Balearic Breakfast | Episode 234 | Meeting Abigail Ward & Family Gatherings (Barry 'Bearknits' Zehr)

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 234th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on August 5th 2025.

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About this episode. – With the Festival season in full swing, Colleen lined up a few prerecorded shows for the Balearic Breakfast Family, this new one including Abigail Ward and Family member Barry 'Bearknits' Zehr. Abigail's interview was very interesting to listen to as it drove the Family's attention to how everybody should pay attention, respect and nourrish their creative side, leading Abigail to share the reference of the book she was talking about on the chat "The Artist's Way". We all enjoyed her mix to the maximum and went even happier when hearing what our dear Barry had in store for us!

Of course, we'll have both Barry and Kay on the blog in September, so keep it locked here! Also, Colleen will be live on the We Out Here Radio for a special show soon!

This week’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud and features an interview with and an exclusive mix from Abigail Ward of @ghost_assembly_music . I’ve been a huge fan of her mixes on Mixcloud (give her a follow over there!) and her Ghost Assembly releases. She’s also an amazing writer and I’m blessed to have her liner notes on the forthcoming Balearic Breakfast Volume 4 comp (coming out 29th August on Heavenly Recordings - preorder link in linktree).

The second mix is from Balearic Breakfast family member Barry Zehr @bearknits in Washington DC. He’s been a regular contributor to the show for the last year or so and his requests are always on the mark. I’m sure you will love both mixes!

Next week I’ll be streaming Balearic Breakfast live from the record room on Tuesday from 10am to 12noon BST. The first hour will be new tunes that I have been sifting through for your listening pleasure and the second hour we’ll have an interview with and exclusive mix from one of the originators and innovators of the chill out scene - @mixmaster.morris . Until then, enjoy today’s show and thanks for listening!

Listen back to the 234th episode of Balearic Breakfast:

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THE PLAYLIST

Abigail Ward Ghost Assembly Mix :

(1974) Jerry Goldsmith – Love Theme from Chinatown

(2011) Chrystabell – Swing With Me

(1969) Julie London – And I Love Him

(2012) Fats Gaines Band presents Zorina – For Your Love (Neil Diablo Edit)

(2023) Sven Wunder – Harmonica And...

(2024) Ali Dada – Federici

(1992) Vegas – Walk Into The Wind

(2020) Symptoms of Love – Foam (Seaside Mix)

(2024) Bryan Ferry – Right Stuff (Dub Mix)

(1981) Freddie Hubbard feat. Jeanie Tracy – You're Gonna Lose Me

(2008) Crazy P – Lie Lost (Maurice Fulton Mix)

(2013) Solange – Losing You

(2015) Jacques Renault – A2 (Let's Get Lost Vol. 26)

Barry Zehr Bearknits Mix:

(xx) Stone Roses – Fools Gold (Balearic Edit)

(2000) Rose Smith – Life Changes

(2002) Crazy Penis – Mind Wide Open

(2025) Flying Mojito Bros – Shakedown Street

(2019) Izo Fitzroy – I Want Magic

(Dimitri from Paris vs. Cotonete 12 inch version)

(2022) Lady Blackbird – Lost and Looking (Cosmodelica Dub)

(2002) Blue 6 – Pure (Remix)

(2011) Julius Papp ft. Lisa Shaw – Way Back (Doruk Ozlen Vocal Mix)

(2017) Tim Deluxe – Jas (Rhodes Mix)

(2022) Crazy P – Kari (Hot Toddy Mix)

(2021) Flying Mojito Bros. – Cosmic Rain

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AIBIGAIL WARD'S INTERVIEW WITH COLLEEN

[Colleen]

Good morning, Balearicans. I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy, hosting a weekly Balearic Breakfast on my MixCloud Live until high noon. And greetings to all over there on the chat group. Thanks for joining me. As I'm away right now on today's show, I have some special guest mixes. First up is Abigail Ward. We have a chat about her ghost assembly project, and she also has contributed an exclusive mix. After that, we have a special guest mix from Balearic Breakfast family member Barry Zare, or Barry Berenitz. So stick around.

Okay, Balearicans, I have Abigail Ward from Ghost Assembly here in the studio with me. And hey, Abs, how you doing?

[Abigail]

Hi. Yeah, I'm good. I am literally just opening my copy of Balearic Breakfast, volume four. Look at it. Isn't it stunning? Fabulous.

[Colleen]

I'm really happy with this one. And gosh, your liner notes are incredible. I read them and I kind of blushed. And then I thought, I wish I could write as well as that. You're a fabulous writer. You're a great writer, a fantastic writer, not only a great DJ and producer, but a great writer. And have you been writing for a long time?

[Abigail]

Yeah, I mean, I've always sort of loved writing, and words are incredibly important to me. And occasionally, you know, I get an offer and a challenge like that where I can do something professionally. And I really relish those opportunities.

So thank you so much for giving that to me.

