Balearic Breakfast | Episode 194 | Meeting ASHRR
- by The Lioncub
- Sep 24, 2024
- 25 min read
Updated: Sep 27, 2024
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 194th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on September 24th 2024.
About this episode. – In this festive episode, the family was all smiles during the chat and seeing Colleen laugh while cueing records was one of the highlights of today's show! Some members of the Family even started wondering if there would be a way to record the chat along the video and be able to watch the whole show that way at a later date, to which our Captain sadly answered that only the audio was being archived. Who knows, maybe one day, this will happen?!
In the first part of today's episode, Colleen proposed a few new tracks to discover, along with a few heartfelt musical tributes to friends. The second part featured her interview with two members of ASHRR, who are celebrating the launch of their latest studio album, "Sunshine Low":
"This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now archived on my Mixcloud for your listening back pleasure at https://shorturl.at/4igqu . On today’s show I’m joined by Josh and Ethan of Ashrr and we have a chat about their new album ‘Sunshine Low’ on 20/20 Vision Recordings . It’s a great record and they put together a great one-hour mix for us, too.
I’m still on a high from our London Loft party this past Sunday and thank you to our amazing, positive team and to all of the dancers who brought their spirit to the floor. I’ll be riding the mighty glory all the way to this coming weekend when we do it all over again in Italy at our Last Note party – closing out the summer in style (and the weather looks great, too). And for those who want to join us in London – our next Loft party is the 8th December and reservations are going out next week."
Listen back to the 194th episode of Balearic Breakfast:
PLAYLIST
Colleen's Mix
(2024) Mark Barrott – Pandora
(2024) Jonson Jonson & Jonson – Keep Falling for It
(2024) 100 Poems – Song for Claire (Your Life is Your Life)
(NOL) Steely Dan – Glamour Dub
(Francois K Live Stems Mix)
(2024) Ben Gomori (ft. Daisybelle) – Inside Melody
(2022) Eparapo (ft Dele Sosimi) – From London to Lagos (WheelUp Remix)
(2024) Mim Suleiman – Chunguza (musclecars Remix)
(2024) Opolopo x Alafia – Axxanxxan
(1974) The Blackbyrds – Walking in Rhythm
ASHRR Mix
(2022) ASHRR – No Garden
(2024) Hiatt DB – Paris, Tx
(2006) Hugh Masekela – Afrobeat Blues
(1978) Robert Palmer – Night People
(1972) Milton Nascimento – Trem De Doido
(1975) Herbie Hancock – Sun Touch
(NOL) The Police – Voices Inside My Head
(Ashley Beedle/DJ Harvey Mix - ASHRR Edit)
(NOL) Nile, Lovebirds – Shut The Lights Out (ASHRR Edit)
(NOL) Stone Roses – Fool's Gold (ASHRR Edit)
(NOL) Modern Romance – Salsa Rappsody (ASHRR Edit)
(2024) ASHRR – Please Don't Stop The Rain
(2012) Roxy Music – Love Is the Drug (Todd Terje Disco Dub)
(2024) Ibibio Sound Machine – Pull The Rope
(NOL) The Clash – This is Radio Clash
(Outside Broadcast Remix - ASHRR Edit)
THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE
What happens when a chapter ends, where do you find the strength to go on, what pulls you through your pain and your worries, what can heal your wounded mind, where to physically put yourself, what to do with the freed time, where to look, which choice to make? Endless questions in a dark sea of possibilities... But everything is always conceivable, everything is in your hands, throw yourself into tomorrow's today, don't think, forget, don't try to reproduce what was, scrape everything, destroy the ancient with a new you never thought about and move, move, move on, one step after the other, without ever looking back. That's what "Pandora" told me while I was listening to it.
