Tangier Week #6

Jul 29, 2025

Hey,

I hope you’re doing well...! What a week this has been! We spent countless hours working on a song that, to me, marks a complete new direction on so many levels! As Alex shared in his Substack publication around Ozzy’s passing: “I find myself in the middle of a pivotal, self-exploratory voyage, moving through a season of enfranchisement that helps me make peace with my past through its reappropriation.”

This is precisely what the last week has been for us all! We’re now at a pivotal point as there’s less than 2 weeks to go...! Such an incredible journey! Thanks for being a part of it!

🎧 What I’m listening to

Big Black Plume album from Michael Beach! A very dear friend of mine who is also a Club Member shared this incredibly beautiful musical journey with me last week, and it struck me so much, it kinda followed me everywhere ever since.

Please, always feel free to share some great tunes with me, as I could build a Club playlist and add some of the songs you send my way on a weekly basis?! Just a thought, but I think this could be a wonderful experience...!

No Music No Life!

📖 Reading highlight I’m pondering

Sandra, our beloved manager at La Maison de Tanger, invited us for a late dinner last Wednesday evening on the rooftop of La Maison, an invitation we all obviously were delighted to accept!

We were all in awe looking at the sun going down, leaving incredible colors in the sky above the sea, one of those moments where no one speaks and we’re all lost within our own thoughts, being grateful to be right here right now with people you truly love!

As we were about to gather around the table, after the sun left the stage in grand style with a few encores, Sandra offered me this wonderful book called Tangerois Forever written by Roland Beaufre, who is an internationally renowned photographer. His photographs have appeared in many art and design publications, including The World of Interiors, Marie-Claire, and Cosmopolitan. He arrived in Tangier in the 1960s and photographed pretty much everyone who lived or came here, from Malcolm Forbes' 70th anniversary party to Paul Bowles, the legendary Mohammed Choukri, and, of course, Tahar Ben Jelloun.

This book is incredible! Loaded with short stories and wonderful photos of those old souls and misfits who made this city transcend this country and made us feel like home as soon as we came here for the very first time.

I really love those books...! Those stories...! Those people who were all seeking something deeper and greater than their own selves. Some got lost in this journey while some found themselves in the end, but nonetheless, they are Tangerois Forever!

Too much freedom can be overwhelming; this is what Tangier is all about.

🎧 Podcast I’ve Enjoyed The Most

All One Song - A Neil Young Podcast featuring Steve Shelley

I really had such a blast one morning last week while I was running early in the morning on the beach sidewalk! For me to hear Sonic Youth's drummer sharing golden bits about the band opening up for Neil Young, how they struggled with the crew, and how hard and life-changing this tour has been on them was incredible!

The podcast is about an artist talking about a Neil Young song and explaining why they chose that particular song, since choosing a favorite one from Young is an impossible task, he simply has too many great songs!!!

I discovered Steve’s record label was called Vampire Blues because of this Neil Young song and so many more great things! I had the chance to meet Steve once, and he’s such an incredible human being, always faithful to himself!!!

Enjoy!

📸 My Picture Of The Week

Here’s a picture I took of my own “work station” in the incredible Fajar Soul Dweller studio! This is where I’ve been spending countless hours since we got here in mid-June! This studio session has been my favorite one since we got started back in 2006. Can you imagine how crazy that is...!

This very rich and unforgettable taste and perfume of freedom is simply spread all across the room, and it’s so good to be a part of this journey. It’s also the very first time for me being part of the entire new album writing and recording process since all those years...! I can’t be happier than now!

I wanted to immortalize this moment and to share it with you...!

💬 Shared in the Long Shadows Chat this week

Alex shared in one of his last week's Substack publications, “We are here. Not still here. Here.” and this sentence played a huge role in our conversations all week long!

To me, there’s a world of difference between still being here and being here.

To be still here implies survival, endurance through time, through storms, through afflictions, as if we remained by default or because we had no other choice.

But to be here, simply here, is a conscious presence. It’s to exist by intention, not by inertia. It means we’re not held in place by the past, by the need to prove something, or by fear.

We are here because we choose to be. Because we long to be. Because we recognize the meaning and significance of being present in this very moment, together, with everything that brought us to this point and everything we still carry.

“We are here.”

As in: awake.

As in: together.

As in: undeterred by time, pain, or detours.

As in: ready to embrace what this moment has to offer, and who we’ve become through the journey.

Another huge week has already risen for us…! Can’t wait to share more with you next week!

Let’s be great to one another!

Your chief operator and friend,
Jeff

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