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Balearic Breakfast | Episode 218 | And, Suddenly, it was Spring Again...

  • Writer: by The Lioncub
    by The Lioncub
  • Apr 8
  • 15 min read

Updated: Apr 13

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 218th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on April 8th 2025.

About this episode. – Taking a week off from the show after her incredible tour in Japan, Colleen came back live in today's episode, better than ever, gifting us with a 2h18min. episode (hence the post's title...) ! The Balearic Breakfast family was happy as ever despite Mixcloud's mobile app not allowing us to tag our fellow friends as we would have loved it. Grargf, Message to Mixcloud sent today!


This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud (link in comments) and its an extra long show as I have so much music to play for you – a true cornucopia of sounds. Today’s show features some of the music I picked up on my recent trip to Japan and includes new albums on an experimental tip along with some Japanese jazz and city pop from yesteryear. There’s a great italo classic rework, a forgotten Austrian treasure from the 80’s, some Balearic chuggers, deep house, nu soul and a lot more. Swipe for the playlist.


Today’s show is also a bit longer as I’m taking next week off as both my husband and I will be en route to Ireland for his birthday celebration and also some parties. After a much needed rest this past weekend – actually walking nearly 20 km in Epping Forest may not be considered restful by some although you can see from the pic above the weather was glorious – these next few weeks are packed with parties and I hope you can make it along to one of these dates (and if you do please say hello):


The Request Line will go up Saturday, the 19th April and Balearic Breakfast will be back streaming live from the record room on Tuesday, the 22nd April. Until then, you can enjoy this show and others on the Balearic Breakfast playlist on my Mixcloud. Thanks for listening.


Listen back to the 218th episode of Balearic Breakfast:


The Listening experience. – Taking us through a calm yet unknown Journey, where everything simply glows and grows in musical harmony, Colleen developed this episode in two parts, the first one showcasing pictures of spring (the first 40 minutes / 6 songs) while the second one was more upfront (yet still keeping intact that Wow feeling we all feel when Spring comes back into our lives – Payfone's Volt to Volt and Kraak & Smaak's Butter Bath are nice examples of that feeling)!

There were several Wow Moments during this episode, including the show's opener Indigo Line (which made me think of Max Richter's Vivaldi Recomposed album), Julia Mestre's Vampira (What a soundstage!), Salphunk's How Do You Like It, B.W.H's Stop (Danilo Braca ReStop Edit), Tatsuro Yamashita's Love Talkin (Honey It's You) & Minako Yoshida's Let's Do It – which both made me think about these incredible Japanese productions with the sound being realistic, Neutral (yet on the warmer side) while being open and dynamic, with a dominant rhythmic guitar and a light pumping bass! Last but not least, we can't forget the incredible Jam On by Jambonne!

All in all, this episode is a blooming musical experience!


THE PLAYLIST


(2025) Tomo Nakaguchi – Indigo Line

(2025) Shin Sasakubo & Matchume Zango – Kumkomba

(2025) Mark de Clive-Lowe – Embrace

(1981) Masabumi Kikuchi – City Snow

(2025) Julia Mestre – Vampira

(1980) Crumb – Love is a Game

(2025) Salphunk – How Do You Like It (Munich Mix)

(2025) B.W.H. – Stop (Danilo Braca ReStop Edit)

(1982) Tatsuro Yamashita – Love Talkin (Honey It's You)

(2025) Rudy's Midnight Machine – Foxtrot

(2025) Payfone – Volt to Volt (40 Thieves Remix)

(2025) Peter Visti (ft Dawda Jobarteh & William Winding) – Atlantic Fever

(2025) Kraak & Smaak – Butter Bath

(2023) Lack of Afro (ft. Greg Blackman) – Make it Shine

(1978) Minako Yoshida – Let's Do It

(2025) Jambonne – Jam On

(2025) Joseph Malik ft Kameelah Waheed – My Whole World

(Variant Issue Orchestra Vocal Remix)

(2025) Omar – Can We Go Out (Zed Bias Remix)

