We know these lists are completely subjective and that ranking music can feel a little weird at times but these are the records we’ve had on repeat over the past 12 months. More importantly, in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, highlighting lesser-known and often overlooked artists remains the very essence of our blog. We hope you’ll take the time to dive into the artists and projects you might not know yet.

Like last year, the list is ordered alphabetically, because the “real” ranking changes every day depending on our mood. That said, if you’re looking for a top three, keep an eye on Oklou, Nourished By Time, and Smerz.

Merry Christmas to all of you, and stay tuned next week for our Best Songs of 2025 list.

The 47 EPs, Albums, And Mixtapes that defined 2025 according to HighClouds

Acopia – Blush Response
Addison Rae – Addison
After – After EP 1/2
AMORE – Top Hits, Ballads, etc
Annahstasia – Tether
crushed – no scope
Dean Blunt & Elias Rønnenfelt – lucre EP
deer park – Terra Infirma
Disiniblud – Disiniblud
Erika de Casier – Lifetime
Ethel Cain – Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You
FKA Twigs – Eusexua
Georgie & Joe – What I Made With Joe
Horsegirl – Phonetics On and On
Ichiko Aoba – Luminiscent Creatures
JADE – THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!
james K – Friend
Jane Inc. – A Rupture A Canyon A Birth
Jenny Hval – Iris Silver Mist
Jim Legxacy – black british music (2025)
Joanne Robertson – Blurrr
Jouska – How Did I Wind Up Here?
Laura Groves – Yes
Lipsticism – Wanted To Show You
Malibu – Vanities
Maria Somerville – Luster
Marina Zispin – Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
Men I Trust – Equus Caballus / Equus Asinus
Molly Nilsson – Amateur
Neggy Gemmy – She Comes From Nowhere
Night Tapes – portals//polarities
No Joy – Bugland
Nourished By Time – The Passionate Ones
Nuovo Testamento – Trouble EP
Oklou – Choke Enough
Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer
Panda Bear – Sinister Grift
Pearly Drops – The Voices Are Coming Back
R. Missing – Like The Sound Of Injured Love
Raisa K – Affectionately
Rat Heart – Dancin’ In The Streets
Sea Lemon – Diving For A Prize
Smerz – Big City Life
snuggle – Goodbyehouse
Sofia Kourtesis – Volver EP
Sophia Stel – How To Win At Solitaire EP
Yawning Portal – Anywhere

Jenny Hval, as always, was a master of presence and vulnerability. There was a brief technical hiccup at the start, but once resolved, her voice soared: crystalline, commanding, and deeply human. She reminded everyone why she remains one of the most singular storytellers in avant-pop.

Titanic’s set was unexpectedly uplifting. Intense without being overwhelming, melodic without losing its edge, it carried a sense of clarity and emotion. Fratti’s vocals guided everything forward with precision, turning what could have been an abstract experiment into something that hit straight in the chest. Talking about dreams and emotions, Annahstasia and Malibu were also both absolutely spellbinding.

Isabella Lovestory, probably the poppiest act of the lineup, brought a burst of neon energy. A glitter-streaked continuation of Brat that mixed rave-pop with Latin flair. It was playful, powerful, and completely irresistible. She turned the room into a dance floor, and when Mechatok followed, he twisted that energy into something hazier and harder, yet still threaded with pop echoes. Beneath the pounding beats, you could catch glimmers of Britney and Daft Punk. It was probably the part where we danced the most.

Later during the festival, ECCO2K appeared like a hologram, a faint outline slowly becoming real. The crowd could barely tell when the show began; it felt as if he had always been there, floating between sound and silence. His music, a blend of vaporous vocals and shimmering electronics, seemed to defy gravity. Every pause was electric, every drop a release.

One of the acts we were most excited to see, Nourished By Time, brought everyone right back to Earth. His mix of R&B, post-punk, and synth-pop pulsed with warmth and honesty. Most of the set came from his new album The Passionate Ones, full of songs about love, class, and survival, all wrapped in groove and melancholy. He also played the excellent “Daddy” and “The Fields” from Erotic Probiotic 2. When a sound issue briefly interrupted his set, he handled it with humor and ease, connecting even more with the crowd. At one point, a fan threw a jacket onstage, he laughed, tried it on, and tossed it back.

Another highlight came from Smerz, who performed Big City Life in full. They transformed its fragile beats and whispered vocals into something grand and cinematic. Onstage, they built their own world: minimal lighting, elegant silhouettes, and rhythms that never lost focus. Their harmonies were cold and soft at once, their confidence absolute. Smerz’s music has always lived somewhere between pop and art, but live, it becomes emotional architecture: every sound and movement deliberate, every glance choreographed. It was the most polished moment of the weekend, and a perfect closer.

C2C Festival’s lineup is always impressive, but this year the bar was higher than ever. Across four nights, it offered a rare balance between experimentation and emotion, noise and nuance. The surprise acts at the end of each night — Kode9, Nicolas Jaar, and others — were just the cherry on top.

Here are our top 10 photos from the festival, in no particular order.

Voir cette publication sur Instagram

Une publication partagée par Highclouds (@highcloudsmag)

C2C Festival will be back in Turin in 2026, from Thursday the 5th November to Sunday the 8th November.

