Balearic Breakfast | Episode 235 | Meeting Mixmaster Morris

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 235th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on August 12th 2025.

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ABOUT THIS EPISODE

Just before embarking on her beloved WOH Journey – along with Adam and Ariana, who will be the very first to play at The Love Dancing Tent on Thursday (3-5), right when the site opens – Colleen presented the 235th episode of Balearic Breakfast, allowing the Family to discover the great talent that is Mixmaster Morris (our friend Trevor Levene saying "In my world, this Mix is So good... MixmasterMorris we thank you")!

On the chat, the atmosphere was very joyous, with our friend Popdiscorules perfectly summing up today's vibe, saying, "Beautiful, dreamy show"! Ironically, as SwayoftheVerses shared with us on the chat, we had a double dose of Colleen as Worldwide FM was airing an interview our dear Captain did with Rohan Rakhit, laughs! Did we all lose our heads? Well, for sure we did, as Colleen also shared with us that we'll celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Balearic Breakfast on Tuesday, the 16th September, during one of our beloved Marathon shows! Also, last but not least, we will have a special mix by our pal, Sean-E, next Tuesday!

As you already know, Balearic Breakfast is the show that keeps on giving... "Nowhere else will we enjoy stories of kimonos getting tangled in the decks! Top show as ever, Colleen" (CountofMonteChristo)...

This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud (please give me a follow while you’re over there). Today’s show features some new music, requests and also an interview with and an exclusive mix from Mixmaster Morris, a pioneer of The Chill Out Room. I love his musical knowledge and breadth and I’m sure you will too.

Heading off to We Out Here tomorrow and I’ll be hosting Balearic Breakfast on We Out Here Radio on Worldwide FM this Friday from 11am to 1pm. If you’re on site, please say hello! And please also join me for the Cosmodelica & Friends in our Love Dancin’ tent on Saturday.

I’ll be back on the airwaves next Tuesday, streaming on my Mixcloud Live from the record room catching up on some new tunes and as I most likely won’t have a voice after We Out Here we will also have an exclusive mix from Balearic Breakfast Family Member Sean E from the Mel0maniacs collective. Thanks for listening.

Thanks to Marijn Veraart for the pic taken at Houghton Festival.

Listen back to the 235th episode of Balearic Breakfast:

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THE PLAYLIST

(XX) The Grid – Floatation (Mark Barrott's Ibiza Sunrise 90's Re-Work)

(2024) Sly5thAve – Exodus

(2025) Hannah Cohen – Dusty

Mixmaster Morris Mix

(2004) Jon Hopkins – Luna Moth

(1975) Chuck Mangione – Soft

(2005) Massive Attack – Two Rocks and a Cup of Water

(1991) Miranda Sex Garden – Gush Forth My Tears

(1992) Deep Forest – Sweet Lullaby (ambient mix)

(2025) Bill Callahan – Riding for the Feeling

(2013) Kuniyuki Takahashi ft Joyce Bowden – Forest Song

(1971) Les Crane – Nature

(1998) Weldon Irvine – Morning Sunrise

(1974) Chico Hamilton – Gengis

(2016) Jacob Collier – In the Real Early Morning

(1985) Wim Mertens – Struggle for Pleasure

(2017) Leftfield – Melt (Quiet Village Remix)

(1974) Prelude – After the Goldrush

(1968) Harvey Mandel – Cristo Redentor

(2009) Boozoo Bajou – Same Sun

(2014) Moses Sumney – Plastic

(1965) Nina Simone – Feeling Good

(2025) Loredana Berte & Dimitri from Paris – In Alto Mare (Adriatique Remix)

(2022) Ian Vale – Loft Music (Jezebel's DC Metro Mix)

(2025) Daniel Monaco Band – Get Naked and Fly

(2025) Phenomenal Handclap Band ft Morgan Phalen – We Are Worlds Away

(2012) Eddie Palmieri – Mi Congo Te Llama (Sacred Rhythm Dub Mix)

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

(From Colleen's presentation)

This week it's all about We Out Here Festival. We are headed over tomorrow for the sound set-up on our Love Dance and tent and I'm really excited about this year's lineup on all of the days actually. Thursday's programmed by my husband Daddy Ad of Trojan Sound System and joining them on the bill are Don Letts and also Massive Attack's Daddy G.

