The Love Space Demands

DJ Lynnée Denise (LA, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, London, Saturn)

The Love Space Demands, is a choreopoem published in 1991, by Ntozake Shange. In it she returned to the blend of music, dance, poetry and drama that characterized For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide....Her work has been described as sexy, discomforting, energizing, revealing, occasionally smug, and fascinating.”
This is true.
Ntozake Shange forces the kind of reflection that creates discomfort...growth. The first time I heard the words "The Love Space Demands" I paused and dropped everything. That's it. The space, the time, the clarity, the beauty and the pain that holds the hand of growing.
The process of creating a mix is an arduous one. I spend at least 3-6 months listening to each song repeatedly until I figure out the arrangement--the bigger picture. Driven by some of the hardest lessons learned by the heart, my house music rendition of Shange's choreopoem "The Love Space Demands" asks listeners to consider the inspiring and transformative range of emotions that one can feel when riding through that journey called love. And then there's the letting go and doing it all over again. And i'll do it again. Every time. Heartbreak is an opportunity. Each song tells a story of contradiction, understanding, betrayal, yearning, unconditional love, tenderness and surrender.
Last night, around the same time I completed this mix, my best friend, Mr. Asadullah Saed created a new life with this poem. Divine Timing. I read his words and realized they were the liner notes for this mix. Enjoy. Press play, tune in. See track list at the end of the poem...
The Feeling After (poem)
I am fighting to be grateful
no thank you
grateful
I'm trying to see you
love me again
still
but again different
maybe a friendly love
an old love
my love again
thanks for everything
kiss your hand for me
because I can't
may never will
again
getting out of bed
slower than sleepy
loved you to pieces
maybe
one day
you can read this
and laugh
maybe one day
we will laugh
together
even in rain
even in hard times
may there be few
ancestors
want us to be better than okay
ashe
I want us to be better
than we waz
better than we loved
ourselves
dancing in circles
surviving
doing our best
at that particular time
my dear
darling.
A. Muhammad
1. Love Cannot Eric Ericksson
2. Invitation to Dance (Vincemo Hang Sessions Mix)
3. Green & Yellow (Original)Arnaud D feat. Heidi Vogel
4. Linda (Da Capo's Touch) Ralf GUM feat. Oluhle
5. Move It (Original Mix) [feat. Mindgames] Dj Whisky
6. World Is Good [feat. Rona Ray] Chymamusique & DJ Claude
7. Alone (Zakes Bantwini Mix) Liquideep
8. Still (V Underground Mid-Day Mix) Monocles & Slezz ft Vusani
9. You Dont Deserve Me (Rosarios Touch Mix)Reel Skaps ft Man DO
10. Made Me A Fool (Abicah Soul Remix) Gino Brown feat. January
11. Violet Remix Pack - Chapter 1 (Hallex M & Loic L Remix) Oscar P & Marcus Pearson
12. Day By Day (Day By Day (Spigelsound Mix) Research
13. God's Message Marlon D pres. Ultra Nate
14. Heart Beat Zaki Ibrahim
15. Nozomi Yusuke Hiraoka