This track deals with unfolding promises you must take into your hands to make them grow... Interestingly enough, here are Mark's words about this track "Pandora is about the immediate aftermath of grief where you know that any memory or photograph will open Pandora’s box and out of it pours this Tsunami of emotion that will engulf and temporarily drown you. But you do it anyway because the second or so of pleasure and comfort the memory brings is worth the tidal wave that follows"
Listen back to Colleen's interview with Mark Barrott (Ep. 157):
With such an opener, it seemed clear there was something Colleen needed to share and if you listen to the show you'll understand how much this moving musical piece may have struck her inner chord... There's a lot of movement at the start of today's episode, but it's nothing closed, there's no fear (there's some pain of course), sure enough, but these feelings are the ones pulling you through, because somehow through loss, love always shine there... We feel the marching force in the second track too (Keep Falling for It), even though it's more relaxed, but there's that feeling of going on, this feeling is enhanced by the sonic unity of these two first songs, they share the same "grandeur" and of course, a very close "Balearic" Soul.
This marching feeling, although embodied with a light grief, is very present too in the track of today's episode (Song for Claire (Your Life is Your Life)), the words we hear at the beginning being taken from Charles' Bukowski "The Laughing Heart" and here read by none other than Tom Waits. And, on the top of that, Colleen's message is constructed inside an absolutely romantic triptych mix, the number three standing for sun signs, moon signs and rising signs and is also associated with religious beliefs, reaching towards eternity...
your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
Then, there's a silence in the mix, and a stylistic change, if I can put it that way. We're still in the midst of somewhere, but there's a goal now, we're not only reaching out to anything out there, there's light appearing and a voice to follow (Glamour Dub (Francois K Live Stems Mix)). Speaking about voices, and lights to follow, it's interesting to know that "Glamour Profession" portrays the story of three different LA characters. The short stories might be told from the viewpoint of a drug dealer or even of cocaine itself; all interpretations are welcomed in light of what has been presented at the beginning of this episode... I'll let You think about Possibilities right now, laughs!
The second half of the first hour of today's show has a more positive feeling, even though it keeps the ethereal element very present (Inside Melody – London producer and DJ Ben Gomori here featured with the London-based Puerto Rican-born producer and DJ Daisy Belle, this track being taken from Ben's forthcoming album, Collapsing Time).
As always, positivity comes knocking at the door with the Balearic tune that is "From London to Lagos" by Eparapo (Eparapo is bassist, composer and producer Suman Joshi, who's been part of Dele Sosimi's Afrobeat Orchestra for a decade. And he's also performed with Tony Allen, Sean Cootie, Ginger Baker, Laura Mavula).
Once again, and interestingly enough: "The word “eparapo” means “join forces” in Yoruba, the language of Afrobeat. It’s also the title of a track by the late, great Tony Allen – drummer for Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti and lifelong friend and mentor of our very own “Afrobeat Ambassador”, Dele Sosimi. Not only did Tony help to invent Afrobeat, he always looked for ways to push the boundaries, never content with recreating what had gone before but constantly expanding and developing the genre. This project hopes to pay homage to his legacy, and that of Fela Kuti himself. Its aim is to innovate, fuse and diversify while still retaining the essence of the music.
The positivity keeps on growing as Colleen's mixing definitely liberates itself from any fog or any uncertainty with Musclecars's Remix of Mim Suleiman's Chunguza (Chunguza meaning exploration) thus perfectly fitting today's intellectual message! We went from uncertainty to exploration; now that's a beautiful path to follow, don't you think?! Keeping the vibrant beat alive, Colleen then Cosmically Drops the funky number that is Opolopo x Alafia's Axxanxxan, ending her set with a classic tune that was, of course, played by David at the loft, Walking in Rhythm by The Blackbyrds!
COLLEEN'S NEWS
Colleen is resuming her monthly Classic Album Sundays events. The next one is at the KEF Music Gallery, Wednesday 9th October.
Colleen will be joined by Keith Kilgo, a founding member of The Blackbyrds to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Flying Start, which came out in 1974 and features "Walking in Rhythm", a hit in the US and a loft classic.
Also, on Monday, 14th October, Classic Album Sundays presents Saint Etienne at The British Library with National Album Day, celebrating the 'Foxbase Alpha' album with Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs (click here to join the live stream).
EVENT ALERT
Join ASHRR and Balaeric Burger to celebrate the release of Sunshine Low album listening party 🎉.
Live chat with the band members and the full album will be played!