Friday is Mr. Scruff along with the Touching Bass Crew. Sunday is Dingwalls with Giles Peterson, Patrick Forge, Kev Beetle, Coco Maria and DJ Spina is also joining them. And of course, Saturday is the day I program and, for this year's Cosmodelica and friends, I have invited Sway of the Verses, who's been up on the show, Sky Rager, who is Danny from Psych Magic, Ballearic London, Eavesdrop Collective are coming back, my friend Lovey from New York City and also my dear friend Francois K, who's doing both a live stem set and he's also doing a DJ set.

I'll be spinning from 10.30pm to 1.30am on Saturday night if you want to swing by. And I'm also hosting a Balleric Breakfast Show on We Out Here Radio on Friday, from 11am to 1pm. So I hope to see you there.

[...]

And I should just say our next London Loft Party is the 21st of September and it's in a new home on the River Lee in Hackney Wick. And if you want to join us and you're not on the mailing list, please DM me and we'll sort that out.

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ABOUT THE SONGS

(Excerpts from Colleen's presentation)

In today's episode, Colleen selected the following songs.

• Mark Barrott's Ibiza Sunrise 90s rework mix of the 1990 chill-out track Flotation by The Grid. Mark is the founder or was the founder of International Feel. He's an amazing producer and he's worn so many hats and monikers, but over the last few years he's recorded some amazing albums under his own name like Jōhatsu and Everything Changes, Nothing Ends, about the passing of his late wife and I interviewed him for Balearic Breakfast. I want to say it was a couple years ago and he talks about both of those albums. You can find it on my Mixcloud. Mark recently sent over a host of remixes of that Balearic Classic, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.

• This next one is by Texan multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger and composer Sly Fifth Avenue or Sly5thAve, which is Sylvester Uzoma Onyejiaka II. He's released some great albums on the label Tru-Thoughts, and his third Liberation was released last year and features beautiful orchestral arrangements, jazz improv and hip hop beats. Following that is a track from San Francisco singer-songwriter musician Hannah Cohen from her latest album, Earthstar Mountain.

• This next one is a rework of a 1980 tune from Italian singer, songwriter and icon Loredana Berté. She has worked with some of the greats, including Pino Daniele and Ivano Fossati, and has released dozens of albums since 1974 in an array of musical styles. Dimitri from Paris remixed the opening song from her self-titled 1980 LP. And this is the Adria Dic remix of In Alto Mare.

• Jezebel's DC Metro mix of Loft music by Ian Vale. And yes, that was me sampled talking about the Loft. I remember, I think Ian did send me that way back and I kind of, I don't know, got lost in all the music. And so Jezebel just sent me that one or maybe John Boakum did. In any case, it's really interesting hearing yourself on a record and you didn't even know you're going to be on a record. So thank you for that.

• The Daniel Monaco Band, which is an international group led by Italian bassist Daniele Labbate. Blending jazz, funk, house and disco with live energy, their debut EP Get Naked and Fly really captures years of collaboration and experimentation. And we heard the title track, and that's coming out in September on Isle of Jura, and you can preorder that on Bandcamp.

• Phenomenal hand clap band featuring Morgan Phalen with We Are Worlds Away. And that was written and recorded in Stockholm Sweden's Pansamarangon studio with the help of longtime collaborators Fedrik Swan from Dungan and Melody's Echo Chamber and Morgan Phalen of Justice and Drakkar Nowhere. And that is coming out on New Blue Records in early October. So, yeah, that's quite an advanced exclusive there for you.

• Before I go, I want to pay tribute to a Latin jazz icon who passed to the next realm a few days ago. The late New Yorican pianist, composer and bandleader Eddie Palmieri. The New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent embarked upon a musical journey at a young age. He performed at Carnegie Hall at the age of 11. A few years later, in the 1950s, he played with Tito Rodriguez's Orchestra. And in 1961, he founded his own band, Conjunto, La Perfecta. He explored Latin jazz over the course of around 50 albums and sadly passed at the age of 88 last week. Joe Clausell's brother, Jose, played percussion for Palmieri. I remember hanging out with him at the back of Dance Tracks. And Joe had the chance to remix one of Palmieri's classic tracks for a Fania reissue 12 inch. Here is a Sacred rhythm dub of Mi Congo Te Llama. And may Eddie Palmieri rest in paradise.

  
  

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MIXMASTER MORRIS'S INTERVIEW WITH COLLEEN

[Colleen]

Okay, Balearicans, up next, we have a mix from somebody that I have wanted to get a mix from for ages, really, since I started Balearic Breakfast. And he's so obvious to have as a guest that it's taken this long to actually get it together. With me in the studio is Mix Master Morris. Hi, Morris. How are you?

