Balearic Breakfast | Episode 209 | Meeting Tigerbalm & Family Gatherings (Dave Stod)

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 209th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on January 28th 2025.

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About this episode. – While enjoying her last moments in Lanzarote (a small town in the Canary Islands), our dear Captain streamed this beautiful episode that brought us so much hapiness! Although she did everything that could be done to ensure the episode would be streamed flawlessly, Colleen wasn't lucky as Mixcloud stopped working during David's mix! Sigh!

This episode was a very joyous one: Tigerbalm's mix was off the hook (the transcribed interview is here), David's mix (read the review here) was soulfoul as can be (he shared with us the luck he had, meeting Rose Robinson when she did a vinyl set in London), we celebrated Natalie Alleyne's Birthday and talked everything music on the chat! Our friend Macho Grande summed it all up perfectly by saying "Loving this, makes me wish I was on holiday and not sat in an office" 😂💕👌 And, for your complete information (we're doing our best here 😉) Colleen is heading to Massachussetts and NYC next week and she will be streaming the show at 5am!

"It’s the last day I can hang out with my new buddy in Lanzarote. I’m going to miss him!

This week’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud and features a guest mix and interview with @tigerbalmmusic . I have played many of her tunes and remixes on the show - tunes that are spread across labels like @razorntape and @ubiquityrecords . I know you’ll love her mix of global electronic beats. And she was kind of enough to take some time while on the road in Peru to have a chat about her music-making process and her forthcoming second album.

After that we have a guest mix from Balearic Breakfast family member @davstod . He has put together a gorgeous mix of orchestrated soul which will hopefully clear away the winter blues for our listeners in the Northern Hemisphere.

Thanks for those who joined on the Balearic Breakfast live stream - it was wonderful to be together as always. The ‘Request Line’ is back this Saturday and I look forward to your suggestions for next Tuesday’s Balearic Breakfast (and once again I’ll stream live from my Record Room).

Enjoy your week and thanks for listening!"

Listen back to the 209th episode of Balearic Breakfast:

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PLAYLIST

Tigerbalm's Mix

(1969) Stevio Cipriani – Mary’s Theme

(2020) Gitkin  – Chicha Nola

(2024) Yuksek, Diogo Strausz, Juveniles (ft Julia-Baptiste) – Pura Onda

(C'est pas I'oiseau Jam Mix)

(NOL) Tigerbalm (ft Jimena Angel) – Columbia Calypso

(1998) Aldo Sena  – Cumbia Reggae

(2024) Tigerbalm (ft Joao Selva) – Vem Ca

(2023) La Jungla  – Salto Palante

(2025) Dennis Liber  – Hidden Island

(1974) Trio Ternura – Filhos de Zambi (Bernardo Pinheiro edit)

(2020) Super Mama Djombo – Dissan Na M´bera (Suur Di No Pubis)

(Daniel Haaksman Edit)

(2019) Maria Bethania – Eu A Agua (Lov.ini Edit)

(2023) Coati Mundi – Me No Popeye (Juju Muzik Edits)

(2024) Tigerbalm (ft Joy Tyson) – Profunda Alma

(2021) Tania Alves – Fankiando Planador (Aroop Roy Rework)

(2022) Balkan Beat Box – Adir Adirim (Nickodemus Remix)

(2024) Emperor Machine – La Cassette (Tigerbalm Remix)

(2021) Mainline Magic Orchestra – MMO Theme

David Stoddard's Mix

(1971) Isaac Hayes – Early Sunday Morning

(1978) Jeffree – Mr Fix It

(1979) The Love Unlimited Orchestra – As Time Goes By

(1976) Leon Ware – Learning How To Love You

(1976) Diana Ross – One Love In My Lifetime

(1970) Shirley Bassey – Spinning Wheel

(1971) Labi Siffre – The Shadow of Our Love

(1964) Tenorio Jr. – Nebulosa

(1978) Lemuria – Hunk of Heaven

(1978) Chaka Khan – Some Love

(1978) Esther Phillips – Native New Yorker

(1977) The Originals – Call On Your Six Million Dollar Man

(1979) Mongo Santamaria – Watermelon Man (disco promo 12" version)

(1979) Angela Bofill – People Make the World Go Round

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TIGERBALM'S INTERVIEW WITH COLLEEN

[Colleen]

Greetings, I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy hosting your weekly Balearic Breakfast on my Mixcloud Live until high noon. And hello to the Balearic Breakfast family joining me on the live stream as always. Today we have two special guest mixes.

