Ransom Note

Originating from Glasgow, Becky Marshall was raised on an eclectic mixture of avant garde electronics and techno which was rooted in parties and culture across the city at the time. Some refer to it as some sort of 'golden age' whilst others simply reflect on the good times and the musical legacy it left behind. To this day there are "classic" mixtapes which float amidst circles in the city, tales...

So, here we are... Kicking off the new year with a mix from perhaps one of the most important German producers and DJ's of the last twenty years. Soulphiction has been a stalwart of electronic music having released definitive material on the likes of Perlon, Pampa and Playhouse amongst others. He is also the co-founder of Philpot, a record label which he launched in the year 2000 alongside his fri...

Now let's close the year out in style... Marco Passarani is one of the best loved Italian producers and DJ's, he has released a wealth of material across decades and is regarded as an influential figure in house, disco and techno circles far and wide. His music has appeared on labels such as Offen Music, Running Back, Peacefrog, Numbers and many more. This is only his solo material, not to mention...

Massimiliano Pagliara is a longstanding figurehead amidst Berlin electronic music culture. He has worked tirelessly across many years to establish himself as one of the most innovative figures in house and techno having been a resident at Panorama Bar for a significant period of time. As a producer he has released music on the likes of Live at Robert Johnson, Meakusma, Ostgut Ton, Cocktail d'Amore...

Helsinki is a music scene which has grown in prominence and might over the years, Lauri Soini is a hugely active figure in the local community operating as a member of the team behind Flow festival and as a booker at reputable club Kaiku. He has also been a driving force behind the more eclectic party scene in the city for a long time and tells a tall tale of loft parties in towerblocks belonging...

Yuri Boselie has been an integral figure in the Dutch electronic music scene for many years. Based in Amsterdam he has worked tirelessly holding down residencies at the likes of Club 11 and Trouw for many years and he now rules the roost at the infamous De School. He is closely affiliated with both the Dekmantel crew and Rush Hour and has crafted a unique take on dance and club focussed music by t...

Rounding off a busy week we have a showcase in hard hitting electronics and the experimental from one of our favourite producers of the moment, Koehler. Originating from Bristol but now based in Italy he has released an impressive array of material for the likes of Whities, ESP Institute, Berceuse Heroique, Skude, Die Orakel and many more. His take on dance music is perhaps more abstract than most...

Cold air hangs thick in the early days of December, winter is here and we have a soundtrack to accompany the tone. Calibre is regarded as one of the most innovative and prolific producers within electronic music, over the years he has become a definitive figure in Drum & Bass, having elevated the genre in a way in which is celebrated and adored. Originating from Belfast he has recorded music which...

Based in Glasgow, Nightwave is the musical guise of Maya Medvesek - a singular producer, dj and artist with a great deal of energy and drive. For many years she has worked tirelessly establishing herself as one of the most forward thinking dj's in the city and as such has gone on to international praise and acclaim. Her own musical output has been featured by a number of record labels which includ...

Last month London-based Frenchman Franz Kirmann returned to his analog hardware roots for his Madrapour LP on our Ransom Note cassette sub-label BYTES. A departure from the digital sound collages of his last album Elysian Park for Denovali Records back in 2016, Franz continues his sonic exploration of the haunting and the cinematic, something he also practises in his electronic/post-classical proj...

São Paulo is arguably one of the most forward-thinking cities in Brasil when it comes to underground music and night life culture. Warehouse parties like Carlos Capslock's have been going for almost a decade, while smaller spots like listening bar Caracol are catering to intimate and discerning crowds. DJ and producer Davis is firmly embedded in the music scene there, running his reputable ODD par...

London-based DJ and graphic designer Liv Ayers is a core member of collective and platform Rhythm Sister. Started three years ago and helmed by her pal Jessica, the collective seek to provide a safe and supportive space for women, non-binary and female-indentifying to learn to DJ through workshops and open deck sessions. On top of this Liv, Jess, and fellow members Hemlin and Eliza Rose, host regu...

Not only is Stockholm home to the interactive Abba museum and the resilient Greta Thunberg, it's also the home of the next guest in ELSE club's mix series, DJ Clea. For the past decade she's steadily built her reputation as one of the finest DJs in the city becoming known for navigating both the floaty and the euphoric corners of house and breaks. A few years ago she turned her attention to produc...