[Morris]

Good morning.

[Colleen]

Good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Morris]

My pleasure.

[Colleen]

You know, I was talking about you recently, I was playing the Irresistible Force as a request on the show. And I was talking about your whole role as really an originator and an innovator of the chill-out room. And I mean, you've been doing this for gosh, over 35 years now. Is that correct?

[Morris]

Yeah, yeah, really started kind of 89. Because I have to say, I saw Alex Patson and Jimmy Courtney and Youth playing at Heaven. And immediately I thought, I would like to do that as well. I was making tapes already like that. But when I saw what they were doing, which was a which was a shambles, but it was a glorious shambles. And so I thought, okay, that was my inspiration. And I hadn't even been to Ibiza at that point. So I took it like some different places. Because I was on the techno scene for quite a while, because I was working for a Rising High label back then.

So I was often, I was more often playing in Germany, and Holland, places like that. So kind of, I had a completely different growing up than a lot of other DJs, you know, who were at Ibiza at that time.

[Colleen]

Now, you were also part of the whole free party scene, correct?

[Morris]

A little bit. I played with Spiral Tribe a few times. And their very earliest parties were really, really good. But then it got a bit more, I didn't like it later on. But then next time, you can do what you like. And that's what I like, is doing what I like. You know, not having to go very fast all the time. And yes, we did free parties. I was the DJ for The Shaman for a couple of years. And they would put on free parties. And they were always a hoot.

[Colleen]

So you've really seen the development of this entire Acid House scene pretty much from day one until now. And you're still involved, unlike, you know, others that haven't become as involved. And also, tellingly, you never sold out.

Which gives you a lot of kudos points, you know, because I'm not going to mention names, but somehow have, you know, play music, which is fine. Anyway, play music that is still, you know, for the masses. And I get it. I understand that. But musically, you have always kept it real. Or as Mr. Scruff says, in a sense, you've kept it unreal, because it's quite surreal.

[Morris]

I'd rather say I love Mr. Scruff. He's one of my favorite DJs. And if I'm at a festival, I always go and see him. And if I see him walking somewhere at a festival, I always follow him because he knows where the good artists are playing. I was late for my own set at Houghton because I was watching him playing like Marleyan horror music, you know, to a huge crowd who'd never heard it before.

[Colleen]

Oh, wow. What's the kind of main difference that you see nowadays when you're going to festivals as in terms of the difference from the old days and the kind of the free party scene that you're doing with people, groups like Spiral Drive?

[Morris]

Everything when it starts is more fresh and exciting. And it really was exciting and fresh in the early days. And, you know, it got less fresh. And you just hear the same old records all the time. And I wish people would just dig a bit deeper and look a bit further. And, you know, not just play chart hits all the time, maybe.

[Colleen]

The thing is, is you still have such a great passion. I remember over the pandemic, some DJs like us, we had to keep doing mixes and doing things even though we weren't getting hired. You were doing it because it was almost a necessity. And you were doing all sorts of really niche kinds of mixes to really getting in there into a certain genre and really exploring it. What is it that keeps your passion aflame? Well, I always want to hear new music.

[Morris]

And, you know, there's always something out there you've not heard yet. And it's going to blow your mind. And if you don't look, you're not going to find it. And of course, I had this background that I was working at Mixmag and NME and reviewing for them. So I had to go out digging every week and then find tunes to write about. So for a long time, I only played new music. But actually going to Ibiza, one of the things I learned is you can play old music as well.

[Colleen]

I'm on a tip right now where I'm just trying, I'm actually just really into playing new music. I kind of go through phases. I'll go through phases, like a rock kind of phase, and then I'll go through a disco phase.

And then now, now I'm kind of like on a new kind of house phase. And I still play a lot of different things like yourself, but there always seems to be something of the moment that I'm really just kind of feeling because I guess I get bored of doing the same stuff. Is that is that how you feel as well? Do you just get bored if you're doing the same old thing?

[Morris]

Yes. And I fall in love with an artist or label and I want to support them, you know, and somebody who's up and coming. Like, I've been supporting brain feeder label for a few years. And I've been following Thundercats 15 years and playing his music. And, you know, 10 years ago, people just did not know what it was. But pretty much now the world knows who Thundercats is. Yes, absolutely. Perhaps I could seize that one and move on to somebody else. And in the UK, I've always, at the moment I support labels like True Thoughts.

