A and I both remarked at how long it had been since we sat with a friend and actively listened to music. Actively listening to music feels like exercise sometimes in that one tends to avoid doing it. But once you do it feels beautiful, you are helping your body to align with the frequencies. We had a beautiful meal, fattoush, kufte in tray, and kibbe nayeh.

First thing these days when hanging out with friends is trying and failing to comprehend the disaster that continues to unfold in Palestine and Lebanon, the barbarity of the Israeli Occupation Forces and the tragedy of death and trauma on a scale and in a detail that just dismays. Learning to live whilst these events unfold is not easy, but we both appreciated sharing the time, eating good food, relating with one another and listening.

Recently with L we remembered how good Dawn Of Midi were, then they showed me Goat, from Japan. Simillarly A is really into the wild polyrhythmic patterns and showed me Dream Theatre and Archive. We went through a lot of different music showing each other things with the polyrhythmic appreciation in mind.

We ended the night on with Dhafer Youssef, then Promises, by Pharoah Sanders, Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra. We listened in silence and the piece demands of you when you listen. a last prayer.