunk.

Listen to it.

#17 Fatima Al Qadiri - Vatican Vibes (2011)

Many have tried to succeed cultivating this particular strain of super post-ironic tongue-in-cheek aesthetic electronica, but in my humble opinion nobody does it best than Fatima Al Qadiri, where gregorian chants intersect synthetic voices and crystal-clear chimes. The melody has a middle-eastern vibe to it. The music video is also great.

Listen to it.

#16 Jan Driver - Kardamoon (2007)

Turkish horns sing in the distance, as if they were being carried away by the wind, before the arrival of throbbing percussion and of alarm-like stabs. When the beat drops, it pushes everything even further into the dancefloor. This track has an unique atmosphere, it's like running through a night market while you hear fragments of voices. The other side of the EP, "Trains" is also a classic.

Listen to it.

# 15 Wata Igarashi - Ceremony Of The Dead (2023)

What would spirits and ghosts sound like if they were abroad the Shinkansen, travelling across the Japanese countryside at incredible speeds? Probably like in the waves of this acid bassline and repeating chorus, dynamic and undulating.

Listen to it.

#14 - Peggy Gou - Starry Night (2019)

Starry Night felt like an instant classic when it dropped, with its optimistic disco beat and its lyrics in English and Korean. It was also like one last break of sunlight before the avalanche of the Covid years fell upon us.

Listen to it.

#13 - Len Faki - Mekong Delta (2007)

One of these techno tracks that (along with "Rainbow Delta", the other side of the EP) are the perfect soundtrack for taking the plane, flying up above the clouds. The dark organ riffs feels like heavy rain falling down from the sky.

Listen to it.

#12 - DJ Mujava - Township Funk (2008)

The track that put South Africa back in the global electronic music scene. This sound for me has the quality of James Holden's "A break in clouds": it just works, even if it was produced with basic equipment. The unrelenting, almost military cadence, menacing bass and pulsating synth makes this track a classic.

Listen to it.

#11 moktar - Haraka (Ft. Saad El Soghayar) (2024)

Probably the song I've heard the most while running in the gym (along with Cobrah's "Good puss"). The combination between drum'n'bass and Egyptian wedding music is unbeatable, and a good representation of the kind of cross-pollinisations and collaborations that saw electronic music in the Arab countries around 2024.

Listen to it.

#10 Djrum - Plantain (2015)

After some years where electronic music seemed to get into an endless loop of revivals, listening to Djrum's combination of ethereal choirs, clattering rhythms and African vocals gave me the impression that there were people out there making avant-garde sounds again. Djrum's other delicate and intricate records are also highly recommended.

Listen to it.

#9 Yaeji - Guap (2021)

There are many tracks that I could have chosen from Yaeji, the Korean genius mixing dance music with pop sensibility. Ultimately, this lesser known song is one I often come back to, with its soft spoken phrases and deadpan seriousness, its bouncing bass and its fancy lyrics.

Listen to it.

#8 - Chancha via Circuito - Jardines Ft. Lido Pimienta (2014)

There's an expanding, vibrant musical universe in South America that combines traditional rhythms, instruments and songs with digital production. This expansive track feels like a walk in the jungle, both the tenderness of the voice and the physicality of the beat, with delicious dub-like bass and clear bell melodies.

Listen to it.

#7 - Shackleton - Blood On My Hands (Ricardo Villalobos Remix) (2007)

The original has a bass that seems to be able to split continents apart, I see it almost as the Earth's crust advancing forward in a tectonic movement. The Villalobos remix sounds like the beat is turning counter-clockwise in space, while the voice and synths sound even more atmospheric than in the original.

Listen to it.

#6 Rosa Anschütz - Rigid (Kobosil 44 Rush Mix) (2019)

"You're dreaming into something" states a voice against a backdrop of dark chords. One of the few hard techno tracks in this list, this powerful remix of Rosa Anschütz's melancolic song manages to match an unrelenting 4/4 beat with a voice and lyrics that feel both desperate and deeply personal.

Listen to it.

# 5 Rufus Wainright - Tiergarten (Supermayer Remix) (2007)

A plucked piano melody, soapy lyrics, harp arpeggios. It all sounds like a classic pop song, until the beat appears and it's suddenly nighttime in Berlin, people are going to the club, taxis are passing by. The voices become blurred, smudged, like half remembered phrases from the night before, or heard from far away. Tiergarten takes us trough a walk into the eponymous garden, and it's indeed raining.

Listen to it.

#4 - Howie Lee - Birdy Island (2024)

One of the best surprises of recent years has been the music of Beijing-based Howie Lee, who is capable of steering tracks in different unpredictable directions. The title track of this record is both traditional and futuristic, with warbling bird sounds, toy melodies and jazz sensibility, like a delicate garden full of hidden delights. His other records are also superb.

Listen to it.

#3 Venetian Snares - Hajnal (2005)

If a malevolent crow could fly at supersonic speed, this is how its wing would splice the air. Hajnal is breakcore, but also classical music and jazz, different sections and styles that work with each other and not against each other; it's unpredictable and cunning.

Listen to it.

#2 Mikael Seifu - How To Save A Life (Vector To Eternity) (2016)

This track takes us into an epic journey in just over six minutes. An accelerated cadence sends traditional intruments swirling in an ascending spiral of beauty and awe. Mikael Seifu is a musician based in Addis-Ababa who's trying to create Ethiopian electronic music without denaturing it, in a style he calls Ethiopiyawi Electronic, inspired by the spirit of Ethio-Jazz.

Listen to it.

#1 Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Last Day (David August Revision) (2014)

Distant, otherworldly sirens wobble in the distance while the rhythm and the melody propel themselves forward, as if they were echoes expanding through the galaxy. Subtle patterns punctuate the main sequence, emerging and disappearing in and out of attention, while the melody shifts and turns. This is probably the closest to space travel that most of us will ever get.

Listen to it.

Notable outtakes (in no particular order) :

Afterword

Reading this list in retrospective makes me realize how, during a moment in the early 2010s, I was getting really frustrated with electronic music, as it seemed lost in an endless cycle of revivals and micro-revivals. It felt at the time as electronic music was unable to produce new interesting genres again or to scape from a reduced palette of overused sounds.

Luckily, things started mutating again from 2015 on and by the end of the quarter of the century we had a diverse scene, globally and sonically, with unpredictable collaborations between artists of all genres (Egyptian bass music reinterpreted through Ecuadorian organic grooves). I'm feeling excited again about what the coming years will bring.

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