ASHRR INTERVIEW
[Colleen]
Well, we have ASHRR here in the studio and they have a new album coming out on 2020 Vision Recordings on September 20th. And I have been supporting and playing their singles here in Balearic Breakfast and you all love them.
This is their second LP and it's a really ambitious album because I believe it's a double album. It has 13 songs. And with me today here in the studio, we have Josh Charles and Ethan Allen talking about their new record.
Well, I wanted to talk about your pedigree a little bit because you are a trio who have quite a history in music. We're certainly not telling the story of three bedroom producers getting together and just giving it a go and seeing seeing what happens. So let's start with you, Josh. First, can you tell us a little bit about your musical history?
[Josh]
I started playing piano when I was a kid. I guess I was quite good at it. I was concert trained and I was also into rock and roll. When my parents grew up, I grew up with Motown music in my house. I started listening to Van Halen and I was like, I want to do this for a living. I got to do this. And so I started piano when I was about eight. At about 12 years old, I discovered New Orleans piano, and I'm on a blues station in Kansas City where I grew up and it blew me away. And I was like, I can't play this, but I have to learn how to do this.
So I became obsessed with jazz and New Orleans piano. And when I was a teenager, somehow by kismet, I ended up meeting Dr. John. And he became my mentor for a good 10 years or so from my early middle teens into my late twenties.
Just really taught me so much, very informally. But we both lived in New York and so got a lot of time to spend with him. And so I think that part of my background has always been there, but I was also in rock bands, went through the major label system of being swallowed up and never putting out records.
Finally went independent and made my first record, I guess. And it was called, it was like a, I called it No Town Music, New Orleans meets Motown style. The years go on, I ended up doing a bunch of songwriting, ended up moving to Nashville. I met Steven Davis, who was our singer. He was a former big band singer who had headlined the Rainbow Room and everything. And my background was also in this music. So he and I connected, we wrote a bunch of music together in that style. Ended up coming out to LA, we were recording five or six big band albums, full orchestra that I produced and wrote. And we then said, this is a crazy venture. Let's try and do something a little less expensive and a little less, maybe a bit more, it was like for licensing. And then we ended up kind of going into the direction we're after headed. And so I met Ethan through a friend, and he introduced me over to him and we'll take that part of the story. But that's essentially my basic pedigree in a small couple sentences.
[Colleen]
That's incredible. I mean, I've never had an answer like that. And my gosh, Dr. John, that's, I mean, I discovered him when I was, I guess, 18, the first album, Night Tripper. And I was like, oh, my gosh, I became obsessed. Absolutely obsessed. I did see him play in Japan once in 1989.
How about you, Ethan? You have quite an interesting history in music as well.
[Ethan]
I started playing in bands and writing songs. In earnest, once I moved to Austin, Texas from my hometown, which is a small West Texas town. And then Austin was an explosion of new life that I hadn't seen before. And I also started working in recording studios there. Worked at a small studio for years where they would let me in at midnight and work on my own bands and other band stuff. And then started working at the two bigger studios in town, which were Willie Nelson's two studios.
So I went to work for him. And that's usually where the bigger traffic of bands started coming through. So I was an assistant engineer working on everything from Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams to the first Sublime record and the Butthole Surfers.
[Colleen]
I was going to ask, I was going to ask about the Butthole Surfers. I was like, on the edge of my seat there!
[Ethan]
And that was certainly in there. And Paul Leary, the guitarist from Butthole Surfers was a producer who was bringing in a lot of different bands and work. And so it opened me to a whole new world. And then all that time, my hero at the time amongst many, there was Daniel Lamois and Brian Eno. Daniel Lanois had a recording studio of his own in New Orleans, which is about 10 hours away. I drove there for a Beastie Boys concert and had been trying to work there. Wrote a letter a month for a year, but to no answer. There was no internet at the time. So I went and knocked on the door and they let me in and they said, Oh, you're that guy that's been writing letters.
And then once I was there, that was nonstop records, 24/7, for about five or six years. And it was a lot of major label work. I also got to meet Brian Eno and work with him a bit.