[Colleen]

Oh, no, thank you. I mean, honestly, I've always loved reading your posts. I love reading just anything you've written for the fanzine. It was fantastic. Your DJ mixes first came on my radar. I started checking them out on Mixcloud. And I was so into them. This is before I even got the Ghost December stuff. And they're so varied.

They go, they stretch a lot to a lot of different musical kind of worlds, which is what we do on Balearic Breakfast, from soul to indie to dance music, you know, folk all over the place. And then I was speaking to Jeff at Heavenly, he said, I've just been checking out this person's Mixcloud. Have you heard of Abigail Ward?

And I said, Yes, I have been listening to her stuff as well. And then of course, I know your partner, Catherine Dermott. So that's how you kind of landed on my radar as a DJ and musical selector. But how did you how did you get your start?

[Abigail]

Well, I was always really, really into music, right from being a toddler. And I started writing songs when I was a teenager using guitar and voice. And I was in various bands. And, you know, I found it quite tough being in bands for various reasons. And I gave it a break when I was about 30. And at that point, I started DJing. And I think it just felt a little bit more manageable for me to sort of present other people's music than to present my own. And, yeah, I really loved playing sort of lots of cinematic music. I got my first gig in a local cinema in Manchester called the Corner House. And I played there every Friday for seven years. Oh, wow. With this sort of cinematic bent.

And I also really love doing DJ mixes. And I got into doing a little bit of production on them and maybe putting some snippets from films into my DJ mixes and edits and a few effects and things. And that's kind of how I got into production.

[Colleen]

Mm hmm. Well, it's fantastic. And I can now hear the kind of cinematic link when I listen to your mix on mixes just because they do have a really good kind of visual aspect to them, too, the way that they're built, how they go up and down. And, yeah, it's absolutely fantastic.

Well, I was it was so great to see Ghost Assembly debut a couple of years ago. And, you know, I think you sent it to me and I was really surprised. I have to say not that it was good. I knew it was going to be great. Don't get me wrong. I was surprised because it was so damn sleazy, you know, and, you know, I missed your love as a great sleaze tune.

So I have to ask you, Abs, have you spent a lot of time in sleazy clubs?

[Abigail]

I'm very sleazy. I'm a very sleazy person. And yeah, I mean, I I sort of I didn't set out to make it sound a particular way. I think the way it sounds is, you know, partly a result of of what was available to me at the time production wise. And also I worked with Bonar Bradberry from PBR Street Gang on on the mix of it. And and Bonner has a Bozak mixer, which is right, right, which he he tells me he he bought it in good faith from a key person on the disco scene in in the 70s. And he believes it was the front of house mixer at Paradise Garage. And he got that through Danny Krivit. And so he sort of mixed the whole tune through that.

And I think that gives it some of its sort of hiss and age and sleaze and also a vibrational quality that's that's beyond any of those things that that that comes from that one particular mixer.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I'm sure it is from the front of house from the Paradise Garage, as Danny Krivit says. So it's got to be. And, you know, I've had the same mixer. Mine I bought from Joe Claussell just over 30 years ago when I was working at Dance Tracks, and I have the same one. And, you know, I just love the sound of it. And you're right, because the I Missed Your Love does have a classic sonic quality to it.

And I do feel the old kind of analog equipment does lend itself, does give that kind of feeling, you know. In terms of the actual productions themselves, you've had three that have come out so far. The first one, I Missed Your Love, I Keep Making the Same Mistake, and the last right, which I can't pronounce in Dutch, I'll let you do it. How do you say it in Dutch?

[Abigail]

I don't know. I think it's called De Laatste Rit. But yeah, I looked it up. Yeah, I chose it. It's a tribute to my uncle who died last year. And he lived in Delft. And so that's why I chose a Dutch title.

[Colleen]

My condolences to you and your family for losing your uncle. He sounds like he was a special person.

[Abigail]

Yeah, he was. He was very playful and mischievous. Yeah.

[Colleen]

Sounds a bit like you. But yeah, they all have a real kind of sleaze feel to them, all of the songs. And I like how you are just going for the complete four on the floor all the time as well.

Like one of them has a, in fact, the one I just played on the Pride Special, I Keep Making the Same Mistake has a real breakbeat feel to it, has more of an electro kind of beat to it, freestyle as well. You know, that kind of feel. And yeah, I was just kind of wondering how the whole Ghost Assembly project came about.

[Abigail]

Well, I've been dabbling in production and editing for a long time as a DJ. And I'd wanted to take it further. And in lockdown, I did a kind of spiritual artistic course called The Artist's Way, which is a book that anybody can buy by Julia Cameron. And I was invited.

[Colleen]

My life changed. Yeah.

[Abigail]

Wow. Yeah. I was invited to do this book with three of my friends who are artists in different disciplines, photography and jewellery making and film. And together we did this, we went through this book, which if you take it seriously, is quite a deep excavation of the things that may be blocking you from expressing your true self as an artist. And that's how Ghost Assembly came about.

