omg what is this track? Amazing - and also such a ptsd inducing sample...

We return to NYC where the wonderful @lycheefrut has us fully submerged in a wobbly world of ambient techno moods and grooves. Restorative mind state hypnosis for the early morning acid dreamers with moments of total serenity! 

Q. What inspiration did you draw upon when putting this mix together? Is there a sound, feeling, or time/place in dance music history that connects all the different elements in one way or another?

A. There are a few recent moments that I drew from: I had pulled a lot of dreamy tracks to close out the intimate Sunday evening queer party I throw with my friends called Antidote, and for a b2b with my friend threehz at their party dream/self. I usually spend a lot of time planning a tracklist for studio mixes, but this time, I was struggling to sequence or choose between the tracks I had pulled.

On New Year's Eve, a few friends came over to my studio to pass some time before going to a rave where I was working the door at 8am, and they all ended up dozing off while I was DJing. I was trying to play music that was both energetic enough to keep me awake, but not too intense for people who were sleeping. A few days later, I ended up recording this mix in one take with no strict playlist, drawing from that moment; it was a fun experiment in trusting myself to find a more organic flow.

Q. As someone who’s actively involved in a number of interconnected projects and events within NYC’s underground dance scene, tell us about the idea behind your Spontaneous Affinity outlet for zines, mixes and long form interviews that regularly feature important insights from DJs, producers and organisers alike. 

A. The series has been on a bit of a pause / slow paced moment lately as I focus on getting some other aspects of my life together :) but the idea was to use the interviews to draw connections between different nodes of people working to build scenes in different places. Everyone gets the same set of questions to choose from; it's always fun compiling it all into a zine and seeing what kinds of commonalities emerge. I hope to find time to work on another zine before the end of this year!

Q. And finally, I really enjoyed your set opening up The Grove at last year’s Sustain-Release! Tell us about how you found that whole experience, and how did you approach a set like that where you could seemingly take things anywhere over the three and half hours..

A. This set was a heavy one for me – I've been to every Sustain, and it was a formative part of my journey deeper into DJing and music. This summer also came with a lot of big losses and transitions. I spent as much time journaling and meditating as I did organizing music, and wanted to make space for others to process difficult things before diving into party mode in a psychedelic environment.

As far as the musical approach, I thought of the set in 7 or 8 "chapters" that could expand or contract depending on the energy and vibe. I've played a lot of opening sets over the years and lately have wanted to push myself within that; here, instead of the standard ambient → techno type opening set, I wanted to play with a structure where the set built into a mild frenzy and then settled back down before the live acts that played after me.

MDC.293 Lychee

Truancy Sessions S01 E01: suade (@whoissuade)

New year, new sounds! Introducing Truancy Sessions, our latest mix series dedicated to elevating the underground music scene. With eight episodes per season, we'll be looking to amplify the voices of emerging DJs and longtime Truants friends, all while collaborating with talented designers and artists. Our mission is to cultivate connections and celebrate people with an ear for music from every corner of the globe, be it people we've seen on our travels to friends we've made at festivals and clubs. For our first season, we'll be collaborating with the exceptional designer Kushagra for all things artwork, and for our debut episode we have a seamless blend of mesmerizing grooves from San Francisco-based suade (@whoissuade) for a transportive musical experience. Here's a glimpse into what suade has in store:

"This mix is a cruise through some records I know I’ll love forever - rolling, percussive, driving, and euphoric sounds. Put it on for a nice drive, a long run, getting ready for a party, or maybe just to hype up your work day. I spend a lot of time in the shapeshifting, hyperactive world of bass-driven music and I have an equal love for timeless grooves, long blends, and dreamy sounds. Sometimes these feel like mutually exclusive worlds as a DJ. The latter is what I’m reaching for these days, in a slow and reflective period of my life, and what I bring to the mix. It consists mainly of records from the mid 90s to early 2000s with some newer releases sprinkled in there. I decided to avoid maximalism and opt for a steady ride through a few key ideas. I’ve been wanting to record something like this for a while, so I’m super grateful and happy to be sharing it here. I hope this hour and twenty four minutes locks you in and is something you can come back to. Enjoy"

We've put the mix as well as a little photo diary and selection of the tracklist up on our wesbite. Access the download and full tracklist (Confirmed, added) over on our Patreon, however leave us a nice comment on the mix and either us or suade will get back to you 🖤 Your support helps cover all our costs, allows us to now pay our guests and allows Truants to continue running as a non-profit and ad-free platform. patreon.com/truants

http://truantsblog.com

suade

Truancy Sessions S01 E01: suade

AliA is a rising producer and DJ based in Belgium, she has caught the attention of the likes of Mr. Scruff, Carista and Lefto with her intelligent selections and versatile approach.

Despite being young she has earnt a residency at the acclaimed Horst festival and has made regular appearances at C12 and De School amongst many others.

Most recently she has launched her own record label Artisjok on which the first release came from XL Regular showcasing an assortment of deep, bass influenced House music.

We are expecting to see and hear a lot from AliA over the next little while and we think you will be too.