And he was part of the father of our line of producers and engineers there, Trina Shoemaker. And then a lot of great artists were coming through there. Everything from Sheryl Crow and R.E.M., Nigel Godrich. It was an unending stream of all kinds of things from ambient experimental music to rock and roll to electronic music. I did a record with Tricky and Angels With Dirty Faces. And then many, many things started happening, but it was a nonstop rollercoaster. And then moved out to Los Angeles, went freelance as a producer and a mixer and a composer, and also started playing in bands again. I played in a band called Gram Rabbit for years. Finally, our paths led Stephen and Josh and I to each other through mutual friends, other musicians who play with a lot of people.
And then we quickly found out that we had a really interesting cross-section of interests and talent. And it sort of very organically grew unplanned and quickly became something that we were pretty excited about. So we started doing it.
[Colleen]
It's interesting to hear your backgrounds, because they're so diverse. And these are references we don't always get in this kind of music and the kind of interviews that I'm doing for this show. So it's really exciting for me.
Now, you got together and your first LP, Oscillator, came out in 2019, just right before the pandemic. And I was listening to that today. And it definitely has more, it pulls from a lot of different areas. All of your music does. It's not easily pigeonholable. I don't think you could.
But it did have more of an indie vibe than the latest album. And I just wanted to kind of briefly go there. That came out in 2019. I expect you really didn't get a chance to tour it, correct?
[Josh]
We played a bunch of shows in LA. We didn't actually leave LA, we never toured it. We were actually getting ready to start doing some stuff. And then I mean, in one of our last shows was like four days before everything closed down. And that record was interesting, because when Ethan and I got together, we just were like, well, we're just gonna make, we're gonna experiment, right? We were trying to write around, at that time, we were just basically saying, let's write around Stephen's voice.
Like he's got this unique sounding voice, crooner, that Roxy, late Bowie-ish kind of things, like what if we wrote the music that kind of highlighted his voice, but also was this, we were into that art pop, you know, experimental stuff. And there's some really good stuff on that album. There's some, I'm proud of it. It was our first record ever. So it was definitely, it was a moment. And definitely we have some songs we still play from there and like a lot.
[Colleen]
Now with Sunshine Low, of course, you hear all these different sounds are in there. I can hear, you know, dream pop, I hear 70s psychedelia, I hear like kind of post-punk angular funk. There are no wave sounds like Talking Head, 99 Records, Wire. There's a lot of different things going on. But it definitely has more of a groove. And it's definitely more groove-based, this one.
And now the songwriting is still front and center, unlike a lot of other groove-based bands that I can tell they just start in the studio, start creating, start jamming, then layering lyrics on top. It seems to me that the songwriting is the front and center. Am I right in saying that?
[Ethan]
I would say on Sunshine Low, certainly. But it is even a bit more of a stretching out and groove-based initial work. That's also in this record, there was a new phase of that.
I guess I should also augment our history by saying that, not to speak for Josh, but both of us have always had a strong, certainly funk and soul, R&B and disco. And then that led to, you know, in my own past, starting in Austin, you know, here there was not as much of a rave culture, but there was one there. And the clubs that I used to hang out in, you know, everything was starting with industrial music, house music.
So that was kind of an initial introduction to it. And then, you know, house music wasn't something I really came into contact with until a bit later. And then suddenly there were these parties and warehouse parties, which in Austin and around Austin, Dallas, Houston.
So that was part of the culture that I knew about, but didn't always live in 100%. But it was certainly groove-based music and dance was always a part of something, one way or another. So when we started doing this, you know, I think a natural evolution without us even really just trying to do it, it began to become that. It was in us. It wasn't like a point of artifice or like, well, this is what we're going to do now. It was more that we just started making music that made us want to move.
[Josh]
So just to add to you, Ethan, we were in the middle of a pandemic and the music that we were writing at that time for me felt super dark and heavy. And I just, one day I kind of just snapped. I was just like, I'm just craving some kind of human connection. I just want to dance. I just want to make music that makes people want to move and get together. And we started experimenting, you know, with the sounds that where Sunshine became this album.
