Mixmag ANZ's favourite EPs & albums of 2025 thus far

Welcome to Mixmag Australia/NZ’s guide to the best releases of 2025 thus far.

In this update, we’re bringing you recommendations on the best electronic and dance EPs/albums released around Australia and New Zealand.

Read on for reviews and links to stream and buy the music. Purchasing music through stores like Bandcamp does so much for the artists you love, and we encourage you to support them if you have the means.

We hope you enjoy.

While modern albums are often critiqued for being too short, Adrian Asher’s ‘BLACK PEARL’ doesn’t suffer in any way from that problem. Sitting at 23 tracks, the founder of label Bass Water Freak Out traverses all manner of genres before totally squishing them together.

Jersey, Bass, Hip Hop, Baile Funk, Trance, Breaks, it’s all here.

Trackwork, a Gadigal Land/Sydney-based label & events platform, continues its incredibly hot streak with ‘Jacuzzi’, a collaborative mixtape by Cherry Chola and DoloRRes. The duo have, in their own right, been proving that reggaeton and latin hip-hop have a place in amongst Australia’s often incredibly anglo musical tapestry, and ‘Jacuzzi’ is an incredible addition to that tapestry.

‘CLANDESTINA’ might already be our track of the year.

‘Ouss Ouss’ is the work of Naarm’s DJ PGZ & Boorloo’s Yikes, released via the one & only Butter Sessions.

In their review, writer Nayuka Gorrie (they/them) said of the release, “It is clear that DJ PGZ is going deeper into his sound; pulsing, four to the floor with clever and catchy vocal chops at just the right time. It is music begging to be heard on a big soundsystem at 3 am in the morning. These are songs you want to sit in and dance to, and are rewarded for; the end of Solidarity System is a treat. Yikes transports us from a grimy dancefloor to wiping the dust from our eyes, dancing outside on his remix of DJ PGZ's Energy Monstera…

This EP feels like an ode to the mob. This EP cements not only DJ PGZ and Yikes as serious producers in their own right, but is part of a growing catalogue of black electronic producers in Australia. Regardless of its political and cultural meanings, which are important; crucially, it goes hard. Ouss Ouss.”

A calm, considered & engaging full length record by Gadigal Land/Sydney-based Cousin.

The artist, one of his city’s most active musicians across his own name & others, has released the record on Moonshoe, an imprint of his own making this year celebrating its fifth birthday. With each passing Cousin release, it becomes even more difficult to pinpoint exactly when & where you may have thought his sound had reached its peak. Was it the record before this one? Or two before that?

‘Wake The Town’ is a deep, considered listen across a variety of speeds & moods, none feeling alien to Cousin but increasingly alien to us. Cousin’s crafting of environments to suit dance floor appropriate music is at its most polished & muddy here. Must listen.

‘Perfect Harmony’ is a long-awaited collaboration by Naarm/Melbourne artists Guy Contact & Solar Suite, released via Wax’o Paradiso’s trustworthily selective label. Their “exploration of antipodean downtempo” sees the two artists, traditionally known for functional & yet intricately crafted club soundtracks, working together on a release focused on pace of a far sexier, sun-kissed variety.

With Summer now comfortably coming to a close, ‘Perfect Harmony’ provides a bright, spacious time capsule to remember the summer that was forevermore.

‘GHOSTWORLD’ is, in many ways, the deepest sounds of Australia’s underground. LOIF’s first offering to much beloved Naarm/Melbourne label Steeplejack is an ode to collaboration of all kinds and a dedication to pushing genre boundaries. Grimey, filled with a darkness & attitude that is to be found in some of the country’s most community-oriented DIY spaces, LOIF has produced a full body of work that not only feels complete, but questioning.

What does it take for music to transport us somewhere else? LOIF gets partway to answering that on ‘GHOSTWORLD’.

Paper-Cuts 10th release is a collection of tracks by its own founder Radart. An 8-track collection of ambient, downtempo, breaks and more, taken from a selection of works he produced between 2022-2024.

'Flying Fox Colony' is, maybe, one of the most beautiful songs we’ve heard this year.

Primary Thug’s ‘Young Love Tape’ is a brooding, attitude-driven twist on latin dance music with modern flair, released via Slam Ross’ Dancy Party Records.

Moody, often times mean production is matched by high-energy percussion leaving this perfect for the club or a particularly staunch commute.

Borrowed cs is a Te Whanganui-a-tara/Wellington producer and DJ creating provoking and uncompromising deep house, techno, dub and electro, all with a soulful tip. His timeless productions have earned him a reputation as one of Aotearoa's most well-respected musical voices, with releases across global labels like Wonderful Noise, Money $ex, and Planet Trip.

‘love letter’ is the artist’s latest release, a series of three variations of the same song, made in the Pyrenees mountain range during a musyc residency that he shared with British producer Actress.

‘Serpentine’ is a collaborative effort between Naarm’s OK EG & Canadian producer Priori, finding a home on Priori’s label NAFF, & Kia’s Animalia. Initially beginning as a session at the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS), the tracks were later developed into four interconnected movements.

This is meditative, hypnotic dance music at its finest, best described by the artists as ‘feather-tech’.

Australian turned Berliner Logic1000 has released her addition to the long running DJ Kicks series, sitting as the 84th instalment. The release, mixed together on streaming but available as individual tracks, features a wide variety of slower, emotive sounds across a wide variety of artists.

Purelink, James K & Oklou are among the internationals, with Logic1000 herself, DJ Plead and Big Ever contributing original tracks for the release.

'Future Lay Bright' is the latest EP by 1-800PRIVATEDRIVER, an Aotearoa-turned-Naarm local ready to make his mark on a scene he's grown to feel at home in, released via Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland label B2BO (Been To Berlin Once), also recently turned Naarm-based.

Between them, the combo has delivered a slick, sexy and late-night-drive-friendly piece of work that will feel at home in almost any setting.

“Big Sky Liquid Sun” is the latest EP by Sleep D, who at this point need very little introduction. The duo have demonstrated in spades their mastery over a sense of space, restrain and, throughout it all, drive.

The wheels at Butter Sessions keep on turning & this EP is only its latest soundtrack. Another must listen from Sleep D, surprise surprise.

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You can listen to all of our favourite releases, & many more, on our ongoing ‘Best Local Releases’ playlist on Apple Music, & Spotify.

Purchasing music through stores like Bandcamp does so much for the artists you love, and we encourage you to support them if you have the means.

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Editor, find him on Instagram.