Balearic Breakfast | Episode 108 | I can't go for that...
- by The Lioncub
- Oct 4, 2022
- 10 min read
Updated: Apr 16
Worldwide FM broadcast the 109th episode of Balearic Breakfast on October 04th 2022.
About this show. ‒ This 108th episode of Balearic Breakfast was a special one for all of us, and you'll hear it very clearly in the first part of the show... With Worldwide FM pausing its activities (more about this here), we knew that the show would go on, and we also knew our Captain was not ready to leave the Balearic Breakfast ship on its own... Yet, somehow, life had a master plan as our requests were all going in the same direction: one of a calm decided and affirmed opposition to what was happening. Balearic Breakfast was Our Show, and it would always be that way no matter how hard the times or the situations!
Listen back to the 108th episode of Balearic Breakfast:
PLAYLIST
(1993) Golden Girls – Kinetic (David Morley Remix)
(2022) Chronixx – Never give up
(1974) Dadawah – Seventy-two Nations
(2019) Feater – Time Million (feat. Vilja Larjosto)
(Blood Shanti Main Version)
(1972) Cymande – The Message
(2022) Jazxing – W Uścisku
(1978) Lucio Battisti – Prendila Cosi
(1973) Vangelis – Let it happen
(1977) John Tropea – Short trip to space
(2019) HF International ft Kasif – I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)
(Kaoru Inoue Extended Disco Dub Remix)
(2023) ASHRR – Fizzy (Felix Dickison Remix)
(2021) Roundtree – Get on Up (Get on Down) [Moplen remix]
(1986) Rebles – Sweetest Taboo (Soca)
(1979) G.Q. – Make my dream a reality
(1995) Mondo Grosso – Souffles H (King Street Club Mix)
(2013) Brian Ferry – Don't stop the dance (Todd Terje Remix)
(1992) Danny Tenaglia – Equinox (Heavenly Club Mix)
THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE
A huge sun almost blinds you with its shining power. Covering your eyes, you're almost drawn into another world, a world of unity, hope, and musicality with a Family like you've never met before. This is our time, this is our show, this is our world, and we stand here tall, facing any event that might destabilise our peace. This pulsating and strong image, with the ocean there, in the distance, is precisely the one that Kinetic conveys as this 108th edition of Balearic Breakfast starts. Golden Girls were Michael Hazell and Orbital's Paul Hartnoll. The David Moraley Remix can also be found on the fourth volume of Mark Barrett and Pete Gooding's La Torre Ibiza compilation series.
This show is all about resistance. As Tori Amos wrote in her memoir, "Being in opposition to something is to be in a position of power". And this is exactly what Colleen conveys here; she always knew how to find the right words during the show's darkest days to cheer us up, as she says: "October is one of my favourite months, a season of change, and boy, change is really in the air right now. And it's something I'm experiencing both personally and professionally. Although change is the only constant, I can tell you it can be very difficult to deal with. I'm sure we all feel that especially when you have to deal with major obstacles and challenges that are beyond your own control. Sometimes it may feel easier to take the path of less resistance or to adopt a defeatist attitude. But if it's something important to you, something that you believe in, and the cause is just, then you have to do something about it and take action for what is right." And, going straight to the point, the next few songs are about resistance. First, because of the lyrics, of course, but also because of the musical genre, reggae. We know that music often stayed at the forefront of some of the major crises humanity experienced, and so did Reggae, which has come to be regarded as quintessential protest music (e.g., Anne Schumann's "Music at War: Reggae Musicians as political actors in the Ivoirian crisis") – also explaining why Gainsbourg chose to cover the French National Hymn "La Marseillaise" with Bob Marley's musicians, flying to Kingston and saying, being forced to cancel a show in Strasbourg in 1980: "I gave the Marseillaise its true sense back! (...)".
