Around this time of the year in the Northern hemisphere, when the weather changes and mornings are crisp and sunny, you might find yourself in a place of unmet demands and longings of one form or the other. Take a moment, adjust yourself, and make a first step. Humans are made for direction not position.

Evripidis and his Tragedies here offers the dreamy soundtrack to your 2026 endeavors: ¿Quién necesita un amor? is a great song about self-sufficiency while being drenched in sweet melancholy and all-consuming yearning. This message comes wrapped in a sparkling synths and his enveloping vocals and wit. The single came out last week, and is accompanied by a cool music video by Marc Ribera.

Check out the track below – and also find it on the official spring edition of the Poule d’Or playlist, now on Spotify and Apple Music.

Title photo by Marc Ribera and Marc Ribera only.

This website just turned 16 years old this month and back then it was born out of and into a very dynamic ecosystem of blogs and people html-curating a MySpace page and sharing music on it to their “top friends”. It was the early days of social media! One of the spiritual beacons of this time was Blackbird Blackbird whose unique way of sampling and use of synths and other electronic techniques inspired many people, myself included, and contributed chiefly to the rise of the Chillwave genre.

Anyway, much like this poultry-adjacent media outlet, Blackbird Blackbird is still at it in 2026 and he just released a new studio album, his fifth, titled Dreamstuck. He wrote, mixed and mastered the 22 songs by himself, in his home studio in California. Listening to this feels like looking back in time but through the lens of today: his sound undeniably carries the trademark Blackbird Blackbird touch of tempo and mixing on the vocals, while feeling all the way 2026 at the same time, bridging the gap between hazy nostalgia and maintaining a positive outlook. The whole album is a great listen throughout, find Two Peas In A Pod attached below, one of the quieter tracks on there.

Elia Casu here is a guitar player by craft, having contributed to more than two dozen musical projects over the years and also making his own electronic music. Chopping and screwing from his Sardinia home, he just released an EP titled Lo-Fi Songs on Bandcamp. A three song hoo-rah of somewhat dreamy soundscapes and a keen sense for melodies.

Attached below is A Train, neatly showcasing his ability to layer up harmonies and forming a coherent narrative, like the snowflakes dancing in a snow storm. No words as of yet about him taking these tunes on tour but keep your eyes open.

You can also find this track – and many more – on the frequently updated Poule d’Or playlist – available on Apple Music and Spotify.

2025 feels like quite a good year for people listening to music and new music especially. Even if the economics of the industry continue to seem awkwardly tilted in a way that is slowly draining the supply side, some indie labels seem to be able to live off their steaming revenues. Only for now though, while AI bots, songs and playlists are lurking around like that raclette cheese smell.

Musically though, the album album made a bit of a return in 2025. Topping most lists were Rosalía and her 12 language kaleidoscope of styles, and Geese delivering not only a chaotic indie rock album but also a rising cultural monument in Cameron Winter’s Carnegie Hall solo performance in December. Then there were Bad Bunny‘s bomba bouquet, Wednesday‘s small town romance rock, Patrick Watson losing and finding his voice, Turnstile fan-faring through Europe, and Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga of course.

Somewhat overlooked – the mighty Wu-Tang Clan released a new album in April: Black Samson, the Bastard Swordsman produced by RZA and Mathematics and it is actually quite a fantastic listen! Wet Leg followed up their phenomenal debut with moisturizer which also went down smoothly. John Glacier released Like A Ribbon, a truly wonderful album album all the way.

Household names, that left their mark. Naturally Team Poule’s focus rested somewhat off the beaten tracks, and there were quite a few great albums by artists without churning marketing machines behind them that gave direction to the twelve calendar months of 2025 and will continue to guide beyond.

In no particular order. [continue reading…]

Yuuf here found each other in the gritty music cosmos of London and quickly moved on together into the wilderness, to produce a refined modern blend of somewhat jazzy ambient songs. They meld influences from all hemispheres to create a soothing ode to nature and its beauties. Somewhat driven by guitars and riffs, they wrap rocky surfaces and windy shapes into nuanced melodies and carefully created sounds, mimicking the four elements.

Attached below is Night Aïr off their new EP titled Mt. Sava that came out in October via Ninja Tune’s Technicolour. The quartet is touring Germany and Denmark next week: Monday Dec 1st in Berlin at Gretchen, Dec 2nd at Haldern Pop Bar, Dec 3rd in Cologne at Bumann & Sohn before heading to Hamburg to play the lovely stage at Aalhaus, on Thursday Dec 4th. Saturday Dec 6th they play in Aarhus, and Copenhagen’s Rust on Sunday 7th. Find all dates, nicely listed here.

Photo credits go to the wonderful cinematographer Constantin Widauer.