The best music of August 2025
A look at great songs, albums and mixes released this past month
Welcome to the first edition of Three Fourteen, a newsletter that seeks to showcase the best new music around.
In this edition: The best music of August 2025, including Brazilian funk, Swedish electronic pop, Mexican reguéton, Egyptian bass, a strange Hungarian band from the 1980s, and much more.
Before we dive in, make sure to subscribe to receive future editions—it’s free :)
Album of the month
Trabant – Trabant II
Trabant is so good that it will make you wish you could speak Hungarian. Active in the Magyar underground music scene in the 1980s, the band was made up of a fluid line-up that counted Mihály Víg, the composer behind the soundtracks of genius filmmaker Béla Tarr, as one of its mainstays.
Together, they recorded odd yet captivating art rock songs infused with elements of folk, new wave and chamber pop, brought to sublime heights by the magnetic voice of singer Marietta Méhes.
Only a handful of these songs were officially released, however, due to severely restrictive Soviet laws, and were instead distributed informally on homemade cassette tapes. What can be considered as Trabant’s debut album, a self-titled compilation put together by “anti-record label” purge.xxx, landed only in 2024—forty years after their sole known release at the time.
Trabant II, its sequel, was released last month and expands the band’s catalogue with nine rare songs of extraordinary beauty.
Fav tracks: “Kanáan”, “Ott Torony Volt”, “Délután”.
Track of the month
Klein – “rich dad poor dad”
It’s been a busy year for Klein. The London artist already released a great album in February, started a mysterious collaboration with someone that sure sounds a lot like Mica Levi under the name BERNARD ROCKS, and even lent her talents to Justin Bieber’s latest one (!?).
As if all this were not enough, she has now announced a new mixtape, sleep with a cane, due out on 1 October. “rich dad poor dad”, the first single, is a poignant ambient poem and undoubtedly one of the most beautiful songs Klein has ever made. Of course, she also directed the stunning video that accompanies it.
Highlights
Morenica Donna & off.blizze – “PROHIBIDO 🚫”
Morenica Donna has only been around for a couple of years, but the dozen maketas on her SoundCloud page could easily be mistaken for full-fledged hits. With her slow, sentimental brand of reguéton and penchant for electronic takes on the genre's signature dembow rhythm, the CDMX artist is proving to be one of the most promising newcomers in an exciting, slightly emo nueva era of perreo music.
It’s undoubtedly with producer off.blizze that Donna has made her best tracks to date, and the pair’s latest effort “PROHIBIDO 🚫”, with its restrained sensuality and heady synth progression, is no exception.
Peep: “recuérdame MKT”, “GATAS 🐈vs🧛🏻VAMPIROS”.
Oli XL – Lick The Lens / Pt.1
Six years and what looks like one dispute with his label later, Oli XL *finally* unveiled the follow-up to his debut album Rogue Intruder, Soul Enhancer, which many electronic music fans already regard as a modern classic.
On Lick The Lens / Pt.1, the Swedish producer takes his glitchy, ambient-tinged breaks further into quirky pop territory, with the help of illustrious guests such as Ecco2k, James K and Ouri. Seemingly eager to make up for lost time, XL has already announced part 2 of Lick The Lens, which is expected to come out by the end of the year.
Fav tracks: “NOSEBLEED MELODY”, “LOVE & POP”.
DJ Granette – LERO - LERO
Over the last decade, the São Paulo area has come to be recognised as a hotspot for crazy Brazilian funk subgenres. While Franca municipality producer DJ Granette’s music may sound almost relaxing compared to the intense cacophonies the paulista scene has to offer (it’s not), his strident ritmado fits perfectly into the local canon.
After churning out tracks for his SoundCloud page for a year, Granette just released his first EP, a six-tracker titled LERO - LERO that sees him put his own weird, hypnotic spin on vocals from both high-profile and lesser-known, local MCs.
Fav tracks: “VEM COM A XOXOTA”, “NA CARA DELA”.
ltfll – “Nested Skins”
ltfll’s compositions were among the highlights of Egyptian collective irsh’s great two-volume do you mean: irish compilation series. On “Nested Skins”, his first original material in three years and the title track of his forthcoming EP, the Alexandrian producer unleashes an intricate machinery of kicks and clangs, with bass so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Those lucky enough to be attending Kraków’s Unsound Festival next month would be doing themselves a huge disservice by missing his set.
See also
Jemima – Even The Dog Knows
The debut album from the London band is an eerie, quiet folk gem.
Carrier feat. Gavsborg – “The Fan Dance”
Brooding, minimalist dub number by Carrier, with Gavsborg from Jamaican dancehall collective Equiknoxx on vocals.
Kelman Duran – “1804” / “One Million Haitians and Africans”
New pair of singles by the Dominican producer: ghostly, jazzy ambient vs. clubby, bassy material featuring Tanzanian singeli duo Bamba Pana and Makaveli. Both are great and taken from Scorpio Falling, his new album out next week.
Joshua Chuquimia Crampton – Guest Mix for Temporal Cove (NTS)
A one-hour mix of psychedelic blown-out madness by one of the architects of the album of the year. Originally aired on NTS Radio back in June.
Lukid – “Underhand Brokery” / “The Secret of Bell Making”
Two loopy tunes from Lukid’s upcoming album, covering similar ground to his lo-fi/industrial/techno-not-techno duo Rezzett with Jackson Bailey.
RenzNiro, Dunamis, GRIM & Wudini – “Married To The Money”
Manchester rapper RenzNiro links up with citymates Dunamis, GRIM and Wudini for a cold, no-nonsense underground anthem.
Len – “wassap”
The London rising star’s newest banger, “wassap”, is taken from his latest EP MAKE BRITAIN S3XY AGAIN.
DJ Narciso – QUANDO EU PEGO NO MIC
The Lisbon batida artist follows up his already stacked year with a punchy three-tracker.
Conjunto Media Luna – “No Es Moda” / “Kumbia Dos Pasitos”
A giddy 7" from the Colombian cumbia musician, joined here by compatriot La Terrorista del Sabor and Californian producer Turbo Sonidero.
Thanks for reading :) See you again soon!