The first is from Tiger Balm, born in South London as Rose Robinson. She DJs and produces a unique sound that gathers African, Latin, and various world influences and somehow makes them work alongside modern electronic music. Her penchant for global music flavors is infectious and peppers her debut album, International Love Affair.

She has also done remixes for Nicodemus and Razor and Tape and Emperor's Machine, and she has a new album on the horizon in 2025. After that, we have a special Balearic Breakfast family mix from David Stoddard, who has been wowing us with his requests for the past couple of years. But first, it's over to Tiger Balm.

Now I'm here in the studio with Tiger Balm. I've been following her career for the last couple of years. She put out a fantastic album called International Love Affair in 2022 on Ubiquiti.

The following year, she had some great remixes on the follow-up album. And then just recently, she put out the Profunda Alma EP. She's put out great music on Ubiquiti, Razor and Tape, and Leng, and she's here in the studio with me now.

Hello, how are you?

[Tigerbalm]

Hi, I'm great, thank you. Thank you for having me.

[Colleen]

Oh, it's a pleasure. It's a pleasure. And the fact that you live just on the other side of the park from me and that I see you at the hairdressers is pretty cool as well!

We're official neighbors. Official neighbors, exactly. I just wanted you to kind of, if you could kindly recount how you got into music.

[Tigerbalm]

At uni actually, I just was clubbing a lot in London and would kind of hear the DJs playing and a lot of the West End clubs actually at uni and wanting to like, I'd quite often be that annoying person going, oh, can you play this song? Can you play this song? Or if it was a DJ, can you play that song that I loved last week? And was, yeah, just really into it. And I ended up just buying myself my own CDJs and started learning to mix at home and having little art parties. So that's how my first little DJ moment started.

It was during uni in London, but I had always been really into music. My mum and dad are so musical and they had a big record collection and a salsa and yeah, there was always music. My grandma's a singer, opera singer, so music was always like a massive part of me anyway.

So it was just like, I loved dancing. I used to do choreographs when I was younger. So it's just music and dancing have always been a big thread. And then it developed, I think like just, I found a couple of like styles of music I really liked. I was playing at Momo's a couple of years after getting quite good. I used to play, you know, there it was this kind of Moroccan world global sound and it was dance music, but more electro. And I found some music I liked and felt really at home there. And then struggled with the shift in genres and I just couldn't find music I liked. And I was sort of like, shall I make music?

And then I met a guy called David Baker, actually an old friend of mine who introduced me to new disco, but like more cosmic new disco, like Jaxophilus, really spacious cosmic sounds. And that was like, Ooh, I love this. So then I kind of started going to Hackney Whip, these mental warehouse parties that blew my mind because I was like, what is this music?

Oh my God. But it was like sacked off West London completely. I was going to these parties like Colours, it's like Guillaume Ronin. And yeah, the music was like a lot of Afro inspired mixed up with cosmic disco, but not too cheesy. And yeah, from there it was like, I just wanted to be a DJ. Every time I was at those raves, I was just staring to get there. I want to be there in that moment. And that was kind of like a goal. And unfortunately, by the time I'd established myself, all of the awesome raves got shut down, you know, but it was like a big inspiration for me to make music, to like embody those moments.

So yeah, I just started learning on 8th of June and worked a bit with my friend Christy Harper. We sort of were learning together. We tried making some music together as well, which was really fun and did some edits. And then yeah, I met my ex-partner, Isaac Gray, who we formed Earth Boogie, which was our production duo. And yeah, after that, after that relationship ended, I went on to do my solo career. So it kind of, it was very organic.

[Colleen]

Wow. It sounds really interesting. You have such a unique sound, which I love because as you mentioned earlier, it is influenced by global sounds and you're making it and, you know, bringing in this kind of electronic kind of modern dance element, which is really, really great. And it seems to me like when you first started in 2020, you did your first single with Ella Coco, and I see that our friends in New Zealand, Flamingo Pier, also did a remix. Now, were you initially just getting inspired by different places to make music?

