As we screech towards the end of 2025, here at Inflyte+ we’ve been taking some time to look back over the year just gone, and some of the incredible music that has lit up dancefloors and festival stages, been on repeat at our desks and in our workouts, and stayed in our DJ sets since we heard them.
And since we (Paul, Sylwia and Chris) were selecting our own favourite tracks of the year, we also put the call out to some of the artists and music personalities that we’ve featured on Inflyte+ over the last 12 months to find out what’s been rocking their worlds too.
The 16 tunes below run the gamut from sleazy disco and progressive house to weirdo club tracks and Balearic bombs, with a reissued obscurity and a blissed out Bob Marley cover thrown in for good measure.
Enjoy the tunes, and we look forward to doing it all over again in 2026…
Sean Johnston (A Love From Outer Space/Hardway Bros)
Crooked Man – Don’t Leave Me This Way [Vicious Charm]
Richard Barratt at his most direct. He takes a classic and strips it to the core, then rebuilds it into something darker and far tougher. The bassline drives the whole eleven minutes with that Crooked Man bite and it grabs you from the first bar.
It has caused dancefloor devastation every time I have played it and it sounded equally at home bouncing round the walls of Convenanza as on the Funktion 1 at Phonox.
It is house music built for impact and it pushes the song into something truly life-affirming, urgent and cathartic. He takes a stone cold classic and repurposes it into something contemporary and shocking, which is no mean feat.
Crooked Man, to my mind, is the most vital producer working in UK dance music today. This choice could very easily have been Return of the Crooked Cat or the Parrot and Cocker Too remix of Baxter Dury…
Bernie Fabre (Convenanza Festival)
Sister Irene O’Connor – Mass – ‘Emmanuel’ [Freedom To Spend]
Her album [reissued this year] belongs to the INCREDIBLY STRANGE MUSIC genre (little-known yet amazing vinyl recordings). That particular track, a cheap drum machine + Bontempi sticky jam reminded me of The Specials on their second album.
She’s got a great voice with tons of reverb, similar at times to Cindy Lee who likewise does a good cover of Lamb of God live. Other tracks on the album sound like Martin Rev on quaaludes. Fire, the title track, is another highlight.
La Santa
Anané & Silyvi – Is This Love [NuluMusic]
A track I always include as a closing track on my sets since it came out in August 2024 is Is This Love from Anané & Silyvi, out on NuluMusic.
Soooo emotional and special for me and works really good as the crowd always sings along. Masterpiece interpretation of Bob Marley’s classic, big ups for Anané & Silyvi – nothing but love.
Hammer
Anna Almani & Kotoe – Un Taco [HeSheThey]
I’ve never really had favourites, but I was fairly shocked at the response when I first played this at Éalú Le Grá Festival.
It was mind blowing, and I’ve played it at most peak-time sets since, so it needs to be in here! The rest of the EP is great too.
VONDA7
Lola Young – Messy (Desyfer remix)
I chose Lola Young’s Messy, the Desyfer remix, because it has such fantastic energy. The first time I heard it, I got actual goosebumps. That’s how you know a track is special.
I love the lyrics of the original song and combined with the progressive house elements, it’s been working so well in my DJ sets as well as my workouts. I love running to it, the drop in this track is very energising.
Jordan Nocturne
Michael Cignarale – She Thinks She’s Fierce (Michael’s Fierce Lil French Remix) [Medusa Realness]
Michael Cignarale has released an endless stream of club-ready weapons throughout 2025. His music hits all my favourite loves – from acid to pianos to guilty pleasure and high-NRG, and so I tend to pick up anything with the Cignarale name on it.
The Fierce Lil French mix of She Thinks She’s Fierce landed on Michael’s own imprint Medusa, and as blasphemous as it may be I’m going to say it: I prefer Michael’s tribute to French Kiss over the original. It’s perfect for the club, it’s got sass and it’s got energy. Thank you, Michael Cignarale.
Avis Vox
Enrico Sangiuliano – The Techno Code [NINETOZERO]
A powerful techno track that lets you dive deep into the culture.
Truls Kvam (Trulz&Robin, Snick Snack Music)
Sammy Legs – On Your Mind (Tom Baker Remix) [Digital Structure]
This track has been tearing up the dance floor everytime I have played it.
It captures something that both young and old people resonate with and brings us to the point of madness and still wanting more, which I love.