[Colleen]

That's so interesting because I went through the same journey and I noticed a lot of the reasons why you may not be achieving what you'd like to do and achieve your goals as your own self and how you're blocking yourself. And I also think as women, sometimes, especially women who work in male dominated professions like DJing, for instance, we often get imposter syndrome and kind of talk ourselves down and don't aim as high. And because it's easier that way, you're not failing and you're not being rejected.

Whereas with The Artist's Way, it really made me stick my neck out a bit more. And I have to say it really changed my life. I've recommended this book to so many people. I don't think I've recommended it on air before. But this goes for people who aren't just pursuing creative endeavors as a profession, but also as a hobby. It could be read by everybody because everybody is creative. Everyone is inherently creative. Whenever I hear somebody say, oh, I'm not a creative person, humans are creative. So I highly, highly recommend this book. And then maybe you too could be making sleazy tracks like Ghost Assembly. But I just absolutely love what you're doing. And the latest productions, are they on your own label?

[Abigail]

Yeah, I've got a label called Big Strings Attached, which is named after a night. That was my night that I did with the film scores and the cinematic soul. And I called it that because one of my great passions is string arrangements. And I just wanted to see what it would feel like to put things out myself. And so far, it's gone really well. Great.

And what's on the pipeline? I've got another EP that's ready to go at the moment. And I'm talking to a couple of different labels about that, because I do want to carry on releasing with labels as well.

I had a wonderful time with Rough Dog releasing on Rough Cuts. That's what I miss sort of came out on. So I'm just open to doing it in all sorts of different ways, really.

And I'm also doing a project at the moment, which is kind of instrumental music in a bit of a talk talk vein with the producer, JS Saita. I'm supplying some spoken word stuff over some instrumentals that he's working on. So that will sound very different.

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Ed. Note: Visit Abigail's blog to find out more about her!

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[Colleen]

I'm looking forward to hearing that. So is it more along a poetic kind of track?

[Abigail]

Yeah. Yeah, sort of dreamy, you know, kind of moody. Yeah.

[Colleen]

That sounds right up my street. I can't wait to hear it. And how about DJ Wise? What's going on?

[Abigail]

DJ Wise? I think I'm quite close to having a break from it, to be honest. I've been finding it a bit of a struggle in various ways lately. And I'm mainly knocking back most gigs apart from one, which is a gig I do every two months in a place called Yes in Manchester, which is where you've heard a lot of my DJ mixes. I record them from there. And I play there for six hours and I go all over the place with a real radio sensibility.

And the people there know me and understand me. And that's where I feel most comfortable at the moment. But I find that high pressure DJ gigs really take my focus away from producing. And I just want to make music really at the moment. So, yeah, having a little break.

[Colleen]

That sounds like a good thing to do. And being, you know, self-aware enough to do that is just highly commendable because I had kind of more enforced breaks, which is still good, though. I mean, when after I had a baby, you know, I didn't really have any gigs, but I have to say it actually was really quite nice.

It was nice raising a daughter, but it was also nice just kind of reconnecting with music without any purpose, which is, you know, just everything I do is based around music. So there's always something to do. But just having it just kind of as a hobby again for a little bit was really quite interesting and probably helped my career and my musical sensibility.

So this could be what's happening to you. Do you find that the DJ gigs are becoming high pressure because of external demands?

[Abigail]

It's well, it's a complex one for me. I have some sensory difficulties with very, very loud environments. And I found that this is becoming more and more tricky for me to navigate. And I struggle with going to lots of different places and playing on gear that I can't necessarily sort of predict what exactly is going to be waiting for me, even if I've supplied a tech spec. And it's just it's difficult for me socially, you know, I'm a quiet person. And I think a lot of the DJ gigs I do, I'm very accessible to people.

I'm not necessarily in a booth or people will come and, you know, they'll want to talk to me. And I find that I can't talk and DJ at the same time. And some, some male DJs I know have cultivated a kind of a look to deter people from speaking to them. But I haven't I haven't developed this look yet. I obviously I've got come and fucking tell me your problems.

[Colleen]

Written on my forehead. While I'm trying to mix a record. You could keep your headphones on. Yeah, that's the thing.

[Abigail]

They still, they still, they come.

[Colleen]

Well, are you considering doing any live ghost assembly performances?

[Abigail]

Yeah, it's a good question. I've been giving some thought to this and how it might work. And I've been working with a wonderful sound engineer and producer called Joni Newham. And her stage name is Outsider Sound. And what we've been looking at is she's been sort of dubbing out my productions on a mixing desk in a sort of live Dennis Bovell style. And that's been really promising.

And that might be something that we look at doing together. But right now, life's been getting in the way. But that's something that's sort of sizzling away on the backbone.

[Colleen]

Well, I wish you all the best of luck with it. I look forward to every single ghost assembly release. And I will still continue to check out your mixes on Mixcloud. And thank you so much for joining us today and for providing this exclusive mix for us.

[Abigail]

Oh, thank you!