Drift, Dream
Dancing in your dream to the sound of your alarm going off. Drift, Dream is located somewhere in between wake and sleep. It is a soft, throbbing base. It is a alien synth somwhere off in the background, tethered to reality by a crisp, consistent hi-hat. It is deep electronic that maintains a high pulse thanks to trance influences, leaving it open to interpretation. A playlist for checking off things on your to-do list? Or a playlist for busting a move? The choice is yours. Caught in between planes, this is music for drifting, dreaming. This is visionary dance.
Lay Low, Pìjus (2025)
Kaunas-raised, Berlin-based Píjus is stepping it up. In 2025 alone, the young Lithuanian has released two new studio LPs following his 2023 debut, Clouds Below Rain. Lay Low a new kind of project for Píjus. While his previous two records had been largely collaborative works that spanned subgenres (noteably lo-fi, R&B, and EDM), Lay Low, relased by Vilnius-based EELF Records showcases Píjus’ more modern face.
Lay Low, rather than tapping into the sounds of 2010’s EDM, harnesses a fresh, futuristic sound that focuses on danceability. With spacey undercurrents of funk, Lay Low resists the label of one subgenre while feeling far more coherent than his previous albums. While he has been playing with 80’s-2000s groove influences for years now (i.e. his 2024 How To Love single), this disco touch pays off more than ever in Lay Low, ultimately contributing to some the record’s best tracks (Everybody Knows, Count That, No More). This influences works well to balance out the youthfulness of the record that leaves something of an equilibrium - and certainly a sound that Píjus should pursue going forward.
Skydancing, DJ Kirby (2024)
One of my favorite EP finds of the year. With just over 6k monthly listeners in Spotify and without an album, DJ Kirby’s skill is slipping under the radar. The mysterious man, whoever he is, has one hell of a talent for mixing. Skydancing is a perfectly-paced 6-song EP that keeps energy high and swag even higher. Landing somewhere between trance and hard dance, I can’t decide if Skydancing feels more like a brain massage or brain workout.
This means Skydancing is a a versatile - though highly coherent - piece of work (and the kind of content I would love to see more of from Mr. Kirby). Not a track is wasted on the EP, though Think ur lonely? stands out as the most exquisite among the bunch. Skydancing could be perfect for your next dj set. Or your next gym visit. Or study session. Whatever it may be, be sure to give Skydancing a listen.
DJPE2025, DJ Planet Express (2025)
DJPE2025 is DJ Planet Express’ newest, high-energy, ecstasy-inspired collection of songs. Perhaps the most dramatic of the albums featured in this playlist, DJPE2025 feels like a sonic exploration of wonderland (most certainly inhabited by the small frog creatures pictured on the album cover). The trance elements feel at-home in this spacey, sometimes even weird or playful album.
I cannot say this album breaks any new barriers, but only that it feels like a truly authentic pillar of the genre represented in this playlist: visionary dance. These are the high vibrations that will carry you right off and away into some unnamed dimension. From upbeat dance sweat tracks to reflective, melodic moments of groove, DJPE2025 is here to take you higher.