Stem is the new guise of London-based DJ and radio host Jenny Cheng. Sonically her DJ sets and radio shows move through deep bass explorations and crisp shuffling rhythms that feel distinctly fresh and distinctly UK. These energetic selections have seen her grace the airwaves of stations like NTS, Noods and Rinse as well as holding down a residency, Sublime Portals, last year on East London's Neti...

DJ Neewt is behind some of the most exciting happenings in Offenbach, a city on the river Main outside Frankfurt. The DJ, producer and label head is a regular at Robert Johnson, one of the world's most respected clubs, and runs his own OK SPIRIT label, which launched earlier this year with an EP from Bear Bones, Lay Low. As DJ Neewt his own releases may be few but he has a knack for crafting crisp...

If there's one thing you need to know before listening to this mix then it's this: Lerosa does not f**k about. The Italian producer and disc jockey remains an unrivalled force amidst outsider electronics and doesn't buy into hype or false pretenses. Based in Dublin he has steadily released music prominently for over ten years and has appeared on the likes of Uzuri, Ostgut Ton and Idle Hands amongs...

Natalia Maus commissions music videos for labels like Domino, R&S Records, Island and Greco Roman, as well as working in sync, pitching music for TV, film and ads. Her new project Volumes, matches artists with novels, asking them to respond to the words musically via a mixtape or through original compositions. Aside from her regular 9-5 work she's also a really really good DJ with great taste to b...

Musicians Brian Allen Simon (aka Anenon) and Chantal Chadwick are the minds behind Pétra, a Los Angeles collective merging electronics and acoustic instrumentation. Their name, meaning "stone, rock", is inspired by a chance encounter with a photo by Daniel Boudinet as well as the geological formations of Greek volcanic island Nisyros, the location that their debut album 'Aunis' was wrote, performe...

Now, here's a treat - a rare mix from the founder, legend and pioneer behind a special label. You know and love him, we do too... It's Zaltan! Antinote Records is an imprint which has released a huge assortment of music from some of our favourite artists here at Ransom Note. Zaltan has acted as a pivotal curator behind the label and has achieved enormous success having released music by the likes...

Yr Lovely Dead Moon is the project of Rachel Margetts, an experimental musician and poet who makes up part of multi-facted collective FITH, the minds behind the most recent release for our R$N cassette sub-label Outer Reaches. In her solo productions, narratives drift atop cosmic lounge and post-punk influences; a synthesis of processed sounds and live electro acoustic. Here she teams up with her...

Establishing a collage of influence and musical intuition is no simple feat, it can take time for an artist to establish and forge an identity which is unique and representative of their own character. Adriaan De Roover is a Belgian experimental musician who has just released a new album called 'Leaves'. The album is a freeform piece of work which layers instrumentation and soundscapes in an abstr...

London-based Estelle Birch is a writer, sound artist and radio producer who's work explores memory and identity through short stories and sound works. Recently her work in sound has taken her to Somerset House, where she presented an installation in the show 'Dreaming / Diasporas' as part of the 'Get Up, Stand Up Now' event series, while her musical activities have seen her play live at the Tate f...

Over the past few years electro has made it's way back into hearts and record bags; finding a new generation of discerning fans and spotlighting a shed load of young talented producers. One of the labels at the forefront of this revival is Mechatronica, a Berlin-based imprint who seek to explore the relationship between man and machine. Danish-born Casper Mejlholm, who moonlights under the guise o...

Next up, a familiar face to some and a fresh introduction for those uninitiated. Lorca has been a presence amidst underground house and electronic music in the UK for quite some time now having released music on the likes of Church, Naked Naked, 2020 and more over a number of years. He has drawn upon a deep rooted love of house music which has been a staple element of his own sound which has been...

DJ, radio host, label boss and music journalist Anna Wall is a master of all trades. From her home of East London, she runs her record label, The Bricks; the philosophy behind it built on communicating a musical narrative. Since 2016 she's welcomed artists like Sunrom, Module One and Corbi to the imprint, working closely with each artist to effectively tell their stories. Alongside helming The Bri...