The folk music landscape of 2025 has been a year of profound innovation and deep-rooted tradition, culminating in a stunning list of essential albums. From raw Scots Travellers' songs to genre-bending Slovenian instrumentals, the year's best releases prove the enduring power and evolving nature of folk music.
The Top Three: Soul, Soundworlds, and Water Songs
Claiming the number one spot is Quinie's 'Forefowk, Mind Me', an album described as 'soul-rattling stuff'. The project, led by Josie Vallely (who performs as Quinie, pronounced 'q-why-nee'), is a raw set of eleven Scots Travellers' songs. It was created alongside a film documenting Vallely's horseback journey through Argyll. The work explores ancestry and care, drawing influence from canntaireachd (vocal pipe mimicry) and sean-nós singing.
In second place, the Slovenian trio Širom presents 'In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper'. Their fifth album is an intense journey using two dozen instruments, from West African xylophones to Moroccan guembris. Tracks like 'Curls Upon the Neck, Ribs Upon the Mountain' build from fiddle harmonies into menacing drums and wails, showcasing traditional instruments' chaotic potential.
The bronze position goes to 'Watersong' by Savina Yannatou, Primavera en Salonico and Lamia Bedioui. This collection of fourteen folk songs revolves thematically around water, traversing Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Greek singer Yannatou and Tunisian vocalist Bedioui click magically, accompanied by ancient instruments like the ney flute and qanun zither.
Innovative Trios and Haunting Debuts
The list highlights several groundbreaking collaborative efforts. Poor Creature, an Irish folk super-trio featuring members of Landless and Lankum, lands at number four with their debut 'All Smiles Tonight'. They blend fiddles and guitars with theremin and synths, creating a dream-like, poppy sound distinct from their other projects.
Similarly, the first official collaborative album from husband-and-wife duo Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver, 'Hinterland', takes sixth place. It features a cinematic rendition of the murder ballad 'Long Lankin' and showcases Knapp's spry fiddle work and spoken-word delivery.
Powerful Solo Voices and Dialect Traditions
Individual storytellers shine brightly in this year's selection. Lancashire dialect singer and researcher Jennifer Reid secures seventh place with her debut 'The Ballad of the Gatekeeper'. Her bold voice delivers a mix of historic workers' songs and striking political originals, accompanied by soft percussion and birdsong.
At number nine, French-American artist Zoé Basha, based in Dublin, releases her debut 'Gamble'. She handles traditional ballads with a sharp freshness, positioning folk material alongside country songs and originals influenced by ragtime and chanson, with intricate accompaniments from nyckelharpa to Spanish guitar.
Scandinavian Depth and Ecological Philosophy
Norwegian music is powerfully represented. Hardanger fiddle player Benedicte Maurseth earns the ninth spot with 'Mirra', an attempt to translate the philosophy of ecosophy into sound. She blends her instrument with field recordings of animals and birds, creating powerful pieces like 'Kalven Reiser Seg (The Calf Rises)'.
Similarly, the group Malmin, with singer Åshild Vetrhus, takes fifth place with 'Med Åshild Vetrhus'. This album presents bright, rugged settings of Norwegian dances and psalms, where Hardanger fiddles gnash and microtonal mandolins explore the gnarly hinterlands between notes.
A Beautiful Mingling of Influences
Rounding out the top ten is fiddler Owen Spafford and guitarist Louis Campbell with their second album, 'Tomorrow Held'. Released on Peter Gabriel's Real World Records, it mingles traditional tunes with minimalism, post-rock and jazz. The album shifts exquisitely from the reflective '26' to the trip-hop grooves of 'All Your Tiny Bones'.
This year's list demonstrates that folk music in 2025 is far from a relic. It is a vibrant, evolving force, where deep research meets bold experimentation, and ancient traditions converse with modern soundscapes, proving the genre's continued relevance and boundless creativity.