(TBR) Harvey Sutherland – Nobody Like U (Glenn Underground Dancer's

(1999) Ciel Ernest St Laurent – We Are One (Frankie Feliciano Remix)

(2025) Aric – I Love Your Love (Pete Blaker Dub Remix)


COLLEEN'S PRESENTATION


Part I


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Tomo Nakaguchi, the musician and sound artist from Yokohama, with Indigo Line, from his forthcoming LP, Out of the Blue, coming out on the 3rd of May on Audiobulb. And it's his third album for the label, and it meticulously crafts audio elements from traditional instruments, field recordings, and broken tape machines into a complex and beautiful soundscape. And Nakaguchi is also a member of the experimental rock band, 1769, and a member of the multimedia group Skyward Photo Film. And you can head over to his Bandcamp to pre-order.

Good morning! Ohayou gozaimasu! I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy, hosting your weekly Balearic Breakfast, live on my Mixcloud, and greetings to the family over there, and thank you for joining me when I was streaming remotely from Japan. I also want to thank the guests that filled in for me, Kenneth Bager from Music for Dreams, Saucy Lady of Dippin' Records, Jen and Glenn from Hot Burns and Black, and Darren Morgan from our London Loft Party and Love Machine. They all did an amazing job, and thank you for giving them so much support. And it's great to be back hosting the show live from my record room, after an amazing trip and tour in Japan. I've been going to Japan since 1989. It was the first place outside the USA where I hosted radio shows, as I was a radio host on JOGZ in Nagoya, right after my 21st birthday, and I had barely traveled outside the USA, so it was a huge deal for me. And Japan is strangely also the first place I DJed in clubs outside of America, as I started playing there in the mid-90s. So Japan means a lot to me, and this is my first time back since 2019, just before the global pandemic. And I'd like to thank Ryo Watanabe for putting together a wonderful tour. It's the first one we've done together. All of the clubs who invited me, Club Mago in Nagoya, Boars in Obihiro, Bar Inc. in Osaka, Bar Bridge in Shinjuku, Woal in Takasaki, and of course, Precious Hall and Satoru-san in Sapporo. That's one of my favorite places in the world to play, as he changes the entire sound system when I go over to a loft-style system, with the Klipschhorn's Mark Levinson amplification and the lovely, gorgeous Koetsu cartridges. So it was truly sublime. And most importantly, arigatou gozaimasu to all who joined me on the dance floor. Today's show, of course, features some of the music I picked up in Japan and includes new albums on an experimental tip, along with some Japanese jazz and city pop from yesteryear. And also coming up in today's show, a great Italo classic rework, a forgotten Austrian treasure from the 80s, some Balearic Chuggers, new deep house and soul, and a lot more. So, ikimashou!

Japan still on my mind. 1989 Photo booth ‘selfies’ and pics of the barefoot hippie DJ at JOGZ FM DEPO 76.4 FM with my old WNYU buddy Chris Cullen (CCM, 04/04/2025).


We're going to start off with some spacey, atmospheric, and transcendental sounds from Japan. And this is a new one from Japanese guitarist and composer Shin Sasakubo, who has recently been releasing albums over the last two decades, many of which are collaborations, like this one. His most recent album, which is a collab with Mozambique composer and musician Matchume Zongo, who is a master of the timbala, a traditional wooden xylophone. And he's released one solo album himself, WataM'Cande. Together, Sasukubo and Zongo released the LP Kalamuka last month on Chichibu Records. And here they are with the album opener and a true journey in itself, Kumkomba.

Ed. Note:


  A little something I picked up while record shopping in Sapporo. 80's Japanese jazz, courtesy of pianist, synth keyboardist, composer Masabumi Kikuchi. He worked with many musicians, including Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Gil Evans, and Toru Takemitsu. We just heard City Snow, which reminds me of snowy Sapporo, the biggest city in the northern island of Hokkaido. And I played it at the listening party at Precious Hall, where Kuniyuki, Yano, and myself played some jazz, African music, world music, experimental sounds. City Snow also featured James Mason on guitar and Ayrton Morera on percussion. And it's from Kikuchi's 1981 LP, Susto.