[Tigerbalm]

Like on a psychological level, I've been somewhere in a moment and I want to make a song for that moment. And I'm often making the song I'm thinking about that moment. And I have, as an empath, like a strong ability to recreate feelings and emotions in the form of a memory. So Wacky Key from my first album was made because I played at Weekly Z Festival with Flamingo Pier. So when I was there DJing that set, which was amazing, I was like, I need to make a song that I could have played in that set.

[Colleen]

Wow. That's a great idea. That's fantastic. I played for them last year. I wish I had done that. They do have a song called Cosmic Sunset though, which I've kind of co-opted to play quite a bit. No, I can't call it my own. But they're great guys. So you got, that's how you got inspired to do your first release. And then after that, you started to get inspired from other cultures like Indonesia and also Brazil.

[Tigerbalm]

Exactly.

[Colleen]

Do you travel a lot?

[Tigerbalm]

Yes. So Ella Coco was started in Indonesia when I was still with Isaac. So we had to split our Erfugi tracks and that one, I was kind of really excited to have it because it was half done and I got to finish it off. And yeah, so that's what the Ella Coco was. And then everything after that has come from a trip. So if you look at the first album and you dissect it, like Labrisa on that album is called Labrisa from Beach Club in Bali. But like each name has a thread to something historically, like a bit like a diary, I guess. And yeah, I'm trying to think of the order of the songs now because so much stuff has come out. But yeah, the album was an amalgamation of my style from Erfugi into Tiger Bomb. So it was more deep electronic, more clubby. And as I've evolved, I've learned to work with session musicians and create more of a live sound.

So it's really like when I went to Brazil, I was like, how am I going to make this music, like this style of music? I'm like, OK, I've got to work with people. Who am I going to work with? So I just contact friends of mine I've worked with and say, hey, do you recommend anyone that plays this style of percussion or a really good bass player that could do this vibe? And, you know, all the good people always just go, yeah, yeah, I'm going to introduce to him. Then that person knows the trumpet. And all of a sudden you've gone down the rabbit wheel and you've made all these new tracks.

Yeah, I guess.

[Colleen]

Fantastic. Now, what is what are some of the great things that you've taken away from other cultures in terms of producing music?

[Tigerbalm]

Mexico is where I've spent the most time. I'm working with the trumpets and kind of creating that. I don't like to use the word tribal so much, but they call it tribal house, you know, the more Afro house sounds. I've always loved that deep Afro house sound. And I was very inspired by my Tulum trips to create Pagoda Dance, which was my one of my singles this year on House Music With Love. I was in Tulum and I was playing in these different venues and I was like, OK, I need to make a big Afro house track. And then, you know, getting big trumpets in it, because all of those tracks have the sound. So finding someone that could record with me. So I sort of take different instruments from different cultures and sounds. Brazil, obviously, you know, I couldn't record the percussion that I bring in amazing percussionists. I worked with Miquel on Trifunda Alma. He is based in Napoli, actually, but he is a composer and he is just a Brazilian guru.

So I came up with a concept for a song and was like, OK, here's the different Brazilian songs I love. Can we take these sounds and recreate them? And so you have to go down a rabbit hole with instruments. And in Brazil, there's so many unique instruments to work with. And definitely Ipanema, I went to a music store. I've actually got some different pieces that I bought there, about five or six crazy pieces. And we've used those in some of the songs as well. I like a couple of the shakers, but only little layers, you know, that we can use in the studio. I want to buy more instruments when I travel that I can actually record live. But my new album has got a lot of live recorded instruments that I use from a studio in Portugal.

[Colleen]

We'll talk more about the new album in a while because I want to stay where we are, because this is so interesting. As you're traveling, are you just going into people's studios as well and recording as you're traveling as well, like local musicians?

[Tigerbalm]

Recording the new album, yes, in Portugal with a singer and a guitarist that were recommended to me. But in the new album, yes, but that was the first time I'd done it. So far, it's all been remote. But we'll do a Zoom session, we'll chat, and then we'll bounce backwards and forwards quite a few times. And there's also Fiverr, which is a really unusual platform that a friend introduced me to. I'm not allowed to share the name of the people I'm using there because he made sure I wouldn't share them because I like his weapons.

