An Alex Henry Foster & The Long Shadows dinner story..!
Oct 07, 2025
Hey,
I hope you’re doing well. It’s Monday morning, following what has been quite an incredible weekend around studio work, celebrating life and meaningful conversations, especially following Alex’s latest Substack entry about his visit to the neurologist office. No wonder I’m craving coffee…!
I hope you had an amazing and memorable week as well! Here are a few glimpses of what shaped ours around a traditional band dinner we had last week!
Enjoy!
🎧 What I’m listening to
I have been kind of obsessed with Beth Gibbons' (Portishead's singer) album, Lives Outgrown! I’ve been listening to this all week long! We had a band dinner last week, which is a tradition we have been embracing for many years, where every time we’re about to get really busy around a new album in the studio, someone in the band prepares a dinner and we come up with great topics, great music, and vibes…!
This time, it was Ben who welcomed us with his world-renowned Vietnamese soup! I seriously wish and hope you have the chance and opportunity to taste it someday! It’s insanely good!!!!
During this same dinner, Ben mentioned Beth Gibbons’ album as we were listening to great records aligned with vibes we wanted to explore in the upcoming weeks!
I haven’t been listening to her music for a while, and worse, I realized I never shared it with you, so here it is! And if I can suggest something, listen to it in your best possible headphones!
📖 Reading highlight I’m pondering
During that very same band dinner, conversations are, of course, always circling back toward this world we live in…! We’re all moved by it, feel attached to it, and feel compassionate even if there are more and more things I don’t understand, its challenges, the direction it’s taking, its uncertainties, but of course, our role in it and how we can contribute by bringing something great and elevating the conversation above the actual noise.
Alex’s Substack entry titled I Just Can’t Keep Secrets, where he shares about an unbending measure of love, of compassion and hope, has been a huge part of our dinner conversation, this being the cornerstone of not only who we are working really hard to maintain and grow better at, but also the real essence of what we want to share musically with you all!
It was a few days later, as we were working late in the studio one night, that this conversation came back again with a great dose of passion and compassion toward the opaque cynicism we’re deeply surrounded by following the reading of Nick Cave’s The Red Hand Files called “I’ve had several disagreements with friends about where you stand on things. Where do you…stand?”
I truly enjoyed how Nick positions himself, as it really was aligned with our point of view and conversations as well. A position not really shared by the media since it’s not really good for clicks and headlines!
Nick said “I believe we have an obligation to assist those who are genuinely marginalized, oppressed, or sorrowful in a way that is helpful and constructive and not to exploit their suffering for our own professional advancement or personal survival.”
And he continued “I stand with the world, in its goodness and beauty. In these hysterical, monochromatic, embattled times, I call to its soul, the way musicians can, to its grieving and broken nature, to its misplaced meaning, to its fragile and flickering spirit. I sing to it, praise it, encourage it, and strive to improve it – in adoration, reconciliation, and leaping faith.”
Read it all here.
🎧 Podcast I’ve Enjoyed The Most
Modern Wisdom - The Art of Living a Courageous Life
Last Wednesday evening, we left the studio at around 10:30 at night, all exhausted since this journey we’re on is quite heavily driven by this world that moves us all, which brings this sense of emergency to regroup, to gather, to go back to the basics of it all!
As I got back into my office following up on a few things before heading home, I really got sucked into this amazing podcast called Modern Wisdom, where Matthew McConaughey was invited to share about his new book, Poems and Prayers! The title got my attention as it says The Art of Living a Courageous Life which deeply resonates with me, especially as we’re navigating those actual troubled waters…!
I’ve never been a fan of McConaughey, not until I watched the Dallas Buyers Club movie, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, in which he truly unveiled how talented he was as an actor…! Then of course, True Detective and so on…! Ben bought me his previous book called Greenlights which I devoured in just one day as I was traveling from Tangier to Montreal back in 2021. I have really liked the guy ever since…!
In this podcast, he shares about bringing the conversation higher and believing in yourself, not only investing in yourself…! To look into reasons to find the rhymes, and the difference between being good vs being nice! Really liked it…!
📸 My Picture Of The Week
As I previously shared with you regarding my daily rituals following Alex’s early days on Substack around the release of A Nightfall Ritual, I really love to go out for a run in the morning…! There’s no better way to get the day started for me since it simply allows my heart and my mind to align themselves regardless of what happened or not the day before and to embrace new promises as the sun slowly comes up!
October in La Belle Province of Quebec brings its loads of wonders as summertime is quickly left behind and the temperature already goes down to 1 degree Celsius (33 Fahrenheit). The air is crisp, surrounded by lovely odors of leaves as they start changing colors and even falling down on the streets where I’m pretty much alone, finding rhythm between my heartbeat and my breathing. The birds also started to migrate, invading the skies above my head every morning, all singing while forming a beautiful V. It’s pure poetry in motion, everything around me is…! Really love this time of the year!
These moments allow me to reflect on what today will be made of even if deeply within I know that, like always, chances are it will be very intense and filled with many challenges to properly lead and serve, to hopefully inspire, and to find the proper inspiration to create and give life to something brighter and greater than my own self!
That beautiful scenery stopped me from running by its purity and perfection, which only nature can provide in such fashion…! A very few things can radically stop me from running except the rain, but this simply was perfection in motion, and as it moved me a lot, I also wanted for it to do the same to you! I wish you a wonderful day!
💬 Shared in the Long Shadows Chat this week
Alex shared an incredible text about the new album we’re working on right now during that very same dinner, and it’s been one of the greatest things I’ve read in a long time. He shares about what sparked the idea to give birth to this project and all of what he personally went through and has been moved by in such a way that it gave birth to so many deep and meaningful exchanges in this chat. It was really beautiful.
I would like to give more details of this with you, but I unfortunately can’t as I’m writing this, but I had to tease you a little or inform you, depending on how you see this, but I can tell you that we’re on such a humanity-driven journey. It really inspires me to be surrounded by such wonderful people on a daily basis…! What a treat I’m so grateful for!
I really can’t wait to have the privilege to share what this is all about with you!
Hang in there, it should be quite soon! It will be quite soon! Maybe not soon enough but still - soon! :)
Let’s be great to one another!
Your friend and Chief Operator,
Jeff