Ahead of that, Mark de Clive-Lowe with Embrace from his new album, Past, Present, Tone Poems Across Time, coming out later this month on Greg Boreman's impressive collective label in partnership with BBE. And I met up with Mark in Tokyo, and he told me the backstory of the album. You may know he grew up in both Japan and New Zealand. And this record is a sonic exploration and reflection on family, heritage, and healing, created while he was retracing his late Kiwi father's journey across Japan 70 years ago. It's a gorgeous record of ambient jazz and emotional cinematic soundscapes. And it was all written, performed, and produced by Mark, using a ridiculous number of synths, along with some of his own field recordings. So you can head over to his Bandcamp to pre-order the vinyl, which was mixed by our friend Kuniyuki-san, and is coming out on the 18th of April. And we started off with Shin Sasakubo and Matchume Zongo with KumKomba.


  You're listening to Balearic Breakfast. And this next one is from contemporary Brazilian music sensation, actress, and creative director, Julia Mestre. Mestre is a member of the Latin Grammy-winning Brazilian supergroup Bala de Seijo. And her forthcoming third solo album, Maravilhosamente Bem, is coming out on the 8th of May. Sorry, I don't speak Portuguese. I might be murdering the language. Apologies for that. This is the latest single from her new album. It's called Vampira. And it's her reinterpretation of Ray Reyes' original salsa song. And she transforms it into something more sultry, dreamlike, and sensual, which is her trademark style.


Part II


Yes, I do. I do very much. I really like it. That's a new disco chugger from Lisbon's rising talent, Salphunk. And we just heard the Munich mix of their new single, How Do You Like It, which came out on Dutch label Universo Positivo last month. And it's a follow-up to their debut Live On, released at the end of last year. So definitely ones to watch. And that's some 80s blue-eyed soul by Crumb with Love is a Game. And that's from The Other Sound of Music, forgotten Austrian treasures from the 1980s compilation, which came out at the end of last year on Austrian reissue label Edition Hawara. And there's some great tunes on there. Incidentally, the band Crumb only released one album in 1980, The Day When Mr. Goodbar... And it has a photo of a teddy bear on the album. And then they disbanded soon after. So you can now get that song on The Other Sound of Music compilation.

  OK, here's an old Italo classic that I only ever had a bootleg of. You know, I don't really like buying bootlegs because I like supporting the artists. I would never do one myself, but I have been guilty of buying and playing them. It was conceived of and developed in the early 80s by the club DJ and producer Stefano Zito with a very young composer and arranger, Stefano Galante. And I believe Stefano's wife, Helen, and actress also played a part. They released a single, Living It Up, with the B-side Stop in 1983. And the Italian-born and New-York-residing DJ and producer Danilo Bracca has given it a great re-edit. D-W-D-B-W-H, with Stop, the Danilo Bracca re-stop edit. Loving this new one.


  From Robin Lee, who is one half of Faze Action, under the moniker Rudy's Midnight Machine. And put out so many great records on this Rudy's Midnight Machine. Releasing records for the past 15 years. And this one, Foxtrot, is on the new album, Maestro, which came out this week.

Ahead of that, another nugget I picked up on my travels in Japan. Singer, songwriter, guitarist and city pop megadon, Tatsurō Yamashita. He's also the husband of Mariya Takeuchi of Plastic Love fame. And Yamashita began releasing albums in 1972, up through to his latest in 2022. And in 1980, he broke through with his album Ride on Time. But all of his releases are worth checking out. We heard Love Talkin' Honey It's You from his 1982 LP, For You. And Minako Yoshida was on backing vocals and will be playing one of her classics later in the show. So please check out Yamashita's catalog. And if you can secure a vinyl copy of his sought-after 1977 LP, Spacey. Which goes for eye-watering sums on Discogs, well then, congratulations.

