There were eyes everywhere - they watched and gazed upon the world, passing judgement and creeping on the sensibilities of the innocent and vulnerable. 

Some called them sentinels, others knew them as watchers. Perched on each street corner it was their job to keep the peace and ensure that everything was in order and as it should be. That was what the system would want after all, order. For if there were not to be order then what sort of chaos might be left? 

This was the world in which they knew it...

Datasette is an acclaimed producer having released music via the likes of Ai Records, Apollo/ R&S, Wall Of Sound, CPU and Shipwrec. Now he delivers a cutting edge, futuristic ep which combines elements of dub with ambience and electro on Lapsus.

Sentinel

PREMIERE: Datasette - Sentinel [Lapsus]

• cycle.bender ⌬

cycle.bender will be our new digi only series on Optic Portal. Exploring forward thinking, experimental dance floor music.

by: @formant-value @aasudd

Optic Portal 2025 - cycle bender series
Written and produced by Lorenzo Zucchetti (Formant Value), Aa Sudd
Mastered by NJ at Soundstuff Studio
Artwork by Jacopo Tripodi

cycle0.3 - Formant Value // Aa Sudd

OW11 Raär - Incentive

The air shifts. Drawn from a live composition and distilled into eleven personal mantras, Raär's Incentive unfolds as a long-player sonic rite, tracing a path through a wind chamber. A narrative pulled into motion by a propulsive undercurrent.

The eleventh opus in Omen Wapta's lineage begins with flickers at the edge of vision. No clear path, just shapes that rise and vanish in the periphery. The air carries tension. Low hums lean into pressure. The ground rolls forward.

Trees bend inward. A summons breathes from below, hovering between clarity and wandering dust. The pace fractures. A space opens. Long enough to feel it pass: a shadow, a pulse, a question. Something inside has turned.

The chase tightens. Each element presses against the next. Inside the rhythm. Inside the self. Overtones shiver. The wind doesn't stop. It carries what remains. Sound, now memory. Movement, now shadow. Incentive carves deeper into Raär's terrain. Untethered, inward, and elemental. He sculpts in weight and pressure, low-end as bedrock. FX opens the ground between weight and light. Tape compression binds the vessel. Beneath, a drone exhales. Charged with trace.

Every track, a step. Each pause, a turn. Guided to feel, not to grasp.

1. Delusion
2. Edge Trigger
3. Hypnic
4. Enigiser
5. Somatic
6. Hallucination
7. Lost In Details
8. Purposeless Movement
9. Enchantment
10. Chronic Derealization
11. Unshaping The Function

Release date: June 3, 2025
Pre-order: omenwapta.bandcamp.com/album/incentive
Limited CD. Edition of 100

Written and produced by Vital Cornet
Mastered by Stephan Mathieu at Schwebung Mastering
Sleeve design by Woody 's-Gravemade
Words by Matteo Weigele

Distributed by Clone Records Rotterdam
Compact Disc & digital format via Clone and Omen Wapta Bandcamp

© Omen Wapta
Delft, The Netherlands est. 2021

OW11 Raär - Incentive [preview]

PRE-ORDER: https://hysteriatemplefoundation.bandcamp.com/album/liminal-vortex

After fundamental self-released works, the 2-headed @hysteriatemplefoundation brings its weighty tribalistic hi-speed dub to the useless seconds’ catalog. Sharing a passion for puzzling rhythms, eye-rolling build ups and ruthless energy, HTF and useless seconds proudly present “Liminal Vortex”, a collection of 4 tracks providing a long descent through abstract layers of reality, warped physics and reminiscent vibrations.

‘Cybernatrix’ is a heavy half-timer made of echoing pulsations built

‘Gravitational Pull’ sees old school drum and bass getting decently Karplus-Stronged

‘Kamea’ is a captivating pressure-inducing treat with a very special twist which feels like opening Pandora’s box.

‘Liminal Vortex’ is a merciless roller with an impetuous energy taking advantage of both ritualistic tribalism and stomping tekno to create a wild psychedelic mayhem.

Acting as 4 cardinal points, these 4 tracks are keys to find a way into the mazy HTF universe made of multiple layers of the hardcore continuum.

Written and mixed by Hysteria Temple Foundation
Artwork and design by Federico Spini
Mastered at Push Up The Audio

Hysteria Temple Foundation - Liminal Vortex EP (previews)

Further Inward with biju

Stepping into shifting time and intricate sound design, biju charts a course through the Further Inward series with razor-edged precision. Pulsing through polymetric waves and syncopated shadows, his selections spiral inward. An endlessly looping dream, precise yet elusive. A cascade of shifting frames—relentless, refined, and beautifully disorienting.

@b1ju 
Visual : @janloup
Dive into the ego less realm - 06/2025
---------------------------------------

Further Inward ✧ biju

𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒆: Christian Duka - Të Rriten

“Mi costruisco e mi distruggo, I grow tall and deep, dhe e gjej veten”

Crescere is a 3-track EP released by Christian Duka, a producer, sound artist and DJ from the Albanian diaspora. The EP is a personal meditation on growth, capturing emotional states tied to transformation, vulnerability, and renewal.

Genre-fluid by design, Crescere blends emotive ambient guitars, slow-burning trip-hop-inflected breakbeats, and spectral dub-ambient. 

Produced, mixed and mastered by Christian Duka
Artwork by Marco Maldarella

𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑫𝒖𝒌𝒂
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/dvka
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/christian_duka/
Bandcamp : https://christianduka.bandcamp.com/

Crescere

Support & Buy

𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒆: Christian Duka - Të Rriten

@tadan127 - muses 12" vinyl EP

BUY: https://area127.bandcamp.com/album/muses

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳? 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘓𝘗, 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢127 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘛𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥-𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 ‘𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘐𝘥𝘦𝘢’, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. ‘𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 27’ 𝘢𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺, 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘳𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 ‘𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴’, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 – 𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵-𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺. ‘𝘌𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯’ 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦-𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯, 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵-𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢, 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳.

Tadan - Muses (12" snippets) [127AREA005]


BUY: https://profundo.bandcamp.com/album/circuits

Yunze Ou is a sonic exploration where nature, textures, and experimentation merge into a profound and hypnotic journey. It's the latest project from a producer who prefers to remain anonymous, but whose productions move between IDM, glitch, and ambient.
With a rhythmic base that converges at low bpms and up to 170 bpm, this project interweaves elements of deep techno, ambient, and drum & bass/halftime, creating immersive and dynamic soundscapes.

“Circuits” is a 4-track journey that weaves together the raw pulse of halftime and drum & bass with the serenity of the natural world. Inspired by rural landscapes, mountain air, and open skies, the EP explores the intersection of organic and digital—where winding forest paths meet lines of code, and birdsong echoes through data streams. Each track channels a different facet of this fusion: from dense, atmospheric textures to precise, tech-driven rhythms. Circuit is both a tribute to the untouched and a meditation on the systems—natural and artificial—that shape our experience.

Label SC: https://soundcloud.com/profundocollective
Artist Insta: www.instagram.com/yunze_ou/
Label Insta: https://www.instagram.com/profundocollective/

𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒆: Yunze Ou - Cycle [PCL017]

Justice

Instagram of all labs tagged: 
0:44 w/ @cprcash
2:37 w/ @egobreak
3:51 w/ @zigimo_ and @bryte__
5:15 w/ hofbadge
6:00 and 6:36 w/ prodkinto
7:17 w/ @kilit_radio

Cover pic by @basedsoljuh

@1nders1 25' summer clips (ft. egobreak, zigimo, bryte, hofbadge, kinto, cprcash, kanyonland)

rewind

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.