This week’s Monday Is OK mixtape is an immersive experience into the world of YANA, the alias of Polish composer and multi-instrumentalist Joanna Bieńkowska. YANA’s latest album, Daydreamer, released on Ólafur Arnalds’s OPIA label, continues her journey into emotional landscapes shaped by lush string arrangements and atmospheric electronic textures. A graduate of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk, YANA’s music blends classical training with a flair for modern, ambient soundscapes. For YANA, music creation is almost a ritual—an intense, organised practice. “Constant work is a kind of ritual for me. It strengthens me and organises my life,” she reflects.  Daydreamer’s journey flows from darkness to light, mirroring the human experience. Interview here: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/yana-the-monday-is-ok-mix/ TRACKLISTING Keaton Henson - Dorma 3:42 The Smile - Open The Floodgates 4:29 So You Are Tired - Sufjan Stevens 4:50 Vega Trails - Love Your Grace 2:32 Thom Yorke - Knife Edge 3:20 Nonkeen - that love 7:46 The Hum II - The Vernon Spring 2:05 Colin Stetson - Rain Song 3:01 Yana - Tender 4:22 Sofi Paez - Everywhere 3:53 Valentin Hadjadj - Closer from „Close” Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 4:13 Claude Debussy, Alain Planes, Reverie, L. 68 3:53 Jean Kapsa - Dernière Fete 3:08 Yana - All Alone 2:08 Chilly Gonzales, Jarvis Cocker - The Tearjerker Returns 3:33 Robot Koch, Viktor Orri Arnason, Foam and Sand - Star as Eyes - Foam and Sound Rework 4:00 Jóhann Jóhannsson, Jonas Colstrup - Be Forgotten 1:36 Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm - Life Story 5:41 Jóhann Jóhannsson - Flight from the city 6:31 @olafur-arnalds

"Think Pachanga Boys’ Time…but with soul." The register chimed loudly. He glanced up at the queue of customers steadily gathering and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long hot day. The shop was small and crowded, outside in the street it was scorching, the block was on fire in the midst of the summer and everyone and everything was looking for relief. He would be their answer… He wasn’t sure how it had come to be this way, that he was the one to serve. Yet here he was… From time to time he’d have to check himself, check anything, check something. Then the chime would ring out again… The made ace, insanely brilliant Brian d’Souza aka Auntie Flo, releases ‘Aker The Lion God’ on 31st October, a precursor to his upcoming album ‘In My Dreams (I’m A Bird and I’m Free)’, out on 21 November.  PRE-SAVE ALBUM ~ Inspired by field recordings from New Zealand and Brazil, the environmental sounds of a conch shell and a bassline influenced by Charanjit Singh’s proto-acid house work is worked into some altogether more ethereal.

This is a mix of stuff that either makes me feel like I want It All Levels Out to make people feel, or music that made an impression on me years ago and inspired it. Hopefully it provides a soundtrack for thinking, maybe while walking the dog around in the rain. Lots of instrumental stuff, so it’s blank for your own message. Out last week on Bytes; It All Levels Out, is album no 10 from Minotaur Shock, aka the Bristolianelectronic multiinstrumentalist/producer David Edwards. The album is a hopeful meditation on getting older and Edwards’s most personal and reflective album yet. Full interview here: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/minotaur-shock-the-monday-is-ok-mix/ 01 waltz (in memoriam old ways of living) - More Eaze 02 Milkweed - Holly Waxwing 03 Another Haunted Mirror - G S Schray 04 some days felt like home - mu tate 05 Die Dinge des Lebens - To Rococo Rot 06 Drive My Car (The Truth, No Matter What It Is, Isn’t That Frightening) - Eiko Ishibashi 07 Each Dream is an Example - Gastr Del Sol 08 Overbraid - 7038634357 09 Cryptic Reserve - Wim Mertens 10 Surface Pan - Sofie Birch 11 Side Lengths - Grand River 12 Appalachian Grove III - Laurie Spiegel 13 Dub One - Egil Kalman 14 Overand - Autechre 15 Blink - Hiroshi Yoshimura 16 Echo’s Answer - Broadcast 17 8:07 - Global Communication 18 Pendulum Man - Bark Psychosis 19 Plays John Cassavetes 2 - Ekkehard Ehlers @Byteslabel @minotaur-shock