AliA: The Ransom Note Mix

INTERVIEW + MIX > https://inverted-audio.com/mix/sam-goku

Years on the rise, @samgoku distinctive style has attracted a strong following on the dancefloor. Much like his club deliveries, with IA MIX 378, he instils a playful extension to the imagination. Euphoric micro-rhythms dart through light and shadow territories, and dark ambience meets rays of spring yellow light, echoing his signature sound of tight basslines on glistening buoyant club jams.

IA MIX SERIES

READ

IA MIX 378 Sam Goku

"Every opportunity to learn something new is what's going to grow your craft as an artist." The Toronto star talks discipline and gaining self-confidence as a producer.

Cindy Li, AKA Ciel, always seems to be one step ahead. The label head, DJ, producer and activist has a hard-won career that dance music producers dream of—when she's not playing underground institutions across the globe, maintaining radio residencies, planning her own parties or collaborating with her favourite artists, she's thinking about what's next. "I'm the type of person that I'll stay up trying to finish everything rather than going to bed knowing that I didn't finish everything on my list," she tells RA's Nyshka Chandran in this week's episode.

The Toronto resident is a conservatory-trained pianist who uses the discipline she learnt from a lifetime of lessons to balance DJing and production. "For me, it is challenging to juggle both because they use very different parts of my brain," she describes. A deep digger whose love for atmospheric textures and '90s grooves influences her fresh take on UKG, tech-house and jungle, Li has been putting out music since 2017. She has various EPs and singles under her name, plus several joint releases with the likes of Dan Only, D.Tiffany and Priori but says she didn't always have the confidence for a solo full-length.

"I never thought I could write an album," she admits. But after playing live for the first time at MUTEK Montréal in 2021, that changed, leading to the 2023 release of Homesick, her debut album. "Don't ever let fear influence your decision-making," she says, describing how that show pushed her to overcome lingering doubts in the studio.

For more on Li's process, listen to the episode in full.

EX.703 Ciel

Italian label-head, radio host and DJ Elena Colombi has been holding it down on platforms like NTS and stages like Dekmantel for close to up to a decade. Their ear for the out there crossings of experimental, industrial and techno sounds is truly next to none. Not only does this show their skills on how to blend these styles to accuracy world wide but reflects on the music they pick for their excellent Osàre! Editions imprint since 2019. We are very excited to have Elena on the Off The Record series with a live recording of them at UBU club. A power hour of acid, bleep and techno sounds. For full interview hit the link above!

READ INTERVIEW HERE

Off The Record Mix Series 46: Elena Colombi

Continuing the legacy of his @lovefingers blog, Andrew Hogge’s @esp-institute is a truly anything-goes imprint, unbound by genre or style. Alongside a mix from its catalogue, he tells Anna Wall about how how his DIY attitude and digger’s mentality has helped him unearth countless new musical gems

Interview & tracklist: https://djmag.com/features/sound-esp-institute

Tracklist & interview

The Sound Of: ESP Institute, mixed by Lovefingers

Inviting my dear friend Docsleep this time, she prepared a lovely chill out selection the first 30min

Rinse FM Podcast

rRoxymore feat. DOCSLEEP - 06 April 2024

Drawing from his wider music taste as well as club-rooted sounds, K-LONE journeys freely through hazy R&B, tinkering electronic warmth and ambient house.

crackaud.io x Stan Ray: K-LONE

There is nothing ordinary about Sepehr (@sepehr-a): he hails from the Bay Area of San Fran, is based in New York City but has Iranian heritage and takes great pleasure in pulling apart everything you think you know about dance music. His maverick approach results in versatile and genre-defiant sounds that collide EBM, drum & bass, techno, electro, acid and plenty more on some of the finest labels out there. He runs his own Shaytoon Records which is focussed on the Middle Eastern underground, and in May lands on our own Dekmanel Records with Genesis Domain, a varied EP full of intriguing sounds.

The same could be said of his mix for us this week. It's a deep dive into his eclectic and eccentric musical mind that spans several sounds and scenes. Although united by body-moving rhythms, there is everything from club to techno to broken beat and plenty more besides. Each track is packed with detail and surrealist sounds that will keep your head as busy as your heels.

Dekmantel Podcast

Dekmantel Podcast 463 - Sepehr

Going deep with yr Boo and the one and only Physical Therapy.

http://www.instagram.com/boo__lean

A SOUND PLACE: Super Deep House with Boo Lean + Physical Therapy @ The Lot Radio 04-21-2024

Ransom Note is an online music, arts and culture magazine. We provide a home for readers and writers with boundless enthusiasm, esoteric knowledge, fierce opinions and impeccable taste.

With our core team immersed in all aspects of dance music, we publish news, articles, and interviews covering the greatest in innovative, underground culture from across the globe. We offer regular, exclusive music and mixtapes from our favourite artists, and publish features shining a light on everything from the freshest new artists to the untold tales from rave history.

Alongside this we offer musings on film, books, life, and art, generating some context and controversy as an antidote to the reheated PR that clogs up the internet. Our office is fuelled by Tunnock’s Bars, cat memes, hangovers and a ridiculous, never ending love for our culture.

We're always interested in getting new writers on board – feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a story to tell.

With love until the grave.

AliA: The Ransom Note Mix

Ransom Note

Recent comments

findforfour

Nullmeridian

Nullmeridian

Nullmeridian

Related tracks