2025's takeaways to stay calm & fluffy
Plus all the music featured in the newsletter this year
This newsletter launched in March with the goal of improving people’s lives through experiments and essays on technology, culture, and well-being.
The question I’ve asked over and over is:
How can I help myself and others be calm and fluffy, like happy clouds?
Since starting, for each edition sent out, about 10 people have subscribed and joined the journey. Glad to have you here!
Whether you’ve been here for the whole ride or just joined… a reflection is in order before we leave a time of year in which many of us are not working and have a bit more space to sit with our thoughts.
Here are some of my favourite takeaways from the past year:
The city is made of music. You don’t need headphones to hear it. If you, like me, have a habit to listening to music everywhere you go — leave your earbuds at home from time to time.
Is always being available worth being less present in every moment? As I left my phone at home for one month, I learned to value the preciousness and precariousness of each moment. What’s the cost of being available?
My phone auto-disables notifications when I arrive home. It’s been a game-changer. This was the result of my “30-day offline after 8pm” experiment. I look at my phone a lot anyway, so to have notifications muted when I come home in the evenings is a great way to make home feel calm.
If you want to stream more ethically, ditch the algorithms. If you want to introduce more mindfulness into your music listening, spend more time with a music collection you own.
For those using AI: be proactive about your privacy. Clean ChatGPT’s memory feature, or even consider deleting your account every now and then. There’s more you can do in this guide.
Speaking of AI: I used it to build several tools for myself through a process called vibe coding. I think it’s wonderful that we can easily build our own tools to solve our problems instead of waiting for someone else to do it one day.
It’s possible to protect your mind against AI-related cognitive decline.
Finally, I want to encourage everyone to do things outside your comfort zones.
For me, it was dance classes.
And I’ve learned so much from it:
“By making myself smaller, I’m creating ambiguity rather than clarity, which doesn’t do anyone any favours.”
Find the sweet spot of curiosity and discomfort.
Feel the hesitation.
Do it anyway.
If you’re a fan of the list format, here are more that may help you:
You can find the full Calm & Fluffy archive here.
ᕱᕱ For your ears: 2025 ᕱᕱ
A chronological overview of the music featured in the newsletter this year.
Emeka Ogboh’s album 6°30’33.372”N 3°22’0.66”E. It fuses electronic musical compositions with recordings of interviews and the hustle and bustle at Lagos’ Ojuelegba bus station and surroundings.
The super fun Odo Refre Wo tune from Paa Jude’s ‘burger highlife’ record Seaman Jolly.
Multi-instrumentalist Walt McClements’ atmospheric On a Painted Ocean.
Enigmatic Pale Jay’s Spend More Time With Your Friends.
An old ambient favourite: Ephemeris by H.U.V.A. NETWORK.
Sitting between ambient and techno, I really enjoyed the hypnotic 3-track Tension of Opposites release by Endless Ritual.
J.G.G.’s BOMBOLLA, traverses the realms of psychedelic, exotica, and early electronica with heartwarming melodies.
Electronic producer FaltyDL explored a more playful side by testing the tracks from his new album, like We Have Everything We Need, on his young daughter.
Singer and musician Lucrecia Dalt’s well-textured, organic, yet slightly glitchy, electronic A Danger to Ourselves album.
William Basinski’s timeless ambient masterpiece The Disintegration Loops.
Blue Camel by Rabih Abou-Khalil is a fantastic fusion of jazz and Arabic music.
Another all-time fav: Biosphere’s downtempo Black Mesa to infuse a sense of mystery into your day.
DECIUS’ performance in Berghain’s Panorama Bar created such a buzz that I had to check out and share their fusion of acid house, disco, and techno.
Djrum’s cinematic journey Under Tangled Silence.
Cambodian music combined with psychedelic rock: Dengue Fever’s Escape From Dragon House.
Possibly the least calm & fluffy release shared this year: electronic supergroup VIER’s debut album IIII.
The Human Language ‘Goat’ Tape: a rework of Goat’s self-titled album by producer human language. If you’re into DJ Shadow, you’ll dig this.
Dreamy, dancefloor-adjacent Temple of Love by techno-scene mainstays Len Faki and Honey Dijon.
A whole set of winter-y ambient recordings.
This three-hour techno journey by Dustin Zahn recorded live in Berghain in 2013.
Oneohtrix Point Never’s new, experimental Tranquilizer album.
A thoughtful mix of experimental jazz and hiphop on Ambrose Akinmusire’s honey from a winter stone.
Torus’ 00s dance-inspired, dreamy aesthetic Summer of Love.
In our interview, Stephan Kunze recommended the vaporwave album Birth of a New Day by 2814.