Artists' rankings

Putting together a list of our favorite albums of 2015 wasn't easy. The reason is simple: the musical sensibility we favor, and that guides our listening, isn't rooted in the contemporary scene or in anything much beyond the 2000s. That's also why our personal chart makes room mainly for artists who released or reissued something in 2015, but whom most listeners would place in altogether different musical eras.

Here are the 5 albums we recommend:

1. Claudio Simonetti's Goblin – Profondo Rosso (reissue)

For anyone without the original vinyl or one of its later reissues, this is a must-buy. Claudio Simonetti celebrates 40 years of “Profondo Rosso” with a new edition on Rustblade, reprising side A of the original vinyl, “Profondo Rosso”, “Death Dies”, “Mad Puppet” plus “Deep Shadows”, while side B features live performances of “School At Night”, “Mad Puppet”, “Profondo Rosso” and “Death Dies”.

What can we say? One of the greatest soundtracks in Italian cinema, the perfect frame for a perfect film — in this writer's opinion, the best film by Dario Argento and probably the best Italian thriller ever made. Goblin know how to play and have real taste in blending jazz-rock, minimalist progressions and an esoteric sensibility. It's their finest record alongside "Suspiria".

2. Marc Almond – The Velvet Trail

Along with Jacques Brel, he's our favorite singer. A love affair that for Euski actually began back in elementary school, some forty years ago. 2015 gave us his new album, adding to a collection of records that has accompanied and influenced us like few others by a single artist. This "The Velvet Trail" is packed with tracks that showcase Marc Almond's great gifts as a chansonnier and that move us with every listen: "Scar", "Pain Of Never" and "The Velvet Trail" above all. "You were aleready in the dark, deep underground".

3. Arvo Pärt – Musica Selecta

Three times in recent years we've had the chance to visit Estonia for concerts, and the last time, this past December 7th, we played in the Lutheran Kolmainu Church of Rakvere, a place that was part of Arvo Pärt's musical formation, a minimalist composer we hold particularly dear. Retracing the places where the Estonian composer's talent was shaped renewed our interest in his music, built on repeated tonal scales and sacred melodies, of which this "Musica Selecta", released to celebrate the composer's eightieth birthday, is a fine representation.

4. O Paradis – llega El Amor, Asoma La Muerte

Among the releases close to the noir-folk scene, the one we liked best is the new record by O Paradis, which on this album returns to the warm Latin and Mediterranean sounds that made us fall in love with this musical project when we first heard it on the EP "Sin", released by Old Europa Cafe.

5. Soft Moon – Deeper

One of the new bands we like most, capable of blending new wave, obsessive melodies, emotional vocal lines, industrial sounds and tribal rhythms in a highly personal way. A complex, deep music that makes "Deeper" one of the most interesting releases of the year among the new names in dark music. They played twice this year near where we live and had us dancing from start to finish. "Take me far away to escape myself".

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31/10/2025