Joshua Idehen’s ‘Music To Make Joy To’ Ransom Note Mix

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Music

Music that makes you feel deeply human…

There’s a version of events where Joshua Idehen is still behind a bar in the West End, coming home late, flicking through channels. But then came Dizzee Rascal on Channel U – that first-person rant, that stream of consciousness pouring into the void – and something locked into place. Nearly two decades later, the British-born Nigerian poet and spoken-word artist, now based in Stockholm, has signed to Heavenly Recordings and released one of the more quietly essential debut albums of 2026.

I Know You’re Hurting, Everyone Is Hurting, Everyone Is Trying, You Have Got To Try is out now. Made with his long-term creative partner Ludvig Parment (Saturday, Monday), it’s the full realisation of something that’s been building since the pair’s 2023 mixtape Learn to Swim — a record that holds you through it all: grief, euphoria, fatherhood, friendship, the liturgic pull of a club at the right moment. House beats, choral swells, Shabaka Hutchings on flute, a choir singing a melody Idehen himself composed. The kind of album that makes you want to wave your arms in the air and then call your mum.

The ride here wasn’t quiet. ‘Mum Does The Washing’ began life as a Twitter thread, set to Parment’s spacious beats, went viral, earned Idehen support from Jamz Supernova, Huw Stephens and Robbie Williams (yes, really), packed out Glastonbury and Green Man, and landed him a spot on Later… with Jools Holland. Sold-out Jazz Café dates followed. A headline European and UK tour runs through spring, culminating at KOKO in London on 23rd April.

To mark the album, Joshua and Ludvig have put together this mix of music to bring joy. Not one shade of it either. There’s unbridled joy (Peter, Björn & John, a Kanye recommendation from a different time), celebratory joy (“a today I don’t have to fight kind of joy,” as Ludvig puts it, via Primal Scream), defiant joy (Kendrick, for the days you will have to fight, but you’ll pull through). Soul II Soul shows up to preach and repeat. James Brown is just kind of everything. Caribou injects the dance floor with melancholy and joy at the same time, which is basically the whole project in a nutshell. And somewhere near the end, a Mesadorm song that made Joshua cry on first listen, second listen, third listen.

Music that makes you feel deeply human, as you’ve never felt before. Over to them.

Ransom Note · Joshua Idehen’s ‘Music To Make Joy `To’ Ransom Note Mix

And Joshua and Ludwig breaks down each track below:

Peter, Björn & John – Nothing To Worry About

This song is unbridled joy, and the last time I took on a recommendation from Kanye West. It was a different time, I am a different person, but this song is the same joy. (Joshua)

Primal Scream – Movin’ On Up

I think there are many different shades of joy and I’ve tried selecting songs that don’t necessarily gives me the same feeling. This one, not really a bold take but it’s one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite album and to me it really represents a kind of celebratory joy. A “today I don’t have to fight” kind of joy. (Ludvig)

Soul II Soul – Keep on Movin’

Keep on moving don’t stop now. Preach, learn repeat. (Joshua)

Laura Rivers – That’s Alright (Håkan Hellström Edit)

I’m not a religious person but as a person who grew up in a religious household, the affectations, when done right, do get a grip on me. This feels like a PS to A Change Is Gonna Come Imo.

Kendrick Lamar – Alright Alright

This one is more of a defiant joy, an “okay today I WILL have to fight, but I’ll pull through” kind of joy that is at least as important. (Ludvig)

James Brown – Get Up Offa That Thing.

This one, I guess, is just kind of everything, it’s defiant and celebratory. Again we’re not really doing any deep cuts here but it’s just a timeless classic. (Ludvig)

Susanne Sundfør – Leikar Luóõ

Sometimes what you need is a nordic voice letting you know This Is The Final Call to get you moving. (Joshua)

Danny Tenaglia, Celada

Music in the answer (Dancin’ and Prancin’) – My wife played this song to me just recently and I’m not sure if I already knew it or if it just has that ubiquitous vibe, in the best way possible, but yeah it’s been my go to song for the last couple of weeks. (Ludvig)

Caribou – You Can Do It

I don’t know, I feel like I could have chosen so many Caribou songs for this. He just has a real knack for injecting dance tunes with melancholy and joy at the same time, and this was one I really like and thought maybe some people haven’t heard before. (Ludvig)

Mesadorm – Easy

The first time I heard this song, I cried. The second and third listens were’t dry either. Music can make you feel deeply human as you’ve never felt before, sometimes. (Joshua)