Hello, hi, how r u?
Wow, I think three months might be the longest I’ve been AWOL. I’m so sorry! I missed you! Most importantly; how are you?! I never ask that as a rhetorical - I’m genuinely sat here writing to you wondering how you are.
I suppose I’d better explain myself.
There’s all the usual stuff (work, travel, running blah blah), but there’s also something new. And… Exciting.
You might’ve noticed that over the last five years I’ve played around with the format of the letter, the essays, and the music quite a bit. Not loads, but a little. Largely that’s been driven by trying to hit an ideal in my head that I’ve never quite managed. The ideal is simple; 1) I want to play you the music how I think it sounds best (one continuous flow, choosing where songs overlap, and playing around with it), and 2) I want to tell you all about why I love the songs, share little ideas, and generally get over-excited about music and culture.
Sounds a bit like radio, doesn’t it?
I’ve been obsessed with radio for a long old time. Since I was tiny, in fact. There’s something deeply personal, exciting, and absorbing about radio. Sharing music, sharing ideas, and sharing emotions. I love it. I’ve always dreamt of finding a way to bring those same things to this project, but never quite found the right space or opportunity.
Until June.
In June, our dearest Conor Jatter invited me to come and meet someone on a boat in Little Venice. That was about all the information he gave me, but I love these moments of serendipity, so off I went. On the barge, I met Sophie Callis, the founder of The BoAt Pod, a floating studio, and the centre of such a wonderful feeling, I felt a bit drunk by it all. A couple of days later Sophie got in touch to ask if I’d like to do a regular show… Thank you, Sophie, and thank you Conor ❤️.
The first went out live last Saturday, and I’m sharing it with you here. The show will be broadcast the first Saturday of every month, from 12pm. My plan, from this week onwards, is that this newsletter and that show kind of become one - the newsletter will stay how it is, as will the links and essay section, but the first link to music will be the show, and then a link to buy the music played too. It will become monthly, but it will be regular as clockwork.
I’m going to keep putting together a Spotify version too, but that will be reflective of the show, rather than its own thing. This means that on the show I’ll have freedom to play anything (not just what’s on Spotify). It also means that the Spotify mixtape will no longer be restricted to 30 songs, but instead will likely always contain 2-2:30 worth of music.
I hope you love the show, I had so much fun putting it together, and while it’s a bit rough on the edges, there’s a lot of love. I pictured myself talking to you the whole time.
As such, it’s definitely deeply personal, I hope it’s exciting, and eventually I’d love for it to become totally absorbing too. At the very least it’s what Love Will Save The Day has always been about; sharing music, sharing ideas, and sharing emotions.
So, everything has changed, and nothing has changed. Let’s get on with it, shall we?
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.
PPS. Oh, and come join our lovely little community, you’ll love it ❤️
TL;DR Section 🌪
Read…
This essential piece from Harold Heath on neurodiversity and dance music
This excellent history of gay men and their influence on pop music
Watch…
Do…
Send Love Will Save The Day to a friend :-)
Listen…
Just read / just reading…
Just read
Discographies, by Jeremy Gilbert (exceptional)
Energy Flash, by Simon Reynolds (third time reading this)
After The Flare, by Deji Bryce Olukotun (incredible afrofuturistic fiction)
The Melancholia of Class, by Cynthia Cruz (music and class)
The Old Weird Albion, by Justin Hopper (nature and mysticism)
That Reminds Me, by Derek Owusu (beautiful, heart-wrenching)
Women, Race, & Class, by Angela Y. Davis (hard, but critically important)
The Craft, by Rishi Dastidar (essays on poetic craft)
Twenty-First Century Socialism, by Jeremy Gilbert (found hope in this)
Just reading
The Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber and David Wengrow
Out Of Space, by Jim Ottewill
…and a bunch of books on ultrarunning that you’re probably not that into 😂
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 🎶
cktrl - Robyn
Nala Sinephro - Space 4
Chico Hamilton - Je Ka Jo (Joaquin’s Dream mix)
Gaoule Mizik - A Ka Titine
Budi Und Gumbls - Tanz Der Korperlinge (Lion’s Drums edit)
TCP - At The Water-Hole (Wolf Muller edit)
Blair French - Transcultural Dance
Chico Hamilton - El Toro (Mark de Clive-Lowe remix)
Koloke - West Afrikan Guitar Groove
Boo Williams - Chrissy Jazz
Scott Grooves - We Move
Kerri Chandler - Red Sun (Unreleased jazzy vibe)
Faze Action - In The Trees
Marcellus Pittman & James Curd - Shafty Riptide
Autarkic - Sleepover
Nicola Cruz - Aima (Breaks mix)
Szanjna - Planets
Ben Hauke - Sim City
Domu - Alla Serenita (Lazer Sight mix)
Karizma - Church Chords
Brassfoot - Leven
Pepe Braddock - Ring
Steve Reid - Free Spirits-Unknown
Innerzone Orchestra - Manufacturing Memories
unknown - Tribal Gathering
unknown - unknown
Edit & Dub - Lovin’
Jus’ Eat - Power
RP Boo - Finally Here
WTCHCRFT - No Time To Lose
Adam F - Circles