And one of the other things I think is very interesting is, yes, I didn't grow up with, like my dance music experience was Motown soul funk, New Orleans, but also in the 90s in New York, you know, Underworld, Temple Brothers, House of Ministry. I was into that stuff, but I really didn't know anything about house music or anything other than kind of what had permeated the indie scene in New York at that time. But I think what's really interesting is that we also have, when we write this music that is groove oriented, but our singer is not a soul singer.
So what makes this very interesting, I think, is that Stephen's not like a soul singer. He's not a house singer. He doesn't have that kind of voice. And I think if he did, it would sound a bit more typical. And I think what's very interesting about the way we work is that Ethan and I will always start with just a groove, usually some kind of vibe, something we want to do. Very rarely will there be a full lyric or any kind of lyric, maybe just some nonsense words.
Fizzy was just a demo called Fizzy, ended up staying that way. But I mean, I think Stephen's voice is so sort of thorny and different. He's not a soul singer, but he has soul.
And we just thought, what if we made this? We kind of like became fearless when it came to making Sunshine Low. Ethan was like, we love hip hop, we love soul. We didn't put that into that first album because we weren't sure, you know, was this going to work? And then we just got our confidence to a level where we're like, you know, fuck this, let's just do it. And we did. And I think that's so interesting when you hear Stephen sort of singing over these things where, you know, he's not like a chakaka, he's not like a green. And it just makes it the contrast is what I think is really special. And also when Ethan and I all sing, when we sing together, we have this very unique blend, obviously, as we would, that kind of makes the sound of the group in addition to what Mikey can sing.
[Colleen]
Now, we were talking earlier about our past musical touchstones, which we have, we share a lot of Van Halen, Butthole Surfers, Brian Eno, I can name it, you know, all these different ones. How do you feel about disco? And how did you initially feel about disco?
What do you think it is as well? And how has that transformed? It's a big question.
[Ethan]
I think when disco was in its prime, I was probably like eight or nine. But I was a rock and roll fan for sure. It was Led Zeppelin and Van Halen and all of that. And there was a definite world where you're either one of them, or you're one of them. But I think part of it was my best friend Wendell had an older sister who had a group of girls who had a disco dance club. And of course, I had a crush on her. And I would go there and they taught me how to dance along with my mom, who was someone who was a big dancer. And we would go out dancing. And those records, you had to kind of know what was going on.
And then suddenly I realized, oh, I love this music. This is very familiar to me. It reminded me of stuff that I already knew. I guess my initial impression of disco wasn't so much that it was disco. Obviously, I wasn't hanging out at Studio 54 at the time. It was more that this is great dance music that sounds like the R&B and stuff that I know. And I really got into it and then later discovered, of course, once you get older, the other aspect of it, the club nature and all of that. And it always was with me. I think when I got to New Orleans, there were amazing jukeboxes. So there would be George McCray, all kinds of stuff that were kind of in that in-between world of disco and other things that has continued through up to now.
[Josh]
When I started getting into post-punk music, Talking Heads, ESG, all that stuff to me had a sound, which I didn't know what it was. But it was the post-disco and post-funk. I loved straight up 70s funk. Obviously, I'm wearing a Meters t-shirt.
[Colleen]
New Orleans in the house. Y
[Josh]
Yeah, that was my thing. But I think what I didn't realize was that so much of the connotation, I grew up in the 80s and the connotation of disco didn't have any meaning to me. I grew up in Kansas City. As I got older, I realized that the original version of what disco was, which was early soul, funk and mixed records together to make them extend on the dance floor, had a lot of passion and a lot of soul.
So I was so into soul music, so into all this music. But disco, I think when I discovered the kind of electronic music that was coming out, Underworld, all that stuff, I don't think the word ever sat well with me, really. And then I kind of ignored it. And then in the late 90s, U2, who's one of my favorite bands, they put out Disco Tech. And I was like, whatever the sound is, I kind of like this. This is cool. And I went back and I started to get more into it. When Ethan and I were talking about it, now I talk about it a lot because I think of that feel, right? We talked about that P-Soup beat from the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes record, right?
It's like from that Love I Lost record. And that sound became the four on the floor straight disco beat that I love. And I guess I've always loved it. I just didn't know what it was called. And so I think there's a lot of that element in our music for sure. I love soulful disco and I love the documentary that you were in because it really talks about what the power of it was at the time and what it meant and to the culture and everything it represented.
