One of Squidco's most listened ears, Carl Kruger lists his Top 25 for 2025!

A Magic Whistle: The Solar Cell [VINYL] (Public Eyesore)

Recorded largely in an off-grid mountain hut, the fifth A Magic Whistle album finds Andy Puls uniting the chamber-folk intimacy and minimalist electronics of his earlier work into a vivid, wilderness-shaped soundscape where homemade sequencers, modular synths, guitars, whistles, and his resonant "Cascadian Sympathetic Steel" flow with field recordings and wordless voice.

Bothen, Christer 3: L'INVISIBLE (thanatosis produktion)

A deeply intuitive trio session from Swedish bass clarinetist Christer Bothen with bassist Kansan Zetterberg (aka Torbjourn Zetterberg) and vibraphonist/drummer Kjell Nordeson, balancing lyrically meditative spaciousness with surging energy through dreamlike, open-ended improvisations that reflect Bothen's lifelong pursuit of spiritual expression in sound.

Brotzmann, Caspar Massaker: It's A Love Song [VINYL + CD] (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

The legendary power trio of Caspar Brötzmann on long-scale electric guitar and voice with Saskia von Klitzing on drums and Eduardo Delgado Lopez on bass in two monumental live renditions of All This Violence, recorded in Vienna and Dresden, unleashing waves of searing guitar tone, crushing rhythm, and visceral intensity that move from furious protest to stark, haunted beauty.

Das B (Mazen Kerbaj / Mike Majkowski / Magda Mayas / Tony Buck): Love (thanatosis produktion / Corbett Vs Dempsey)

Inspired by John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme, the second album from the Berlin-based quartet Das B — Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet), Mike Majkowski (bass), Magda Mayas (piano), and Tony Buck (percussion) — subverts the tribute format with a radical re-imagining built on free improvisation, textural exploration, and structural homage, resulting in a deeply immersive and conceptually rich work.

del Pino, Francisco / Charlotte Mundy: The Sea [CASSETTE + DOWNLOAD] (Notice Recordings)

Composer Francisco del Pino and vocalist Charlotte Mundy create a deeply nuanced and emotionally rich exchange, as Mundy's radiant voice navigates del Pino's intricate, polyphony-tinged compositions, layering syllabic repetition, resonant phrasing, and textural detail into a multitrack performance that evokes mantra, lament, and ecstatic meditation in equal measure.

Dessel, Erez: PRO FAKE NO REJECT (Corbett vs. Dempsey)

A remarkable solo statement from Chicago pianist Erez Dessel (b.1998), whose explosive energy, intuitive form, and darkly Romantic lyricism channel influences from Cecil Taylor, Don Pullen, or even shades of Mussorgsky, while embracing playful contrarianism, captured in ten concise improvisations and presented with notes by pianist Sharon Udoh.

Eventless Plot: Unlearning Noise (Discreet Archive)

Blending field recordings, percussion, tapes, and modular synthesis with Marina Katsarou's voice and text and Eva Matsigou's flute, Eventless Plot reshape urban sound into a finely detailed electroacoustic work that invites listeners to reconsider noise as a living, expressive presence, revealing the shifting textures, hidden meanings, and poetic potential embedded within the everyday sonic fabric of the city.

Frith, Fred / Maria Portugal: Matter (Intakt)

Uniting from different continents and generations, guitarist and vocalist Fred Frith and drummer, percussionist, and vocalist Maria Portugal meet in Cologne for four improvised stretches that blend song form, rhythmic invention, exploratory textures, and creative voice work, revealing a shared musical language that dissolves genre boundaries into a vivid, unpredictable exchange.

Gemmo, Francesca / Magda Mayas: Tides In The Mirror (first visit) (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Recorded in Verona, Italy, pianists Francesca Gemmo and Magda Mayas engage in an intricate dialogue between piano and prepared piano, blending Gemmo's contemplative lyricism and impressionist echoes with Mayas's inventive explorations of touch, timbre, and texture, creating a vivid and unpredictable sonic landscape of tension, nuance, and resonance.

Juice Machine: Yachats (Love Earth Music)

Recorded across two seasons in coastal Oregon, Yachats showcases the late Heather Chessman and Roger Smith as Juice Machine, sculpting fragile, tape-based electro-acoustic collages that blend field recordings, loops, and discreet electronics into seven immersive vignettes — each a poetic meditation on place, memory, and sonic texture.

Kahn, Jason / Magda Mayas: Night (Editions)

Captured live at the Werkstatt für Improvisierte Musik in Zurich, Switzerland, this debut release from Jason Kahn (electronics) and Magda Mayas (piano, objects) presents three improvised pieces that blend their complementary palettes into a poetic and intricately detailed electroacoustic dialogue, reflecting their 13-year collaboration with a mix of introspection, spontaneity, and mutual respect.

Kommun: Kalpa (thanatosis produktion)

Expanding to a sextet, Swedish guitarist Finn Loxbo's Kommun deepens its exploration of cyclical time and collective improvisation, weaving acoustic steel-string guitar, piano, strings, and percussion into evolving, harmonically rich phrases that merge individual lines into fluid, slow-burning forms — meditative, intricate, and poised between structure and dissolution.

