@https://soundcloud.com/aircode

For our seventeenth addition We are graced with the presence of London's own aircode, whose electronic obscurities have been found on such labels as DJ Pitch's 'Tobago Tracks' along with a recent EP on 'Alien Jams'. Julia's productions are truly worthy of being heralded by a label with the word 'alien' in the title - her work is enigmatic and astoundingly unique. It beckons notions of a faraway entity who occupied her mind and attempted to craft their world's music through her eyes using earthly soundscapes.

It is pensive and moving throughout, where aircode has used the absence of space and an unlikely palette of reverb-drenched, distant sounds to accentuate a sense of alienation. Nods to dubstep and UK-influenced genres leak through at times to reinforce the still-present movability and flow that Julia effortlessly melds into the sound design she has mastered. The tracks loop in and out of themselves, where she has broken down each track skilfully into a concise selection of resonances that undergo a perpetual sense of motion that subvert the tropes of contemporary club music. There is an uneasy air of endlessness and repetition throughout; a spiral further and further into an unknown unknown.

Artwork by Alessia Gunawan and Gregorio Nordio
Mastering by Hamza Robati

Spiralling - EP

aircode - Eye Roll

Only the label’s second ever release, Vief bursts into 2022 with a whopping 17-track compilation spanning breakbeat, jungle, techno, hard drum and much, much, more. All proceeds from the release will be donated to Refugee Action, a charity that aims to build safe, happy and meaningful lives for refugees in the UK.  

London and Taiwan based B E N N’s addition to the release is a perfect representation of the unique space he fills as an artist. Showcasing his sound that draws from techno, UK funky, Bass music and hard drum, Abyss Chant is four minutes of unadulterated explosive energy that you do not want to miss out on!

B E N N
@bedoublensound
www.instagram.com/bnnw_tw/

Vief Records
@viefrecords
www.instagram.com/vief_records/

Refugee Action Compilation

Abyss Chant

Premiere: B E N N - Abyss Chant | Vief Records

Taken from Nahash (@nahashisalive) new EP Tides, out February 22, 2022, via POLAAR (@polaarsounds)

Read: https://bit.ly/34CGgOl
Pre-order: https://bit.ly/3GP95nA

After releasing the very tense and politically charged Flowers Of The Revolution album on SVBKVLT, Nahash returns home to France for an EP on POLAAR.

Tides talk about ebb and flow. It is also a symbol for what is taken. When the tide is high on the shore of Western Europe it is low in Haiti. When nations are impoverished in western Africa, wealth is created on the east coast of the USA. Tides continues with Nahash's brand of anti-imperialist electronic destruction, taking tempos faster as we come closer to extinction-level events.

The sounds of this EP works in contrast between heavy drum sound and airy pads and synths sounds mashing together into a sort of mutant Jungle music built from recycled drum loops and 2nd hand Trance CD samplers.

Nahash is joined on two tracks by a prominent French player of the 160-game, SNKLS (@snakeleserpent), who blends his supple modular textures and abstract vision into the nostalgic rave atmosphere of the EP.

Artwork by Zeynep Aǧcabay & Luke Griffiths

Mastering Cedric Ifa

Released by POLAAR

Premiere: Nahash & SNKLS - Tides [POLAAR]

ATB Dont Stop (Remix)

Mind Destroyer - FAIRYTALE ADVENTURE

The sun had fallen below the trees but the heat remained during the darkness. A thick blanket of humidity hung low over the city, forcing jackets and coats to be stripped off and slung over shoulders. The streets were alive with chatter and distant melodies that floated through the air; swathes of friends walked their different paths, trying to find a suitable destination for their evening. Perhaps this wasn't the time to be descending into a sweaty basement, but the shaking walls and reverberating whoops and cheers that worked their way up from the depths made it all the more enticing... 

To shed some light on the sounds coming out of his home city of Athens, Trial & Error label boss Marios 'bonebrokk' Naris has curated a compilation that depicts the Greek capital's contemporary club landscape. Athens UHD features 15 artists who are regularly soundtracking the city's clubs, and showcases their distinct style through complex broken drum patterns, harsh textures and Eastern percussion. Our pick of the bunch comes from Thessaloniki-born DJ and producer Aroent, who brings a blend of forward-thinking techno and broken rhythms smothered in harsh industrial reverb.

Athens UHD

PREMIERE: Aroent - T Capsule [Trial & Error]

https://bit.ly/2YPCDys

Peninsula by @flore, taken from @s-f-x-0101 compilation XquisiteForce​.​collection​/​01, out September 4, 2020.

Pre-order: https://bit.ly/32FjQa9

XquisiteForce.collection/01 features tracks by Aho Ssan, Bonebrokk, Ciarra Black, Désir d’enfant, ELLLL, Flore, Forces, Glass, Gramrcy, Holy Similaun, Hulubalang, John Object, Katie Gately, Klahrk & Ship Sket, KMRU, Luke Lund, Simon Grab & Zoë Mc Pherson feat. Dali de Saint Paul and ZULI.

All proceeds from sales of the compilation will go directly to two organisations in Beirut: Haven for Artists -who focus on supporting migrants, women and LGBTQI people- and Beit El Baraka. In the wake of the explosion on August 4th, which has compounded already-dire social and economic problems in the city, these two organisations are providing food and shelter and financial, medical and psychological assistance to those who need it most.

The compilation is a direct outcome of the open, collaborative audiovisual project XquisiteForce.AV that have been developing since March 2020 by SFX, and which is still ongoing as we speak.

More info and the project’s first AV release is available here: 
https://s-f-x.space/XquisiteForce-AV

Artwork by Nick Teeple

Graphic design by Alessandra Leone

Mastering by Ingrid Loftsgarden at Greenhouse studios, Reykjavík

Curation by Zoë Mc Pherson

Released by SFX

Premiere: Flore - Peninsula [SFX]

Glass contrast pleasure with inadequacy, excitement and frustration on 'multi-functional prosthetic hand (L Version)'. Taken from their 'crY' ep.

More: https://ins-rt.net/audio/glass-multi-functional-prosthetic-hand-l-version

Article

Premiere: Glass - multi-functional prosthetic hand (L Version)

Archivist Lawrence Nash sends the Failed Units Rescue & Research lab a mysterious unit claiming to be Ziyiz...

Releases October 23rd 2020

Made by Ziyiz, Leeds
Stretch Out Flexi Material remixed by GOOOOOSE, Shanghai
Mastered by Dominic Clare @ Declared Sound, Leeds
Design by PLANETLUKE.COM aka Luca Lozano, Sheffield

Rescue & Research Pt. 3

Ziyiz - War Nah

Joe Craven - Brothers and Sisters (feat. Grove)

On “Brutalism”, to be released on Sadan, the DJ & producer Philanthropist explores the possibilities of dark, futuristic, and experimental sound design.

Read more on CxC  🔗 https://couvrexchefs.com/en/sadan-records-philanthropist-trovants

PREMIERE: Philanthropist - Trovants (Sadan Records)

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.