Howdy folks,
Welcome to 2026! We're kicking off the year by bringing back one of our favorite musical traditions, 'In Our Headphones'. There's no better way to beat the winter chill we're having here, than by sharing the tracks that have been keeping us moving, thinking, and vibing over the last few weeks. And as the famous saying goes: "New Year, New Beats!". So welcome one and all, to "In Our Headphones" January 2026!
Our team of Community Moderators have been busy hitting "play" all month long, and we're thrilled to kick-off the first edition in the year of the fiery horse. We’ve gathered a diverse collection of tracks directly from the personal playlists of team members Vasil, Joan, Ivelina, Dessi, Elena, and Kiril. Whether they were discovering new indie gems, or revisiting timeless classics, these are the songs that defined their January.
Starting off with
@Vasil's who wanted to share with us a pleasant new favorite of his from a young Bulgarian artist named Mona with the tune called Sila (meaning strength/power in Bulgarian).
Next up, another song that re-emerged in his most listened tracks was an old favorite of his which he used to listen to a lot while he was working abroad in the US! It's always a nice feeling when you rediscover a song that's been buried down in your playlists for a while.
To top things off, we have the newest addition to his Liked Songs, expanding his collection of "phonk" masterpieces!
Moving on, we have the submissions of
@Joan. Continuing a trend he's been on for a while now, January has been very space/sci-fi themed! He claims to remain clueless what it is about this time of year that brings these vibes, yet he states that it keeps happening to him. Here's what he shared in his own words:
"This time round, I finally got to explore the discography of the young Ukrainian band with the amazing name Labyrinthus Stellarum (sorry to anyone if a portal to another dimension opened in your room if you read that out loud). Their synth-heavy black metal songs brimming with awesome themes of space, sci-fi and aliens are really atmospheric and immersive, yet also have some beautiful melodies and are really catchy and fun too! Each album is a banger in its own way. They remind me of my favourites from Mechina and that's a big compliment coming from me!"
Speaking of artists that sound like other artists that Joan loves, he recently found this guy Master Boot Record, who very much reminded him of his chum
The Algorithm. Joan added:
"He has his own style though, very chiptune, fun and epic metal-infused electronic bangers. Didn't think I'd ever find another worthy computer metal artist, but I'm sure glad that I did."
Now comes the time to hear the special submissions of
@Ivelina! Why special you might ask? Keep on reading and you'll find out...
Ivelina has been going to Pilates classes for a little over a year now, and she's been enjoying some very relaxing and very awesome sounding reggae remixes of famous songs. Here we have the two in particular that she loves the most and she also adds that: "They simply make the workouts so much more enjoyable!"
Moving from space, to pilates, to cozy songs we now have
@Elena with a brand new theme. Elena has been on an "organizing and cleaning spree" in her house throughout the months of December and January. Her motivation has been powered exclusively by Florence and the Machine. She admits that:
"The whole album has been on constant repeat and max volume at all times. Besides the 2 singles Kraken has been one of my absolute faves - so strong and unexpected!"
Thank you so much for sharing everyone.
Finally, we arrive at my submissions (yep,
@Kiril's)! Maybe I've been sleeping under a rock, or maybe taste for good music comes at a later stage (age) in life, but this January I've finally appreciated the great music of the Grateful Dead. I can happily say that I am a newly recruited "deadhead" now! Enjoy two of their songs that always go together back to back on their live concerts!
So we close the door on another month of our Moderators favourite songs, and that's it for January! We hope these tracks brought some fresh energy to your speakers! We’d love to hear what you think of our picks, and more importantly, what have you been listening to lately? Head over to the comment section to share your own January jams.
The full playlist is below, happy listening!
