Playlist: 2026.1 | Now and Forever

Welcome to 2026. To follow is a collection of some of the sounds that score the opening scenes of this new year. We approached this playlist from the same perspective that we design a room, curate a collection – a point of view, an atmosphere. We played with the new “mix” feature in Spotify and though the current capabilities are a little rudimentary, we did our best to create a continuum, a flow, and uninterrupted experience. 

It includes songs of some of our favorite albums of 2025 – Geese, the new Bon Iver, the reunion of Clipse, and a beautiful new project from De La Soul, one of our all-time favorites. But it’s not all new – it’s intended to span eras, including some of our favorites from decades past like Nina Simone, Fugees, M83. These are not throwbacks, they are lineage – they hold past and future in the same frame.

Global voices thread through the sequence — Simi, Rema, Jianghu — not as trends, but as texture. They mirror how W Department exists between Santa Fe and the world: rooted, but never provincial. The sound moves across geographies the way we intend our curation to, without explanation or apology.

This is W Department, translated into sound.

Track List

Outro- M83

Here Comes the Sun- Nina Simone

Everything is Peaceful Love- Bon Iver

So Be It- Clipse, Pusha T, Malice

The Count (feat. Wiz Khalifa) – Curren$y, Harry Fraud, Wiz Khalifa

Duduke- Simi

Charmed- Etella, Redinho

Carabelas- Kermesse

Baby (Is It a Crime)- Rema

Ready or Not- Fugees, Ms. Lauren Hill, Wyclef Jean, Pras

The Package- De La Soul

England’s Lane- Peter Sarstedt

Nobody Knows- Killer Mike, Anthony Hamilton

I’ve Seen It- Olivia Dean

Then There’s One- Ecca Vandal

Swet Serotonin- Amber Mark

Charlotte’s Song- Connan Mockasin

HWY- Jianghu

Cobra- Geese

Anxiety- Doechii

Los Angeles- Big Thief

Superposition- Young the Giant

Come Live With Me- Dorothy Ashby