So it's no surprise that the Balearic Breakfast Family came to choose some strong Reggae tracks, including:
Chronixx's "Never give up": born Jamar Rolando McNaughton, this new song sounds like a classic Roots and Reggae tune! The singer is joined here by the Skankin Sweet band and encourages listeners to keep their heads up high through the downs of life – Interestingly enough, the track was produced by Dean Josiah Cover (Inflo), producer to Little Simz, Michael Kiwanuka & Cleo Sol, just to name a few!;
Dadawah's "Seventy-two Nations" : born in 1943, Michael George Henry, better known as Ras Michael, is a Jamaican reggae singer and Nyabinghi specialist [Note 1], still making music to this very day;
Feater's "Time Million (feat. Vilja Larjosto - Blood Shanti Main Version)": the Vienna-based Daniel Meuzard, who goes under the name Feater, has released four albums, "Time Million" being taken from his 2019 LP, Sociale Blanco. This song, despite its cool rhythm holds very strong lyrics perfectly fitting our battling mood... (If time is a nation of mood / I am a dictator, insane, sovereign / If time is the currency I am Mother Teresa, I’m a millionaire/ I count a heartbeat, I breathe)!;
Cymande's "The Message": the British funk group's name derives from the calypso word for "dove," symbolising peace and love. They had an incredible career in the United States (headlining the Apollo Theater in New York in 1973) but were hardly noticed in their home country. Although they split up in 1974, their music was sampled by many artists worldwide, including the French rapper MC Solaar, and a new documentary telling their story is out!;
For the next few songs, although the musical style and rhythm changed, the message the Balearic Breakfast Family felt the need to share stayed the same, even growing in intensity, I feel...:
Jazxing's "W Uścisku": I interviewed the Polish band here on the blog. Taken from their "Pearls from the Baltic Sea" studio album, the song is also a tense and futuristic love declaration (lurking towards the sonic flairs of artists like David Bowie, as the band explained in this interview) where a couple seems to face Absence by sticking together in an embrace...;
Lucio Battisti's "Prendila Cosi": a beautiful song, and quite long actually, dealing with the endless love one can feel for a lost lover [Note 2]. Despite the years, nothing really changes... Another way of transmitting today's show strong feeling of togetherness for sure... The album, which got very successful (translated:"A woman as a friend"), was recorded by Battisti in England (for the first time), and the pop arrangements met conversation-style Mongol lyrics dealing exclusively with relationships and everyday situations;
Vangelis' "Let it happen": this song from Vangelis' 1973 "Eearth" studio album takes us into a more trippy part of the show where it seems Destiny takes its place - for a great interview about the way Vangelis composed, click here (this feeling is firmly enhanced by John Tropea's "Short trip to space" and reflected in this post's illustration picture!);
As always, Colleen is leading us Musically. Can you feel her holding your hand through these three songs: Let It Happen, Short Trip to Space, and I Can't Go For That? This musical interlude (crafted with songs sharing a close sonic signature 😉) allows her to step up the rhythm and take us on a beautiful musical trip to the second hour of the show! There goes your WOW Effect in full bliss!
Without further ado, let's dive into the songs of the second part of the show :
should you be interested in discovering more about Kaoru Inoue, there's a great interview on Ban Ban Ton Ton about the Japanese DJ (see also here). Of course, Hall & Oates' song deals with boundaries (That song is about the music business, about not being pushed around by big labels, managers, and agents and being told what to do, and being true to yourself creatively. That's what that song Is about), and it fits this episode perfectly) and it has been "covered" by Simple Red [Note 3];
I interviewed ASHRR on the blog just a few weeks after they got signed and released Fizzy on vinyl. This is where the show gets even more interesting. After saying out loud that the Balearic Breakfast Family was not ready to quit, we all came back to what we all love the most: dancing and playing Funky tunes!
The Disco and funk/band Roundtree was a one-time act assembled by Kenny Lehman (who also put together the disco studio group Lemon). "Get on up" was found on the 1978 "Roller Disco" studio album - To find out more about the Italian producer Moplen, head over here;
Also known as D’ Rebel’s Band and led by St Vincentian band-leader and trombonist Denniston Young, Rebles helped define the soca genre outside of the Caribbean; the 1986 version of "Sweetest Taboo" sells on platforms for eye-watering sums but was reissued in 2019...;
featured on G.Q's 1979 album, "Disco Nights", "Make My Dream a reality" had a nice success peaking at the 8th position on the U.S. R&B chart and is a very Balearic tune indeed, I love the realism of the instruments on that one! As Colleen says, "that song should get you going this morning!";
with Mondo Grosso's (Shinichi Osawa) remix, Louie Vega effectively proposes a reconstruction of the original track with a definitely more direct and upfront approach ;
Colleen ends this beautiful dancing session by playing Todd Terje's astounding Remix of Brian Ferry's "Don't Stop The Dance", a version that is part of several new remixes by renowned DJs, including Greg Wilson, Idjut Boys, and Psychemagik, just to name a few;
ending the show with "Equinox" (a track created with pianist, composer and producer Peter Daou, including the vocal sample "I floated on a cloud" taken from one of the interview parts on Grace Jones's "Slave To The Rhythm": the intro of The Crossing (Ooh The Action)), colleen simply opens the gates to the next Balearic Breakfast show...