But he introduced me to a couple of sick keys players on there and Brazilian musicians and they've recorded on Lacassette and my Mama Chip album, and Mama Chip remix, sorry. So I've got all these little special musicians that I've been starting to work with. But it's always remote, they'll send you a draft, you give them feedback. And it's like two or three rounds of, you know, it's almost like with COVID, you learned to work remotely.

[Colleen]

Exactly, I had to do the same thing. It was so interesting. Yeah.

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah. And the singers as well, like there's a new track that I've just sent to a singer called Kemena Angel in Colombia. I met her at a festival in the summer and I had this track and I was like, well, let me send it to her. I was like, babe, what do you think? And she was like, she just sent it back, she'd already recorded on it. Like she didn't even be like, yeah, I like it. Let's work together. Let's have a chat. It was like, boom, she sent me these Insta videos and I was like, whoa, this is amazing.

Okay, so I reworked the track and then I sent it to Juksek and he was like, I love it. We'll put on a compilation. So it's just randomly organic. It's like everything is like, yeah, just flowing in some kind of weird way.

[Colleen]

Well, it certainly sounds like it. Well, why don't we listen to your mix, get back to the mix, and then we'll come back and talk about what's in store for you in 2025 and a new album as well. You're listening to Tiger Balm on Balearic Breakfast.

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[Colleen]

And now we're back with TigerBalm here in the studio on Balearic Breakfast. We've been listening to her fantastic mix and I just want to talk with you about what's going on in 2025. I mean, I just have to say that your enthusiasm is so infectious and your vibes are so positive and strong.

It's absolutely a pleasure to speak with you, but also to hang out with you and to listen to your music. And I think because of that, you've had a lot of really fruitful collaborations and I see that you've worked with many different people and two people that I see that you work with quite a bit. One is Jay Kriv from Razor and Tape and the other one is Joy Tyson.

I just wanted to speak with you a little bit about that because Jay Kriv is also a very prolific producer and you seemed to start on a journey with him a few years ago. Tell me a little bit about your relationship with with Jason or Jay Kriv from Razor and Tape.

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah, we met in the Hamptons in New York about, wow, it probably was eight years ago now. It could be even nine. But I was doing a residency at a beach club at the Andre Balazs Hotel on Shelter Island. And I was there for, I think, nearly three months. And I was like, right, I'm here. Like, who do I want to meet that's in New York? And of course, I was a massive fan of Razor and Tape. And pretty much most of my new records have been from the label because they do the disco with a bit of Afro and Brazilian. So I've been really inspired by all of his remixes.

I was like, basically his biggest fan. And yeah, I just text him like, you know, I think on Instagram, like, oh, you know, I'm in town for a few months and gonna be doing some different shows. It'd be great to link up if you're free. And he was on Shelter Island that weekend visiting a friend.

[Colleen]

How funny. That's serendipity.

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah. And yeah, I remember he was having lobsters at the house. I remember the whole conversation the first time we met and I was playing outside and it was all sunny. And yeah, after that, we just stayed in touch, like music swaps and things like that. And then, yeah, as I sent him, I was sending him music for a while actually, but before they first were like, right, this is the song that we love. So when I send them Nina, he was like, wait, wait, don't send that to anyone else.

I was like, okay. I was actually in Margate when I sent him that, I remember the moment. So I was like, oh my god, because it was like a dream to release on Razor and Tape. I mean, they're prolific.

[Colleen]

Very prolific.

[Tigerbalm]

And yeah, we're just great friends.

[Colleen]

Oh, he's a lovely guy. I finally got to meet him the last time I was in New York, because I played at their record shop. And I have been a big supporter of his music as well. Also, I've been a supporter of the label Ubiquity. And that's where you released your album, International Love Affair and the remix album. Can you tell me a little bit about that relationship and how that developed?

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah, that was also a lockdown moment where I made the album and I was like, who do I want to release it with? And I was researching all my favorite artists at the time that had a similar sound and was just contacting, I think, like Soundway Records, just different people. And I found this album from Bossk that I had on vinyl. I was literally methodically going through my record collection, flipping the back, where was this released, going online, contacting him on Bandcamp. That was my process. And yeah, like they were on that list.