Paul Inflyte
Le Carousel – We’re All Gonna Hurt (Extended Vocal) [Phil Kieran Recordings]
Above everything released this year, Le Carousel’s We’re All Gonna Hurt is the one that cut through for me. It’s that rare blend of melancholy and momentum — a track that manages to feel intimate and urgent at the same time.
Phil Kieran strips the production right back, but every synth and percussive shift lands with purpose. It’s one of those tunes that linger long after the final note and every time I’ve dropped it, or heard it on a big system this year, it’s received a massive response.
A standout moment of the year, without question.
Simon Sheldon (The Freebooter Lounge)
Tambores En Benirras – Molokono (Marshall Watson Remix) [NuNorthern Soul]
I’m finding it really hard to pick one track from 2025, mainly because I play everything from DJ chillout to full on club tracks. I have favourite tunes from 70 bpm to 125 bpm, so to pick one track is tough.
However, if I have to pick one single track, not from my label and not a Visions Of Light track because that would be hugely self-indulgent, I would have to go with Molokono [Marshall Watson Remix] from the Ondas Horizontales Remixes Two EP by Tambores En Benirras.
The original was released last year on Ondas Horizontales – a masterpiece of an LP. NuNorthern Soul is an incredible label with a strong direction and ethos and Gripper, aka Tambores En Benirras, is a warrior, an icon, a legend – and I don’t use those terms lightly.
Listen to the LP in its entirety and it’s beautiful – it has a familiarity but a uniqueness too. Brilliant.
Øyvind Morken
C.L.A.W.S. – Black Magic Carpet Ride III [Dark Entries]
I don’t really have a favorite or like the concept of favorite pieces of music, tracks or whatnot, but I do understand that the role of the DJ is actually to promote music. And as that role has taken a back seat to the more self-promoting aspect of the DJ, so has some of the risk-taking to leave room for insta-friendly moments.
So as a working DJ with this weekend fresh in my mind. I would like to nominate the above mentioned track, purely based on the reaction it got over the weekend. It had half the dancefloor screaming like warriors, while the other half was running towards the door.
Kiki Botonaki
Tal Fussman – Walking on Mars [Rekids]
I chose “Walking on Mars” by Tal Fussman because is an atmospheric, slow-burn electronic track that evokes isolation and wonder, blending spacious textures with a steady, meditative pulse.
It feels like a journey to another planet.
Tore Gjedrem (Ost&Kjex, Sex Judas, Snick Snack Music)
Helene Rickhard – Cycle 25 [Snick Snack]
I’m staying close to home for my tune of the year, with Cycle 25 from Helene Rickhard’s debut album “Unpredictable Express”.
I think Helene is a remarkable talent both as a DJ and producer, and even though her style is impossible to sum up in one track, Cycle 25 has lots of the qualities I love about her work.
It’s a deep, moody, psychedelic techno journey which sounds both new and old at the same time.
Jepe
Land Of Echo – Freedom In Our Rhythm Parts 1 + 2 [Wah Wah 45s]
There are tons of great tracks per year, and I decided that this is my favourite of 2025.
I played and played it and and listen to it at home, and it always puts me in a good mood.
It’s modern, it’s old, it’s disco, it’s Larry levan and Andrew Weatherall playing and jamming in a dark, smoky London club somewhere in another life.
It has the complexity of a proper band track with the simplicity of a straight groove rolling and rolling on the dance floor.
Chris Jones (Inflyte+)
Decius – Queen of 14th Street [Leaf]
Decius returned this year with their second album, showcasing a sultrier, subtler side to their jacking acid house sound. Still fearsome live – as I experienced when they played David Holmes’ God’s Waiting Room club at Halloween – Queen of 14th Street is a great example of how they are developing.
A sleazy yet soulful disco number with sticky hooks, an unimpeachable groove and a fantastic vocal performance from Lias Saoudi, it’s like an unholy blend of Prince, Soft Cell and Larry Heard: hot hot hot.
Dina Summer (Iptamenos Discos)
Dina Summer – FOMO (DJ Hell Extended Version)
We were beyond excited to have one of our favourite artists, the legendary DJ Hell, remix FOMO by our band Dina Summer, taken from our second album Girls Gang.
He brought a whole new intensity to the track, and the result is just wow. It’s been a staple in our sets, with a consistently strong crowd response.