And Ethan and I were talking about it after we watched the documentary and just saying like, man, it was just a special, a special moment. And then I really think my favorite period of it was really that post-punk thing when Blondie and Talking Heads, everybody started using that music together, mixed with Latin percussion and these funk grooves and that beat. I don't think that will ever go away. I think that's also something we embrace so much today.
[Colleen]
Yeah. I mean, disco can be looked at from two different angles. One, it's just dance music. It's morphed into different things. It morphed into house music. It morphed into all different types of sound. But it became a trendy term. And I think because of Saturday Night Fever, it was like this huge blockbuster hit. The soundtrack came out before the film. All of a sudden, you know, this sound that was really from nightlife and urban centers like New York City, like Philadelphia, all of a sudden became a household name in suburbia where I was growing up. And so people latched on to it. But because people latched on to it so quickly, then everyone left, right, and center is putting out a disco mix, copying the Earl Young kind of four to the floor, snares on the two and fours, eighth note hi-hats.
Oh, now it's disco because it has that drum pattern. So there's two different ways of looking at it. And I think most of middle America looked at disco like that. And so if I said the word disco, it was a bad word because of Steve Dahl and what he did at Kominsky Park, burning all those disco records. Also, it was quite ahead of its time in the sense that it welcomed all different communities. The people who are the purveyors in some ways were the LGBTQ community as well, as well as Black Americans and Latino Americans and all that.
So disco has a lot of different meanings for a lot of different people. But let's just look at it as an overall umbrella now. And what we do see, and I think you're right with the whole pandemic, you wanted to dance. And I remember having these kind of five to six hour house parties where I'd have cameras in this room and I'd be DJing through MixCloud Live and people are on Zoom and I'd just be dancing up a storm myself for like six hours because I really, really missed it. You know, people say there's a disco comeback. For me, it never really went away, but I can understand why people are saying that because you do see its influence and the kind of influence of the groove and dance music in general seeping more and more into pop music. I have a theory as to why I think that's the case, but I want to ask you, why do you think that's the case?
[Josh]
One of the songs we talked about a lot when we were making this record was Deee-Lite, with "Groove is in the heart". We were talking about that feeling like, oh, man, we should it'd be great to have something that just evokes this feeling, right? And this kind of like joy, but also it's really well done. I mean, you know, we will never sacrifice like sort of our musical integrity.
[Ethan]
Disco in particular amongst dance music has so much joy in it. And there was a starvation for joy. It's a very particular kind of dance music that infiltrated mainstream pop where it's infectious, but it's also mysterious and it pulls you out.
[Colleen]
Well, let's go back to this album and the album. Is this a double album? I mean, there's 13 songs.
[Josh]
Well, there's only 10 songs that fit on the vinyl. It's like 50 minutes. So we decided as Ralph was saying, you've got to cut it to a single album.
So we just took out a few songs from the vinyl sequence that will be on the digital. So if anybody buys the vinyl, they're going to get the digital as well, which has 13 songs.
[Ethan]
One thing in the process of making this particular record is, you know, we were sort of a prowless ship when we started making it. And then we then started doing things and then it began to have its own identity of sort of like a child. Then you have to kind of pay attention to its needs.
And then we went into an orgasmic frenzy of just like all this stuff started happening, including at the incredible encouragement of Ralph in 20/20, you know, opening us to other people remixing us and then us doing remixes of ourselves and the sound system aspect. That also then was another whole explosion, which then informed the actual proper record too. Suddenly what the record was both stretched out, became unrecognizable and then became more focused.
So it became more clear what songs and what spirits would make the album complete.
[Josh]
Some of the songs were older songs that we reworked, we rewrote. So Ethan and I had been remixing our songs. We actually put out a version of Sunshine Low, put out a version of No Garden, did our own versions of them because we were like sort of getting into the idea of remixes as a form of like, let's, we could do it ourselves.
We don't need to hire anybody. We'll do ourselves if we did. But then Fizzy, we wrote the song Fizzy and just felt like this feels sort of like a signature song for this album.