And I got a call from Michael, the head of Ubiquity and was like, yeah, we love the album. And I was like, oh my god, like, okay. And then it was like, yeah, it just like, just, again, I was in Margate because it was lockdown. I remember I was on, I've been on like a beachwalk, I was sitting in the car and I was like, screaming out loud. But yeah, it was like such a big moment for me, you know, it was like my first solo album, you know. And it was a struggle for doing Earth Boogie sometimes because it was like, you know, we would work on the projects alone and then together and they'd go in different directions.

And it wasn't always your authentic result. You know, you didn't always love it. You had to compromise like a relationship, you know, it was the same with the music and the songs. And then it was like, this is me doing me. And it felt great.

[Colleen]

That's great. I mean, it sounds great as well. It was like such a cool album. And the whole image you kind of put together is really great as well. I mean, it's, you're controlling all these different aspects of what, of your output, image, music, doing the productions, doing remixes. And I can hear from speaking with you too, that it's, you're very driven.

This is something that you're not just sitting around waiting for people to ask you to do things. And I found this with a lot of different women DJs and producers. They go out and create the stuff rather because they know they're probably not going to be asked if they just sit around waiting. I mean, you know, we have to kind of create our own platforms and really be quite disciplined and driven to kind of get out there. And I really admire what you're doing.

Now, you also put out some great remixes too, one for Emperor's Machine, which I love them. And I know that they did a remix for you. I guess you're doing some swaps on remixes now, aren't you?

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah, that was a Lange swap, that one. Yeah. And I actually loved doing that remix. It was really interesting. I kind of wish I'd lowered the BPM now for some reason, because I was umming and ahhing for a long time about the speed. But I end up DJing at lower BPM, which is laughable, because I debated for so long about the BPM. But anyway, you have to laugh. Lange Records are obviously my original baby. I was with Fugi, where all my albums came out with them. And then they released my first single. So Simon from Lange Records has been incredibly supportive all throughout my career and books me at his Philly Brooklyn venue in East London. So yeah.

But yeah, we were talking about Ubiquiti there. You'll laugh, because they were like, we want a photo of you on your next album. And I was like, oh, my God, I've got to curate a whole thing now. Because I was like, let's just get Illustrator to do it. Like, just like take it off my hands. And then it was like, oh, my God, I had to create this whole image again. But it's actually really fun. It's a lot of work. And it's a lot of pressure. And it can be a little stressful. But when you actually look at the product at the end, it's like, I just did that.

[Colleen]

It looks great. Your website looks great. It's fun, as well. Your music is fun. It has energy. It's uplifting. It's different. I love it. So tell us, right now you're in Peru. Are you doing any recording in Peru? Are you doing any music in Peru?

[Tigerbalm]

I've got my Roland RO7 on me, which just field recording. So I have captured Carnival in Rio on there, as well, which I still need to put into a track. But yeah, I plan on using it a bit more, I think, in the Sacred Valley. There's a lot of amazing artists who live up there. And I'm definitely going to use that. And I might meet people on the way.

So I'm remaining very open to whatever comes universally. I just trust the process. I've got one gig there called Discophobia in Lima, which I'm very excited about. Apparently, the vibration in Lima for parties is up there. So I'll be in my full element. But yeah, I think the trip is very action-packed, apart from the Sacred Valley, which is up in Cusco. It's very high altitude. And yeah, I just, the universe just, yeah, I never know what's going to come until it comes.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. You have to be trusting, trusting that it's all going to work out. Just put your faith in it.

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah, something will come out of it, though, for sure.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure. Now you have a new album coming out. Is it all ready to go? Is it all finished?

[Tigerbalm]

It's finished.

[Colleen]

Okay, tell us about that.

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah, that's definitely, I have to say, really proud of it. Definitely the best thing I've done. I've worked with, I've recorded every singer on there, and there's about three session musicians on each track. And it's 50% women, 50% men.

[Colleen]

Brilliant.

[Tigerbalm]

On the vocals, it was really important for me. Also with the remixes, everything needs to be 50-50 and neutral. So there's four Brazilian tracks, four Afro tracks, all inspired by sort of late 70s, early 80s Afro disco bubblegum vibe.

