"If we were young we'd rise and dance," murmured Cyn as she surveyed the scene from up on the hill. The police had broken up the party, not so much with violence but with the threat of it. All of the fires had been extinguished and smoke was rising in languid plumes as the sun rose over the valley. Most of the ravers had immediately scarpered, probably back to their comfortable middle-class existences to do hot knives in their parents' garage while listening to the latest Fantasia mixtape. But for Cyn and her friends, this was a way of life. They had no place to go but to push on to the next site, the next party. "If we were young we'd rise and dance," she said again, louder this time so everyone who was still with her could hear. "We are young," said Boothy. "Let's go."

Nocturne Thunder is a cousin to A Lily’s acclaimed 2020 album Sleep Through The Storm. As with its progenitor, the songs - including 'Like Rising Smoke', which is premiering on Ransom Note today - were mostly built live, looping and layering a single performance, pushing repetition and patterns. Exploratory, cellular variations on a theme, beautiful, lyrical songs that say something without lyrics.

Whereas Sleep Through the Storm dealt with themes of loneliness in surviving the demands of a challenging world, Nocturne Thunder relates to unifying to overcome them - dancing through the night, together, in abandon and defiance of all that seeks to crush us. It was inspired by 90s New York Rave culture, especially Antenne Books' collection of flyers from the era.

PREMIERE: A Lily - Like Rising Smoke [Bytes]

A Lily is James Vella from yndi halda & also a writer.

Music written alone in my bedroom with help from my friends occasionally.

Music written on instruments and no instruments.

Music written for the hell of it.

Jonny Sriraxa & Luci B's indomitable sonic system, Nostalgia Futura is a project born during the first confinement period in Madrid, Spain, at the peak of the Covid-19 crisis. The overwhelming sensations of physical, social, and emotional detention painted the horizon with a nostalgic hue..."so we felt a certain type of nostalgia for this particular future..." And now, in their sets and performances, Jonny Sriraxa and LuciB aim to transmit the entirety of that accumulated energy through rhythms oriented towards the dance floor--evoking reflection through motion-- and flowing across a variety of genres, histories, and influences that fuse the old, new, and still-evolving.

Currently producing jams and organizing events in Madrid with Casa Pangea. Stay tuned :)

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.

Tasty electronic music. Est. 2019. Big up @the-ransom-note! Likeminded artists please send demos to bytesbytes1@gmail.com