Kuvveti, Deli : Kuslar Soyledi [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Tsss Tapes)

A limited-edition cassette release from Turkish-born, Seattle-based artist Deli Kuvveti, Kuşlar Söyledi presents four studio compositions blending creaking doors, bird and liquid sounds, and minimal drones into a meditative exploration of microsound and sound collage.

Lopez, Francisco: Untitled (2021-2022) [2 CDs] (Bu Lang Tribute Cake)

A double CD of composed environmental sound works from Francisco López, assembling raw field recordings from locations including Tenerife, Eswatini, Israel, Georgia, Chile, and the southwestern USA, along with a film soundtrack and a collaboration with Felipe Otondo, creating immersive, abstract electroacoustic pieces with intentional silences and textural extremes.

Niblock, Alan / John Butcher / Mark Sanders: Tectonic Plates (577 Records)

A formidable trio debut from Irish double bassist Alan Niblock with British improvisers John Butcher on saxophones and Mark Sanders on drums and percussion, recorded live at The Black Box in Belfast and unfolding across five tectonically inspired pieces that channel collective intuition, dynamic interplay, and seismic shifts of intensity and form.

Oakland Reductionist Orchestra: West And East Baying (Queen Bee Records)

Bringing together a remarkable ensemble of Bay Area experimentalists rooted in the Mills College lineage, this debut by the Oakland Reductionist Orchestra merges live and studio explorations of reductionist improvisation, transforming acoustic sound into richly textured, electronically inflected sonic environments of deep focus and collective restraint.

Parkins, Zeena: Lament For The Maker [CD + DOWNLOAD] (Relative Pitch)

Marking the closing of Mills College and the end of Zeena Parkins' long association with its experimental community, this solo release presents three commissioned works alongside the ongoing acoustic piece berlin bedroom, unfolding a deeply reflective exploration of harp and electronics that honors artistic lineage, collective devotion, and the Bay Area's enduring spirit of experimental music-making.

Priest, Eldritch : Dead-Wall Reveries (Another Timbre)

Three chamber works from Canadian composer Eldritch Priest trace his distinctive blend of lyric drifting and restless detail, from a fragile, noise-tinged string quartet to a reflective solo piano piece and a shifting, daydream-like ensemble work, each drawing on his interest in improvisation, ambiguity, and melodies that wander with deliberate aimlessness.

Segel, Jonathan / Chaos Butterfly: Hall of Mirrors [2 CDs] (Demagnetized)

Drone-based electroacoustic improvisations led by Jonathan Segel on Halldorophone, guitar, and Buchla synth, joined by an expanded Chaos Butterfly ensemble in longform, time-dilating works where evolving feedback, percussion, winds, and electronics blur structure and narrative into immersive, densely active yet often beautifully delicate sonic landscapes.

Shifa (Musson / Thomas / Sanders): Ecliptic (Discus)

The trio of Rachel Musson on tenor saxophone, Pat Thomas on piano, and Mark Sanders on drums perform as Shifa, their 46-minute improvisation moving through fiery intensity and spacious reflection in a cohesive journey shaped by deep trust, attentive listening, and fearless exploration, captured live at London's Café Oto in 2023.

Sopa Boba: That Moment (Sub Rosa)

Blending spoken word, modern classical strings, and harsh modular synths, Belgian/Dutch ensemble Sopa Boba crafts a striking electronic-orchestral oratorio based on Moldavian writer Nicoleta Esinencu's That Moment, unraveling a dark, satirical narrative of capitalist excess through seven gripping movements that merge caustic irony with haunting sonic textures.

Steenberge, Laura: Piriforms (Sacred Realism)

Exploring the ethereal resonance of chant through intimate compositions for solo to quartet voice and bass flute, Laura Steenberge draws on the mysticism of medieval music, performed by Rebecca Lane, Catherine Lamb, Julia Holter, Yannick Guédon, and Evelyn Saylor in nuanced layers that reveal harmonic shadows, breath-bound relationships, and otherworldly sonic artifacts.

Torchia, Gene / John Stowell: Duo [2 CDs] (Not On Label)

A fascinating double album uniting guitarist Gene Torchia on amplified classical guitar and John Stowell on electric guitar, recorded in the studio between 2023 and 2025, blending composed works written for modern classical guitar and flute with Stowell's improvisations to create a rich and stylistically diverse dialogue spanning blues, Latin, Irish, baroque, and avant-garde forms.

Wolf Eyes / Anthony Braxton: Live At Pioneer Works, 26 October 2023 (ESP)

A monumental meeting between legendary saxophonist and composer Anthony Braxton and noise pioneers Wolf Eyes (Nate Young & Johnny Olson), recorded live at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, NY, merging Braxton's expansive approach with the duo's visceral electronics, hypnotic textures, and raw energy in a collision of free improvisation, structured chaos, and uncompromising sonic exploration.

Yamamoto, Eri / Matthew Shipp: Horizon (Mahakala Music)

A deeply personal collaboration between pianists Eri Yamamoto and Matthew Shipp, recorded live in the studio with Yamamoto in the left channel and Shipp in the right, as Yamamoto marks thirty years in New York with a set of original compositions for this occasion, their distinctive voices intertwining in an elegant, searching, and harmonically rich conversation of friendship, individuality, and creative life.