Ed. Note:

Capture the moments, one song at a time! Don't miss to listen to the greatest city pop songs with the Mariya Takeuchi RCA YEARS Vinyl Box Collection! Directly from the heart of the 80s, this limited 6-disc analog box set highlights her distinctive voice and poetic lyrics, capturing the essence of youthful romance and hope; the sound is simply exceptional, with improvements made to enhance the listening experience. Vinyl aficionados may delve deep into the warmth and richness of the analog format, allowing Takeuchi's smooth vocals and intricate arrangements to shine in all their glory! Even if you are fans of Mariya Takeuchi or if you are curious about city pop genre, lose yourself in these songs that celebrate the magic of her enchanting sound!


Okay, I have quite a few gigs coming up in the next couple of, next few weeks, I should say. And I just wanted to let you know because you may be somewhere in the world where you can come on by and say hello. This Thursday, I'm hosting Cosmodelica with my friends Cindy and Christian from Hanson Family at the BBE store in London. And that's this Thursday night. On Sunday, I'm heading over to Athens for Burger Disco Club. And then the following week, I'm going over to Ireland. First to Cork, my ancestral seat, which I've never been to. Playing at Connelly's and Leap in West Cork on the 18th of April. And then on the 19th, heading up to Dublin where I'm playing at Fidelity all night.



On the 3rd of May, I'm playing for Melting Pot at Queen's Park in Glasgow. Along with a stellar lineup of horse meat disco and many others. On the 4th of May, the next day, I'm down in Brighton for 1BTN's Birthday Bash at Patterns in Brighton. Also playing with a Rup Roy down there. So that should be a lot of fun. On the 10th of May, a Saturday all-dayer in London. It's a Balearic Breakfast Day Party. And my special guest is Joe Goddard. And that's at N.T.'s Loft in London. So I'll be doing a few Balearic Breakfast shows there. I think the next one's in July and then one in September for the album release. On the 18th of May, I'm playing at Pike's all night long in Ibiza. And I have three dates there. One at the end of July and one at the end of September as well. And then at the end of May, I'm heading over to the States. Doing Cosmodelica with Love Injection at the Good Room in Brooklyn on the 23rd of May. And then heading down to Miami for Dante's Hi-Fi on the 28th of May. So quite a few parties going on. If you're able to make one, please come along and say hello.


Okay, since 2013, Brighton and Barcelona duo Payfone have been crafting atmospheric, mid-tempo grooves on labels like Golf Channel, Lange & Defected. And this one is a late-night, sophisticated, synth-driven, drum machine-powered sound. This time featuring vocals from North Carolina's Joe Gabriel Harris and New York City's Terry Jackson. This is the slow-burning, moody remix by San Francisco trio 40 Thieves of Volt to Volt on Balearic Breakfast.

  Loving that one. It's a new one from Kraak & Smaak. It's a Dutch duo, Kraak & Smaak, along with Butter Bath. And that's their latest single, Heat, which came out last month on Boogie Angst. And it's a great collaboration as it melds Crack & Smack's soulful, funky sound with the psychedelic pop sound of Butter Bath. And I have to say, it really resembles some modern yacht rock. And I dare say that's a great thing. It's the perfect song to kind of blast in the car when you're cruising on a sunny day with the windows down, like really pure pop bliss.

And ahead of that, I'm loving that new Peter Visti album on Music for Dreams. The Danish producer and DJ earned his stripes in the late 80s and 90s playing cool venues around Europe and beyond. And he's been releasing records for two decades, including two albums on Steve Cote's Bare Funk label. This new album is fantastic. It's called Vesti's Vinyl Collective Volume 1, so I expect there's going to be more. It's on Music for Dreams. And it features some collaborations like the one we just heard, Atlantic Fever with Gambian Kora player Dawda Jobarteh and Danish songwriter, producer and DJ William Winding. And we started it all off with Payfone, Volt to Volt, the 40 Thieves remix.


Okay, we have a new single coming out tomorrow on Bastion Music Group by Lack of Afro. Absolutely love him and Greg Blackman. They released a gorgeous, feel-good, soul tune, Loving Arms, a couple of years ago. And it was on Lack of Afro's or Adam Gibbon's album, Square One. And there's a follow-up album and a tour on the horizon. So this is a new one, a beautiful, uplifting song called Make It Shine.