So yeah, it's a really new sound for me. And yeah, it evolved the album because I started it. And then I created this new sound. And then I had to drop some tracks out because they weren't fluid with the overall sound of it. But I've sung on two tracks.

[Colleen]

Oh, fantastic!

[Tigerbalm]

That was a huge, you know, I had to go, I had to see a voice coach, not for singing, but for like, moving through emotional blockages, because actually using your throat, your throat chakra is like, about not trauma, but like, you know, you've got to release it and work with it vibrationally. So we did a lot of like chanting and vocal work and cleansing. And that actually was what gave me the confidence to sing.

[Colleen]

That's fantastic. Yeah. I did singing the other night at karaoke on Boxing Day for the first time since 1989 when I was in Japan. I did have a few drinks, but the last time I sang in public, maybe the last time I ever will. No, I'm just joking. But that's fantastic. Because that's you have to really let your guard down to be able to to sing. I think if you're not a, you know, if that's not your usual vocation.

[Tigerbalm]

Yeah, I used to love singing. I just I had glandular fever a lot when I was younger. And I used to lose my voice and always get sick. And I think I just, that process sort of disengaged me from because my voice just goes a lot. Even after like talking of a loud sound system, it will go more than anyone else's. But I had this sort of fear around using it, especially because I thought if I record something great, I probably can't sing that live because I just find my voice very unreliable.

But I just worked through that and I'm sort of finding my sound. I'm gonna keep going and keep trying to make songs. One of them I'm singing in English and it's like a rap, which is the single. And it's it's kind of jungle bookie, but it's it's funny and playful and silly and kind of new canary. And the other one I'm singing in Portuguese. So I had to work with someone to get that. And I wrote the lyrics for that one based on my last Brazilian trip. So yeah, there's a whole story around those tracks, but they're Brazil and Afro. Basically.

[Colleen]

Fantastic. And when is that coming out? Which label? What's the name of the album?

[Tigerbalm]

That's Ubiquity Records. And it's called Bubblegum Disgust. It's fun. And so the single should be either the end of March or early April. And then we're going to stream three more singles and then the album will come out June or July. And there will be about one year later a remix as well. And we're just signing off those artists slowly, slowly, you know, looking at budgets and things. But yeah, it's a long process, but it's exciting.

[Colleen]

Fantastic. Well, I'm really looking forward to it. We'll obviously give it support on Balearic Breakfast. And thank you so much for joining us today, and for taking some time out of your busy schedule in Peru. And we're loving the mix and really good luck with all of your endeavors. I'm really happy for you. And I just absolutely admire you and what you're doing.

[Tigerbalm]

I'm the same. I'm a huge, huge admirer of yours. And thank you so much. It's been great to be here.

[Colleen]

Thank you so much, Rose. That was fabulous.

And now a special guest mix from one of our family members, David Stoddard. Each week I look forward to a special Soulful Requests, which often send me directly to Discogs. And here's a little note from David himself. The selection is quite eclectic, but definitely soulful string led, which always lifts the heart in the depths of winter.

And it's vinyl only, hence the occasional clicks and crackles. Here is David Stoddard.

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THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE

I still keep in my mind that interview Colleen once gave where she said she stopped writing album reviews because she felt it was impossible to write about music in a way that would serve the purpose, with a lot of the reviews being poorly written. On the contrary, I would say this: if you think you love Music, then go ahead, and write about it. But write about it with your soul, with your guts, make that article the music you're listening to. Try to describe everything you feel, everything you see, make the listener listen again to the songs and help him find what you found. If you're able to do this, then your paper was a good one. If you didn't, then, obviously you served no one interests... And as far as I'm concerned, I konw I've not found the best words to perfectly describe a mix yet, one thing I know is that some mixes require a classical writting style whereas other ones require a more creative style, and it all comes down to what I hear and feel...

Dave Stod's mix is one of those mixes that you need to listen to again and again. First because the songs selected are off the hook, they're not well-known or overplayed hits. They're reprensentative of what Soul is, they're so groovy you're going to melt. Also, the way Dave presented them, in a relaxed yet precise mix, really puts them into a beautiful spiritual light. Dave changes tempos, sometimes with a lot of audacity, but he keeps the listener awake and he does not lose him along the way by selecting songs that would be too much apart from one another.