Like it has all of the elements that kind of define the album in a lot of ways. Almost, not everything, but I was like, hey, this Krungeman album of remixes came out, the Mordecai remixes, and I loved it. We both loved it.
And I was like, I loved Felix Dickinson's remix of Time.
[Colleen]
I love that one. Yeah.
[Josh]
So I just, I just texted him or sent him a DM and I was like, hey man, we've got the song Fizzy. We want to put it out. We would love to have you do a remix. We love the work you've done on the Krungeman record. So he's like, send me the song. So I sent him the song.
Three days later, I get a text from him. He's like, man, I love the record. I sent, you're going to be hearing from my manager. And I'm like, okay. And then I get an email from a manager named Annie. And I was like, wait a minute, this name looks familiar to me.
And then she was telling me, oh, she was the one who basically broke and brought Krungeman into existence. She was one of our favorite bands. Did not know that. Did not know that. And probably one of, maybe one of the biggest influences in the last few years, Bad Insult, that we both have.
[Colleen]
Oh gosh, yes. I'm with you.
[Josh]
I'm with you.
[Colleen]
Inflo is a producer.
[Josh]
We are absolutely team Inflo and team Krungeman. But we, but so Annie was like, oh, I love this song. Do you have more music? I'd love to know more about you. So she and I got into all these conversations and we sent her what was, I said, I would say maybe 70% of the final record that we had of Sunshine Low, which didn't have a title. And she was like, I love this record.
Do you have a record deal? I said, we have, we have our own label. We just put it out independently. And she's like, well, I have a couple of ideas for labels I think you'd be great for. And she mentioned Ralph. Six months later, Ralph's on board. Ralph has took a long time. Ralph's on board. He's signing us. He's like, I want a band. He's been wanting a band for a long time, but a band that has songs and a band that makes this indie dance category that he thinks has been missing right now. Cause we were talking about all the bands from like LCD and everything that, you know, they've had their, they're already massive.
He's like, there's another kind of sick cycle that's coming back and he really wanted to have that. And so he, he then agreed to sign us. Fields did the remakes and it was really Annie who kind of made this whole thing happen.
[Colleen]
It is good that you're on a UK label and it will do better for you. As an American transplant over here, I can tell you that they will embrace this more over here first because the Brits love a good banger. That's why. Well, this is a great album. As I said, it's really ambitious, great songwriting, great production. Your pedigree is amazing. Could you each just pick out one of your favorite songs on the album and tell us about it?
[Ethan]
I'll pick a "Different Kind Of Life". It's like all the songs on the record, just so interesting how it was a lightning in a bottle, what we started off with into where it became. And then it was sort of a spirit instrumentally that we really liked.
It had kind of a relentless, but joyous feeling to it. And then we all come together on the lyrics and really thought about that one. And that was one whole idea, kind of like the Buddhist idea of Samsara, that you're always wishing you had something more than the life that you have. And you're never quite satisfied enough with what you do have. And because of that, you're blocked from truly, fully appreciating. So enjoy this one, fully live the one you've got.
[Josh]
I guess if I was to really think about the song that defines the album, it would have to be "Fizzy". It goes from this sort of cool side, chill thing to like a New York City underground post-punk party. You know.
And then you've got the kind of earthy and fire vocals and you've got the synth things and doing all the weird arpeggiated synths and his flashlight guitar things. Just the way that song works. I'm astounded that it came out that way.
[Colleen]
Well, it's a great album. And for those listening, Sunshine Low is out on 20/20 Vision Recordings on the 20th of September. And good luck with the album. I hope that means you'll be coming over here to play live. Thank you so much for your time. And I'm looking forward to hearing more music. And thanks for coming on to Balearic Breakfast.
[Josh]
Thank you so much for doing this. We are a big fan and you've been really supportive. Balearic Breakfast, before we knew what the term was, I knew that we were on Balearic Breakfast. So it's like, oh God, what does this mean? Because Ralph kept saying, guys are the ultimate blank. You were one of the first early supporters of learning music. So we really just really were super grateful for that. So first of all, just want to say thank you!
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