Footnotes:
[Note 1] Michael George Henry (aka Ras Michael and, for this lone release, Dadawah) was born in 1943 in Saint Mary Parish, in northeastern Jamaica. Henry was raised in a Rastafari community when the religious movement was still in its infancy and marginalized within Jamaica. It was there that he began performing Nyahbinghi, the Rastafarian devotional music that combines the influences of African drumming and Black gospel. Henry found himself in Kingston in the late 1950s where he worked for Coxsone Dodd at the legendary Studio One. By 1968, he had formed the group Sons of Negus and the first overtly Rasta record label, Zion Disc. As Rasta filtered into the mainstream, Henry released more music including albums for Trojan, Dynamic and Grounation labels. Originally released in 1974, Peace And Love - Wadadasow is Dadawahs magnum opus. Produced by Lloyd Charmers, the album features slinky basslines, wah-wah guitar, hypnotic keyboards, dubbed-out studio trickery and, of course, the propulsive drumming and rhythmic chanting characteristic of Nyahbinghi. Antarctica Starts Here presents the first widely available domestic release of Peace and Love - Wadadasow. This reissue is part of an archival series that focuses on Trojans essential 60s and 70s catalogue. Liner notes by JR Gonne.
[Note 2] Battisti and lyricist Mogol (Giulio Rapetti) together have penned some of the most memorable hits of the 60s and 70s, shaping the course of Italian song. Confidently mixing Italian melodies, R&B, rock, pop and Latin beats, Lucio Battisti’s music and Mogol’s lyrics united in perfect harmony. Battisti’s suffering vocal style, his soft but high-pitched voice supported by an intense and rough energy, and Mogol’s brilliant lyrics, with their intimate, colloquial quality, have earned these two artists extraordinary success lasting for decades.
Their collaboration began in 1965 and ended in 1980, when the two permanently parted ways, but their songs were performed by world-famous Italian and international artists such as Mina, Ornella Vanoni, Patty Pravo, Paul Anka, Gene Pitney, Wilson Pickett, and Tanita Tikaram. The voice of Battisti himself, unique and unmistakable with its falsetto overtones, immediately became a trademark of the singer-songwriter. In Italy, the binomial “Mogol-Battisti” became as famous as McCartney-Lennon, or Gilbert and Sullivan were in the English-speaking world. Their songs of love and loneliness told the stories of the new Italian urban society, with its contradictions and its predominantly masculine instincts. And it is precisely this crisis of masculinity which emerges clearly from certain songs (...) “E penso a te” (“I Think of You”) and “Prendila così” (“Take It As It Comes”) address, in nostalgic tones, the theme of ended relationships and the persistent thought of lovers. “Una donna per amico” (“A Woman for a Friend”) resolves, with nuanced irony, the tenderness and good-natured jealousy of a friendship between two people of the opposite sex.
[Note 3] I look back on Sunrise as a pivotal track, maybe one of the most significant of my career – but it might just as easily have never happened. I had been briefly side-lined from the recording sessions Mick had begun with the band at his home studio in Surrey. A chance meeting with Ian Grenfell (the band’s manager) found me sitting in his car listening to the new recordings. I felt that Sunrise, with its strident chorus hook-line could make a great single and was asked by Ian to take a look.
Around that time I’d been working a lot with Mark Jaimes, Danny Saxon and Mark Jolley on some new projects and they had gone down to MVC in Chiswick to purchase a stack of CD’s to assess for potential samples. At the end of my session that day, I dropped in to see them, (they had a studio at Metropolis, too), and as I opened the door to their room, at that exact moment, the intro of ‘I Can’t Go For That’ by Hall & Oates was playing on the speakers.
A couple of weeks went by before Gota sent me the multi-track to Sunrise – I listened through to it with Mark and Danny and, recalling hearing I Can’t Go For That, I suggested we try it as a potential sample (‘mash ups’ being quite popular at the time). Miraculously it sounded like a hit straightaway, the key was the same, the tempo was the same to within a bpm or so, and where the sample finished, it broke naturally into Mick’s chorus and sounded as if it had been totally made for it. Mick Hucknall came on board and we worked on it together to completion. It went on to launch the album – the first on Simply Red’s own label – and helped it sell over three and a half million copies. Looking back, it also laid the foundations for the whole of the next chapter for my working relationship with Simply Red. The subsequent tour was sold out and the band’s trajectory took off once again.
I still sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t walked in on Mark and Danny at the exact moment they were playing that sample. A random twist of fate, you could say. I suppose I’ll never know the answer. But sometimes it does feel like someone’s looking over you and I can definitely say I believe in miracles.
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