Great psychedelic music from a chaotic year. Moreso than most years, I’m sure I didn’t hear everything that came out, but the playlist for this episode is four hours long. The music sustained me through difficult times and I hope you find is to be as inspiring as I do.
| time | artist | title |
|---|---|---|
| 00:01:57 | Firefriend | Spearhead |
| 00:06:17 | Ghostwoman | that Jesus |
| 00:09:21 | Go Kurosawa | Autowalk |
| 00:13:15 | Tombstones In Their Eyes | Alive and Well |
| 00:17:49 | Alien Witch | Ouroboros |
| 00:20:03 | The Myrrors | Snake Dancers in the Assembly of Death |
| 00:24:08 | Goat | Jörmugandr (human language Remix) |
| 00:27:32 | Frozen Planet…. 1969 | Echoland |
| 00:45:53 | Black Helium | Up On A Hill |
| 00:50:24 | psychedelic source records | The Snake Itself pt 2 |
| 01:04:25 | The Albinos | Memphis Moon |
| 01:07:55 | pôt-pot | WRSW |
| 01:13:44 | SKLOSS | Mind Hive |
| 01:17:45 | Turtle Skull | Into The Sun |
| 01:23:55 | Orchestra Gold | Dakan (Destiny) |
| 01:29:42 | Spiral Wave Nomads | Materialized |
| 01:34:20 | Mitsuru Tabata / Mike Vest / Nick Raybould | Galacta |
| 01:40:35 | Kaliyuga Express | The Chariot |
| 01:50:19 | Black Market Karma | Mellowmaker |
| 01:56:24 | Causa Sui | Astral Shores |
| 02:12:10 | Codex Serafini | Keep The Mask That Fits |
| 02:21:02 | Rún | Terror Moon |
| 02:29:05 | Moundabout | Wagon |
| 02:39:29 | White Canyon & The 5th Dimension | River Song |
| 02:44:44 | Floral Image | Sun For Hire |
| 02:51:35 | Comacozer | Chronos |
| 03:01:11 | Dope Purple | New Psyche & Beyond the Body |
| 03:24:07 | Smote | The Opinion of the Lamb Pt. 1 |
| 03:37:14 | Underground Mountains | Exorcises In The Unknown |
Like a lot of people, I’m ending 2025 feeling worn down. It was a chaotic year politically, socially, personally, and there were long stretches where it felt hard to stay grounded. What surprised me, once again, was how consistently this music showed up as a source of clarity and inspiration. These records didn’t ignore the darkness, but they didn’t surrender to it either. Whether confrontational or exploratory, they offered a sense of forward motion when very little else did. Curating this four-hour playlist felt restorative.
One of the strongest impressions to emerge from putting this list together is just how global psychedelic music is. The geographic spread here is remarkable, and some of the strongest tracks on this playlist are the result of collaborations between artists separated by great distances, but brought together by shared sensibilities rather than shared locations. These long-distance connections feel especially meaningful in a moment when so much public life is defined by borders and division.
Just as important is the role played by independent record labels in making all of this possible. Even in an era of digital distribution, labels still matter. Many of these releases exist because small, committed labels took risks, pooled resources, and worked collaboratively across scenes and countries. Multi-label releases are everywhere in this playlist, as they reflect a community that understands survival as a shared project.
Labels represented in the playlist:
- A.U.M.
- Art As Catharsis
- Cardinal Fuzz
- Copper Feast
- Echodelick
- El Paraiso
- Feeding Tube
- Full Time Hobby
- Fuzz Club
- Guruguru Brain
- Little Cloud
- Pepper Shaker Records
- psychedelic source records
- Radio Khiyaban
- Riot Season
- Rocket Recordings
- Shore Dive
- Sound Effect Records
- Storm God MFG
- Twin Lakes
- We, Here and Now!
- WV Sorcerer Productions