To the topic, listen to the first three songs, the way tey're mixed together perfectly depicts what I've just written. Jeffree Page's Mr. Fix it slides in the end of Early Sunday Morning (from Shaft's Soundtrack), like a bird gently flying away and As Time Goes By's quicker rhythm (a musical cover of the 1931 song by Rudy Vallée) perfectly embraces Mr Fix it luxurious rhythm, with Learning how to love you really starting the party! (the great Minnie Riperton is among the backing vocalists - more about the 1976 studio album here)

The mixes are short ones, they're not long, they're not complex, they tend to be close to Colleen's way of mixing during the show, so Dave really respects the Vibe that Balearic Breakfast is...

The audacity of Dave's mix is well represented with how One Love in My Lifetime enters the mix, Dave is not here to play around, he knows where he wants to take us, and he does that with aplomb. When a DJ knows his craft, you feel it. Of course, the mix can be prepared, but still, if there's a musical soul in there, anything is possible, and the pleasure given drives the listener crazy, lifting his spirits up!

Fun fact, the identity of the backing vocalists was never disclosed and even people at Motown kept the secret for a long time, the new release of the album allowed for this information to be released at last: the Jones Girls were the backing vocalists on Diana's album and on that particular song!

I must also add that Dave's setup must be a fine one, there's a nice realism in the sound! Did I saiy a bird flying somewhere? Here he goes again when Spinning Wheel enters the mix (a cover of the 1968 song by Blood, Sweat & Tears), if you don't feel the groove here, you will never feel anything, it's delicate, it's precise, it's wild at the same time, it takes you, it grabs you and takes you away, there's nothing more I can say. God, I love that. And listen to that rhythmic guitar sliding on your left and then on your right, with the bass guitar being also so precise, you can hear every note being played, great sounding record!!

"Spinning Wheel" was written by vocalist David Clayton-Thomas, arranged by saxophonist Fred Lipsius, and produced by James William Guercio. In our 2015 interview with Clayton-Thomas, he explained: "I came up with the song just picking it away on a guitar when I found some chord changes I liked. As for the lyrics, everybody was getting so serious about 'The Revolution' and everything else in those days. It was just kind of a way to say, 'Lighten up people. Take it easy. It's all going to come full circle.' And it did. Ten years later, we went from 'The Revolution' to Ronald Reagan."

Even if Labbi Siffre's The shadow of our love's start is slighthly calmer, the fact it has the same rhythm as the previous track keeps the listener hooked on the groove. With Tenorio Jr. Nebulosa arriving so unexpectedly in the mix, Dave strikes the listener because that song acts like an ending point to Labi Sifre's song! Absolutely mesmerising musical moment! WOW Dave! And what can I say about the way Hunk of Heaven enters the mix? Another stunning moment, there's a beautiful musical momentum here, we're forgetting the mix and we're able to concentrate on the vibe the music brings to the table, that's what a real DJ should be able to do, mix in a way that lets the music speak without barriers! Such an astounding mix here!

"The minute you think you're greater than the music, you're finished." - Frankie Knuckles

I love the small "décroché" Dave does at the start of Chaka Khan's Some Love (from her groundbreaking 1978 studio album). Listen again here, you'll hear that the track does not perfectly start on the beat, yet, this creates an uncredible Groove, bringing out Dave's musical message! I am melting here... Mixing is not always about perfection, never forget that 😉

By playing Ester Phillips' Native New Yorker (a cover of the 1977 song, sung by Frankie Valli and made famous by Odyssey later the same year), The Originals' Call On Your Six Million Dollar Man, incredibly followed by Mongo Santamaria's Watermelon Man, Dave keeps the rhythmic unity intact, keeping our feet on the dancefloor and our spirits high as a duck flying to a new destination (am I going crazy now?!) 😄

Ending his mix with Angela's Bofill's People Make the World Go Round (a cover of the 1971 song by The Stylistics), Dave Really grooved us all... Out...

All in all, Dave's mix is an astounding listening experience, the only thing I'm missing is a bit more dynamics in the sound, maybe by turning the volume knob slightly down on the recording output of his mixer (just a few dBs down) will Dave be able to take that sonic groove out and free his listeners even more!