Letter #146 🖤

Love is the answer...

Hello, hi, how r u?

Happy New Year! I hope wherever you are, you managed to get a little rest over the festive period, we all certainly deserved it.

I know there’s still a lot going on *out there*, but *in here* this week all I’m going to give you is love, disco, soul and funk. At the beginning of the year, we should be brimming with optimism, positivity, and giving out the very best cosmic vibrations. So that’s what this week is about. The theme, unsurprisingly, is love. More specifically, love is the answer, because so often it is.

Accordingly, all the music is optimistic, upbeat, and designed to put a smile on your face, however you’re feeling. It’s a combination of records I’ve bought over the last few weeks, stuff that I just *had* to include, and then stuff that I pulled from the shelves because it just fit in with the theme so well. The tracklist is (as ever) below, but to be honest, I’d recommend just hitting play. It’s as vintage a Love Will Save The Day mixtape as they come.

Over the Christmas break I spent a lot of time reading, and there’s some new notes percolating in my head (finally) - I’ve even started to sketch the essay out. It’s going to come with an accompanying techno-not-techno focused mixtape - which is going through a mad renaissance right now - but I’ll shut my trap before I ruin it by saying too much.

You may have also noticed a fancy new logo - this was a surprise Christmas present from the utterly wonderful illustrator, Paul McDonald. Huge thanks, Paul, again, you absolute diamond ❤️.

The TL;DR Section has got some gems in this week too, so do take a look.

And with that, I’m off to play some disco and dance around with my eyes closed. Stay safe, stay happy, and stay in touch.

See you on the dancefloor,
Jed x

PS. If you're new here then this is how it works. Here’s what you’ve missed so far. 

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TL;DR Section 🌪

Stuff to hear

• This is in the Stuff to hear section because I can’t read Japanese, but I can listen to Mixmag Japan’s picks of the best 50 albums of 2021.

• SHERELLE’s fabric presents mix is madness.

• A friend at work (hey Ellis!) recommended this playlist of Post-Brexit Post-Punk and I’ve been working my way through… There’s some gold in here, and ‘some really exciting new guitar bands’ (which is a phrase I’ve not said for quite a while)

• Jessy Lanza’s contribution to the DJ-Kicks series seems to have flown a bit under the radar, which is a shame, as it’s excellent

Stuff to read

• Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy, by Barbara Ehrenreich is sensational. Huge thank you to Tom for hipping me to it.

• The wonderful Manu Ekanayake’s feature for Mixmag on what it’s like to go clubbing in the UK as a British South Asian person is essential reading.

• This Boy’s Own essay from Lenny Fontana on how the sound systems of New York that built the foundation for most nightclubs now is great, thanks to Marc for the tip!

• I’ve been really enjoying / living vicariously through Michelle Lhooq’s newsletter, and this one on the state of COVID clubbing in the US is great. Get subscribed!

• Holly Dicker has put together an incredible history of Tresor for DJ Mag to mark its three decades of shaping underground music culture.

• As you know, I’m a fan of Ted Gioia, and when I saw he’d written up some thoughts on how NFT’s and blockchain might impact music I groaned, but it’s a really balanced take, and has some solid (and comprehensible) points.

• After the sad passing of bell hooks, I think this piece in the NYTimes was the best I read. Such a loss.

Stuff to watch

• This could’ve gone in the Stuff to hear section, but honestly, it’s mesmerising. Francois K has been putting together live jam sessions where he takes the different stems (individual instrument tracks) of songs and then remixes them live. It’s incredible, and a must see. His Soul Power Dub blew my mind.

• This weekend I’ll be watching this Patrice Rushen documentary.

• And after that, I’ll be watching Mogul Mowgli.

Stuff to do

• Tell a friend about Love Will Save The Day ❤️

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Old notes home 📚

…on culture

• Rebuilding culture: fixing the asymmetry of art, culture, and commerce 

• Deconstructing jazz to understand culture

• 'Total freedom', art, and Afrofuturism

• How ideas take hold: culture, creativity and exposure

• How cultures evolve: the audiophile crew

• Cultural exposure: Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable

• Get out on the edges of culture - stop being a tourist 

• Cultural responsibility and being a good cultural guide

• Creators and gatekeepers 

• A response to the argument that culture is boring these days

• Why culture means a lot to me

…on music

• The holy trinity; story, groove, innovation

• The importance of reinvention

• A collection of great thoughts from Quincy Jones

• The problem with the ‘outsider’ narrative

• Jazz is pure protest music

• The power of rhythm, repetition, and contrast

• How I put the mixtape together (part one, part two)

…on mental health

• Finding belonging: imposter syndrome, adland, and culture

• Isolation: finding meaning in melancholy 

• Flow, burnout, and recovery: a personal story

• Feeling low, feeling blue

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The tracklist 🎶

1. Chassol - Happy Feeling

2. Donnell Pitman - Love Explosion

3. Sine - Happy Is The Only Way

4. The Mighty Soulmates - I Wanna Be The One

5. MFSB - Mysteries of the World

6. United Disco Organisation - Send The Rain (vocal mix)

7. Earl Young - Take Them In Prayer

8. Bohannon - Me And The Gang

9. Tullio De Piscopo - Andamento Lento

10. Pino D’Angio - Ma Quale Idea

11. Paradise - Sizzling’ Hot

12. Aroop Roy - Hustle do Brasil

13. Art of Tones - All Night

14. Teddy Pendergrass - The More I Get, The More I Want (Dimitri from Paris edit)

15. Cloud One - Disco Juice

16. Dance Reaction - Disco Train

17. Maurice McGee - Do I Do

18. Lama - Love On The Rocks

19. Ago - For You

20. Hammer - Strangeness

21. International Music System - Run Away

22. Paula Tape - Astroturismo

23. Roger Webb - Flying Objects

24. Skyy - First Time Around

25. Cerrone - Hooked On You

26. Pam Todd And The Love Exchange - Let’s Get Together

27. Lou Rawls - You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine

28. Grupo Natureza - Pode Acreditar

29. The Gap Band - Yearning For Your Love

30. Barry White - Just The Way You Are