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Scottish singer-songwriter Joseph Malik, who released his first album, Diverse, in 2002 on Compost. And since that time has released many records, including three albums on Joe Wallace's Ramrock label. We just heard his collab with the talented Camila Wahid. I'm just really digging her right now. With the song, My Whole World. And we heard the Variant Issue Orchestra vocal remix.

Ahead of that, a new one on Spacegrapes. The independent Dutch label run by Bobby Van Pooten and Danilo Plessow. Focusing on the best in contemporary live music. And they started releasing records in 2020. And I managed to scoop up a couple on vinyl. They now have a new one coming out by Jambonne. A moniker for Another Taste. A live and studio band that record for Spacegrapes. And it's called Jam On. And it's coming out soon on Spacegrapes. So do follow them because their records do sell out very, very quickly.

  Ahead of that, we had the Japanese singer-songwriter-musician Minako Yoshida. With Let's Do It. The title track to her 1978 LP. Which some say was really the beginning of the city pop sound. Now I'm sure that's the subject of debate. People like to claim firsts. But at the very least, Yoshida and this album pioneered the sound. And she's been incredibly prolific. Releasing albums up to about a decade ago. And the song Let's Do It was co-written with Tatsuro Yamashita. Who we heard earlier in the show. So I hope you like that little wee jazzy segment of the show.


This is Colleen Cosmo Murphy with you. Going a little bit later than high noon today. And moving on to something a bit housier. And I'm going a little bit longer because I have so much to play for you. But I have also a little confession. I'm not going to be here next week. We are going to be on a plane to Ireland. So we can't even stream a prerecorded show. So sorry about that. But many of us fell in love with the British singer-songwriter Omar's voice. When he debuted in 1990 with the song There's Nothing Like This. Oh my gosh, I can hear it in my head right now. What a gorgeous voice. He has a new album coming out in June on Impressive Collective. In partnership with BBE. And it's called Brighter the Days. And over three decades he's been a defining force in modern black music. Crafting a sound that seamlessly blends soul, funk, jazz, salsa, dub, and hip-hop. With roots in classical music. And as he puts it, each album is an evolution, if you will. But I'd like to think this one is my magnum opus. Here is Omar with the Zed Ballas remix of Can We Go Out?

Colleen Cosmo Murphy getting ready to sign off another edition of Balearic Breakfast. We just heard an old classic from 1999. Ernest St. Laurent We Are One. The Frankie Feliciano remix. Came out in 1999 on Yellow Productions. Loved that label. I also did a compilation for them in 2002 called The Disco-Tech of DJ Cosmo. If you ever want to check that one out.


Ahead of that we had Melbourne DJ and producer Harvey Sutherland. Born Mike Key. With his single Nobody Like You. And we heard a forthcoming remix by Deep House and jazz producer DJ Glenn Underground from Chicago. Absolutely loving that one. Ahead of that, Omar, Can We Go Out? The Zed Ballas remix. Out now on BBE.


And just a reminder, this Thursday if you're in London. Doing a free Cosmodelica party with Hands On Family at the BBE store. So it was rammed last time. Hope you can make it. Please say hello. Now I have to confess I'm taking one more week off next week. As I'm going to be on a plane to Ireland. And Adam is going to be with me. So he can't even stream a pre-record. It's his birthday coming up. Taking him out to a nice restaurant. Have a couple of gigs over there too. At Connelly's and Leap on the 18th. And at Fidelity in Dublin on the 19th.

But then the request line will go up on Easter weekend. And the show will resume live on the 22nd of April. So hope to see you back here with me. Thanks to all who joined me on the Mixcloud Live. Leaving you with this great Groover from Pete Blaker. Loving this one. It's by Aric Sigman who is a musician and psychologist. And the song is called I Love Your Love. And this remix is from Gerd Janson and Elado. It's on Gerard Johnson's Running Back label. This is the Pete Blaker dub on Balearic Breakfast. Thanks for listening. And remember, just be Balearic.


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