“It fits every situation. From sailing to baptism to weddings and name days. Not ideal to listen in the sewer.” Jaakko Eino Kalevi returned at the end of last year with new album, Chaos Magic (the Greek concept of “kháos”) – a double album of elemental pop and baroque electronics. It was a wild, immersive experience written and recorded largely in his new home of Athens. Navigating a kaleidoscope of styles of cosmic jazz, neon synthpop, disco and space-rock journeys, it featured contributions from artists like Alma Jodorowsky, Jimi Tenor, Faux Real and Sigurlaug Gísladóttir. Full Interview here: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/jaaako-eino-kalevis-heaven-and-hell-ransom-note-mix/ Tracklisting 1.⁠ ⁠Gina X Performance: Nice Mover 2.⁠ ⁠R. Stevie Moore: Pink Litmus Paper Shirt 3.⁠ ⁠Les Rita Mitsouko: Un Soir Un Chien 4.⁠ ⁠The Passions: I´m In Love With A German Filmstar 5.⁠ ⁠Orange Juice: Flesh Of My Flesh 6.⁠ ⁠Selda Bağcan: Yaylalar 7.⁠ ⁠Gnonnas Pédro: Dadje Von O Von Non 8.⁠ ⁠Klaus Weiss: Survivor 9.⁠ ⁠Egg: Fugue In D Minor 10.⁠ ⁠Cindy: Never Let Me Go 11.⁠ ⁠International Music System: Mojave 12.⁠ ⁠Marxist Love Disco Ensemble: Dust 13.⁠ ⁠Scribble: Silly Girl 14.⁠ ⁠Dizzy K: Omoge 15.⁠ ⁠Maximum Joy: Searching For A Feeling

"The mix is all over the shop but a common theme is exploration, expansion, deepness." Respected New York-based DJ and co-founder of Singapore’s Darker Than Wax label, Marco Weibel has quietly built a loyal following through his wide-ranging sets, which seamlessly blend everything from spiritual jazz to house and UK garage. Known for his deep, genre-spanning selections, Marco’s approach emphasises rhythm, texture, and flow. Interview here: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/mixes/marco-weibel-the-wednesday-alternative-mix/ As a resident at The Lot Radio, Marco has built a solid reputation for curating diverse and exciting music. His work also includes ‘Various Channels Vol. 1,’ a compilation featuring NYC-based artists, which highlights his passion for supporting local talent. This mixtape captures Marco’s ability to blend genres "all over the shop" @marcoweibel @thelotradio

It’s funny how something so wrong might feel so right. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, the deck stacked against you and the rules all askew. Yet these were the cards that he had been dealt, perhaps dealing was healing after all? As he wandered through the city streets, a wildcard in the night, he wondered what people back home might think of his predicament. They’d always doubted him anyway so maybe this was nothing new after all? He tucked his hand deep into his pocket to check everything was nice and tight. It was all there, closely wrapped, ready for the evening. Gråzon features on a new split EP from Amsterdam based record label Pintai. This track is a classy, understated affair with floating ambient tones, a beautiful dancefloor moment.

"We made this mix foryou with some previously unpublished material. Cocaine Sex was originally recorded & included, Sub Aqua Overdrive Dub for Rhythm King Records(Mute Records dance subsidiary) in 87. Later reissued on Mute Records. Cocaine Sex has spawned many children over the years through various recordings & I've included some of the many including Dragonbass Soundsystem & Renegade Soundmachine to exemplify its broad impact & bookended with a vocal & instrumental versions of our most recently released recording A.D.I.D.A.S... for the Hua Hua, Compilation album." Step forth the mighty Renegade Soundwave with all the wit, cheek, and chaos that defined RSW, Asquith dips deep into their archives, pulling out tracks from the seminal Cocaine Sex sessions, Rhythm King’s dancefloor dubs, and RSW’s back catalogue, offering a true taste of a time when dub, industrial, and raw attitude collided. It’s a celebration of that unmistakable renegade spirit that never quite fit into any box – and wouldn’t have wanted to. @renegade-soundwave-official

Eluard’s LP track “Dirty Hall” receives a remix treatment from Slow Motion Label head Fabrizio Mammarella… https://www.theransomnote.com/music/premiere-eluard-comic-bad-fabrizio-mammarella-remix-slow-motion/ @mammarella @slow-motion-records

Rough digi-dub and bass-heavy pulsations. Love Song's Thomas Korf and Sebastian Kokus and the prolific Ulf Schütte aka Cloud Management bring forth a ray of sunlight through the February clouds. https://www.theransomnote.com/music/cloud-management-the-monday-is-ok-mixtape/

London-based artist, producer, Rinse FM host and all round polymath ELLES reimagines her Anthem, infusing it with a rave-ready UKG energy: https://www.theransomnote.com/music/premiere-elles-anthem-angel-of-rhythm-refix-pt-2/ @e_l_l_e_s

Dropping self-releases via his own bandcamp and Kulture Galerie following his contribution to the labels NFTS 999 compilation his musical interests took a sharp turn when he discovered artists like Gene on Earth, Sweely, Black Loops, and many others in the realm of the good electronic. His new EP ‘Witless Q&A’s via the Filippo MSM helmed Kulture Galerie this February with five original cuts. You  can also find Nate working as a Barista at Berlin's new listening bar Anima. It's that vibe which forms the basis for this Wednesay Alternative mix, let's get it on and ask him a few questions eh... https://www.theransomnote.com/music/natebytheway-the-wednesday-alternative-mix/