Hello, hi, how r u?
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I hope you’re good. I’m sure I’ve missed a lot with you - what have you been up to?
Since I last wrote we’ve had the fifth anniversary of Love Will Save The Day (🍾), a new initiative and two huge fundraising pushes for Common People, my birthday, Cannes Lions, I’ve run a 24 hour charity relay race, had a lot of work travel, I’ve also started plotting with an amazing illustrator on LWSTD artwork (I have some super limited edition stickers available - let me know if you want one) , and I’ve got a new role at Snap! Oh, and yesterday we found out that Boris is packing his bags.
It’s been… a lot.
All of that has, of course, been soundtracked by music. And while I’ve still been buying like usual, the ‘to listen to’ pile had grown to an almost beyond manageable level. So alongside having a bit less time, I’ve also been anxiously wanting to sort through records to figure out what to send to you. Over the last three weeks, I’ve done it. In fact, from the 400+ records (I know, I know), I think I’ve now got three mixtapes lined up. The first is yours to listen to today.
It’s called Lost In Music, not because I felt lost in the volume, but instead because every so often I’ll be listening to something new and it’ll steal me completely. I feel like I’m drowning (in an amazing way). Then I have to listen again, and, usually, then again (never four times, weirdly). This happened a few weeks ago with a song from the Lovelock album, recently rereleased on vinyl on the immaculate Be With Records. The song - Don't Turn Away (From My Love) - is utterly celestial. I’m sure there are a bunch of genres it falls into, but frankly, I don’t give two shits about that. It is absolutely sublime. I can’t wait for you to hear it.
Now, a lot of the time I’ll build out a mixtape based on a long list of music I’ve found, and then spend time trying to use it to tell a bit of a story, in a nice elegant structure. Occasionally, I’ll find a song that I’m so enamoured with, that I’ll build the whole mixtape around that song. This is one of those weeks. So, I went through the anxiety-inducing ‘to listen to’ pile, and built the mixtape around Lovelock. The result, I think, is great. I hope you do too.
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As ever, there’s the TL;DR Section below with some gold in it, and I’ve started to see that some of the reading I’ve been doing is turning into seeds - with an essay to come in the next few weeks (hopefully)
Would love to hear what you’ve been up to, what you’ve been listening to, and if you’re that way inclined, for you to come join our lovely little community ❤️
See you on the dance floor,
Jed x
PS. If you're new here then this is how it works. Here’s what you’ve missed so far.
TL;DR Section 🌪
Read…
This essential essay from Jumi Akinfenwa (great to have you back!) on Kendrick and that performance
Greg Wilson going long on Arthur Baker
Bill Brewster on jazz funk
Honey Dijon saying it better than I can
Nabil Ayers talks openly about his relationship with his estranged father
This mutual interview between JD Twitch and Isa Gordon
Did you sleep on Kool and The Gang? You’re not alone
Watch…
Do…
Pre-order this amazing upcoming book on club culture across the UK
Send Love Will Save The Day to a friend :-)
Listen…
To Charlie Dark. That man is on FIRE
To Mike O’Mara’s incredible mix for Subby
Ash Lauryn has a new BBC Radio 4 series coming later this month on the origins and influence of techno - Lauryn is incredible, and the interview list is eye-wateringly good
Kate Hutchinson’s (another LWSTDer!) show with Asha Puthli is excellent - as you’d expect from both
Just read / just reading…
Just read
More Brilliant Than The Sun, by Kodwo Eshun (finally read this, and wow…)
Born To Run, by Christopher McDougal, and Rise Of The Ultra Runners, by Adharanand Finn (I’ve started dreaming of running the Spine race)
More Fuel You, by Renee McGregor (another one for the runners)
Just reading
Discographies, by Jeremy Gilbert
Energy Flash, by Simon Reynolds (third time reading this)
After The Flare, by Deji Bryce Olukotun
The Melancholia of Class, by Cynthia Cruz
Old notes home 📚
…on the future
…on culture
Rebuilding culture: fixing the asymmetry of art, culture, and commerce
A response to the argument that culture is boring these days
…on music
…on mental health
The tracklist 🎶
Clever Austin - Pablo’s Piano
Nala Sinephro - Ada
Mike Salta - Henry’s Spacewalk
The Kyoto Connection - Memories From Japan
Ron Trent - On My Way Home
Gene On Earth - Studio Dobra
Smith & Mudd - The Start
Lovelock - Don’t Turn Away (From My Love)
Harvey Sutherland - Time On My Side
Spaced Out Krew - Spread Love
P’Taah - The Cosmic Laws (Phil Asher remix)
Mother Tongue - Message Of Love
Ed Lee - You Are The Star
Lady Blackbird - Lost and Looking (Colleen Cosmo Murphy remix)
Vince Watson - Moments in Time (VW20 mix)
Abstraxion - Ivre
Stefan Goldmann - Valkumey
Carl Craig - At Les (Christian Smith remix)
Waajeed - Strength (Jon Dixon remix)
Hidden Spheres - Euan 92
Keita Sano - Leave The Floor
Jaymie Silk - Take Time To Breathe
Mr. Fingers - Marrakesh
Surgeons Girl - Clouded Temper | Small Steps
Overmono - Phosycon
Ido Plumes - Noise Water
DJ Python - Club Sentimental Vol Three
Ron Trent - On My Way Home (again!)
Gabor Szabo - Half The Day Is The Night
Harold Budd - Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord / Butterfly Sunday