Her debut, Vanities, arrives on October 3 via YEAR0001. Written largely over two years in Stockholm, where she lives, the 13-track record reflects on cities as landscapes of both beauty and loneliness, with Malibu weaving together soundscapes that are as dreamlike as they are grounded. Alongside the announcement, she shared a short text that drifts between imagery of sea, waves, corridors, and twilight drives:

The sea brought small treasures back to the shore that The Girl scours every day. She finds little things buried in the wet sand, she fills her pockets with them and walks back home. She lays the little treasures around the house.

I am one of those that are invisible, with a window down maybe, part of this undefined symphony of cars that come and go. Teenagers roll-by, fast, loud, —and we all look at the same sky, the same planes landing and taking-off, the same lights blinking on the tops of downtown, the same corridors of taillights, the same trees that block the view. We sit and fantasize a thousand lives, in the blaring.

To mark the news, Malibu has also unveiled a new single, “So Sweet & Willing.” Following the release of “Spicy City,” it offers another glimpse into the textures and moods of Vanities, a tender and immersive piece that captures her gift for crafting sonic worlds that feel as confidential as they are infinite.

The ocean has always run through her work though, perhaps a nod to her father, who’s an oceanographer. Field recordings of sea and water flow through her tracks, whether under Malibu or her other alias, dj lostboi (her 2025 song “outside the club,” recorded on a beach, is a vibe and we recently added it into our Best Songs of 2025 playlist).

Her newest single, “Spicy City,” feels like the next page in that journal. Layered, emotional, and cinematic, it’s carried by her haunting vocals and Oliver Coates’s cello, and comes with a striking visual directed by Igor Pjörrt.

This is hands down one of the best music events in Europe. Why? Because for over two decades, C2C has been curating lineups that reads like a map of where music is going next. Before they became household names, artists like James Blake, Arca, and Blood Orange played early sets here. It’s the kind of festival that rewards curiosity and discovery and where the artist you’ve never heard of might end up blowing your mind.

In 2025, C2C Festival is already shaping up to be another unforgettable edition.

This year, as usual, fans of avant-pop, electronic and experimental music will be pleased once again. A. G. Cook returns with his hyper-pop wizardry, while Four Tet and Skee Mask bring their genre-blurring, shape-shifting club genius to the stage. Nicolas Jaar teams up with Ali Sethi for what’s bound to be a haunting, beautiful collision of sound and tradition. And yes, Blood Orange — one of the festival’s breakout alumni — is back, full circle.

The rest of the lineup is no less thrilling: experimental mainstays like John Maus, Jenny Hval, and DJrum; rising voices like Saya Gray, Nourished By Time, and Florence Sinclair; the theatrical intensity of Model/Actriz; and the lush ambient electronics of French producer Malibu.

You’ll also catch Isabella Lovestory’s explosive energy, Daniel Blumberg’s raw songwriting, and the boundary-pushing duo IOSONOUNCANE & Daniela Pes. Finally, don’t miss Ecco2k, the enigmatic YHWH Nailgun, or Titanic — Mabe Fratti and I la Católica’s new collaborative project. And there’s still more to be announced.

I guess that you got it: it’s the kind of lineup that doesn’t spoon-feed you the obvious. It challenges you, surprises you, and leaves you thinking long after the lights come up.

Through hardship to the stars

This year’s edition also carries a deeper emotional weight. C2C has announced its 2025 theme: “Per aspera ad astra” — through hardship to the stars — a tribute to the festival’s late founder and director, Sergio Ricciardone, who passed away in March. Ricciardone’s vision helped shape C2C into the singular event it is today — a space where music, art, and culture are always in motion, always reaching for something greater. Jamie xx was among those who honored his memory recently as he dedicated a touching moment to Sergio during his recent show in Milan.

🎟️ Tickets are already on sale. Hopefully we’ll catch you there.

Weyes Blood – “And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow“

Boyhood – “My Dread“

Malibu – “Palaces of Pity” EP

Born at Midnite – “Alternity” EP

Halo Maud – “Pesnopo​ï​ka” EP

Movulango – “Mirror In Man” EP

Badlands – “Call To Love“

Hockeysmith – “Hunted Eyes” EP

Support what you like beyond streaming if you can.

Two years after her gorgeous One Life EP, French ambient producer and vocalist Malibu just announced the release of her sophomore project for November. The Pau-born artist, who draws inspiration from the vastness of our natural environment, the oceans (her father is an oceanographer), as well as the minuscule complexities of film and novels, already unveiled the first single, “So Far Out Of Love.” Listen and pre-order below.

In 2019, French ambient composer and vocalist Malibu released her haunting One Life EP, which was inspired by the vastness of the nature and the ocean, her dreams as well as films and novels such as Jane Campion‘s The Piano and Jonathan Livingston‘s Seagull. Initially, the EP was commissioned by Julianna Barwick for the Joyful Noise label.

Today, Malibu is sharing a remix EP of One Life and the project has gone full circle as Julianna Barwick has reworked the opening track “Nana (Like a star made for you)”. One Life : four remixes also features renditions from John Beltran, Kelly Moran and Evian Christ, who turns the title track into a breathtaking, trance-leaning finale.