Sufjan Stevens‘ 2020 album The Ascension turns 5 today (9/25), and to celebrate his label Asthmatic Kitty has shared a new playlist featuring songs that inspired it. It’s a cool (and extremely varied) list, with songs from Janet Jackson, Giorgio Moroder, Sheila E., Prince, Ariana Grande, Herb Alpert, a-ha, Madonna, Ministry, Wham!, Peter Gabriel, Roy Ayers, New Edition, The Chemical Brothers, Pat Benatar, Daft Punk, and more. Hear it below.
Sufjan’s most recent album was 2023’s Javelin, one of our favorites of that year, and since then he’s produced a John Legend kids’ album, and joined Hannah Cohen, Mina Tindle, and Denison Witmer on songs.