How are you? I hope you and your friends and family are all safe, healthy, and happy.
Big thank you to Jumi for an excellent guest letter last week – her leftfield groove mixtape has barely left my ears all week.
Now, this week. This week has been filled with heartbreak and despair. The systemic racism that exists in not only the US, but around the world, created an environment whereby George Floyd could be tragically and needlessly murdered by a policeman. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Read their names. Read their stories. Feel the pain of their friends and families.
I’ve been quiet for a long time, and I’ve felt helpless. I’ve always abhorred racism and any form of discrimination, but I’ve been a weak ally. That passivity makes me complicit. In trying to be neither part of the problem, nor part of the solution, I’m actually part of the problem. Racism cannot be eradicated by people being passive and ‘not racist’. It can only be defeated by people being active and actively anti-racist.
I will never not believe that Love Will Save The Day, but we all have to be part of the process. Love is not some mysterious force, love is us.
Now, on to more minor matters. I’ve intentionally left the TL;DR Section out this week, because the two links above are the only two that I want to share this week. This week’s mixtape is made up of disco and deep cuts – disco to take us away, deep cuts to give us space to think. Like the letter before last, I put this week’s mixtape together based on records I’ve bought recently, I hope you enjoy.
As ever, please stay safe, stay home, and stay in touch xxx
PPS. If you’re wondering why you’re getting Love Will Save The Day so soon again, then it’s because I’ve taken it back to being weekly while we’re on lockdown in the UK – we all need more music, more culture, and more of each other ☺️