And well, True Thoughts for years, I was going to say First Word is a really good label. And you know, whatever label is pushing the envelope a little bit. Those are the people you want to get behind, you know, people are taking a few risks and they need support.

[Colleen]

Totally agree with you. And I'm all for that. There's one label I really like, and they've been doing a lot of very interesting reissues. We release whatever the fuck we want records. Exactly. And I hear that Ollie is reissuing your Flying High and your Global Chillage albums. That is true.

[Morris]

And I have a test pressing of Flying High, so I think it's quite imminent. But I can't actually give you a date of when it's going to come out. But that, of course, was my first album. And that's kind of what put me on the map. And it was licensed in Japan and America. So it got me playing in those countries for the first time. So it was, you know, kind of a turning point in my life. And people still love that record. So, you know, it's so long ago.

It's an entire new generation. They've been born since it came out. So I hope that they enjoy it as much as the older ones do.

[Colleen]

Yeah. Well, you know, it's interesting because my daughter, she's 20 years old. And, you know, I guess kind of like what disco was to me when I started DJing.

It was like a generation before, you know, a decade before that I started really DJing. It's kind of like now for these younger DJs, this early 90s, both kind of housey, acid house, chill out sound is really, really doing it for them. How do you feel when you listen back to The Irresistible Force? I mean, this album came out in 1992.

[Morris]

I remember clearly making it. Of all people, Lenny D was sitting in the studio with me for a few days and his mind was like totally blank. It was a long way from what he was doing. He was a friend of Casper's. I mean, I'm nostalgic for it because it's a long time ago. I'm actually working on doing it as a live set now because I've still got the two inches and I've just had them digitally transferred.

So I'm going to go and do some dates of doing that album live, which I haven't really done, or at least not for 20 years.

[Colleen]

Wow. That sounds amazing. And now you say two inch, you mean the two inch tape, which is a multi-track tape. They have to be baked.

[Morris]

As you know, certain tapes go in the oven 24 hours before you can play them. So we have to go through all of that.

[Colleen]

Yeah. So all those little iron oxide pieces are falling off. I used to be a tape editor at this time that this album came out. So I know all about that. I can edit with razor blade and tape, like, you know, and real hanging all over the studio. But that's great.

I mean, and then the next one, Global Chillage, will be coming out after that, I assume. Yeah, I guess so.

[Morris]

And we've also just reissued Quiet Logic, which is the album I did with Hosono from YMO.

[Colleen]

Haruame Hosono. What a legend of the Japanese pop scene, starting from the late 1960s, before YMO.

[Morris]

Absolutely. We have bands like that.

[Colleen]

Yes.

[Morris]

Yeah. So it's very strange. How did I meet him? He came to one of my shows in Japan. And when he walked in, the entire crowd, like, knelt down. And so I knew who it was.

And he was really into an ambient period in the mid-90s.

[Colleen]

Omni Sightseeing was the album that he did. I lived in Japan in 1989. And I think that album came out around that time.

[Morris]

Right. I went there first in 92, I think, about Yellow. There was a guy called DJ Muki invited me and The Orb and Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. Not all on the same night, but that was like some of the people he had. And also, I think, Terrence McKenna and a number of speakers. Because I used to do Megatripolis 30 years ago, and we would have one room was a chill out and one room was like speakers.

We had Alan Ginsberg down there. So that was kind of exciting and new. And, you know, you didn't see that normally in clubs.

[Colleen]

No, absolutely. That's wonderful. Oh, my gosh, I wish I was there. I was interviewing people like Robert Fripp and Brian Eno around that time as well. Sakamoto and all that. And this is a massive fan. I think when you and I first met when I first moved over here, we played together in Italy. And we did talk a lot about deep music. Yeah, that was fun.

[Morris]

Yes, that's the one where I got hassled by Simon Le Bon.

[Colleen]

I thought he was making requests.

[Morris]

Well, he was asking for his own record. But I was too late, mate, because I have a plan and I'm doing it. I'm not going to be deflected by any celebrities.

[Colleen]

I know. I can't remember whether he requested, but I didn't.

[Morris]

He wanted his own record, of course.

[Colleen]

Oh, I remember him asking for something different, but I can't remember what it was. I didn't have it in any case.

[Morris]

I didn't recognize him, actually. But even if I had, I wouldn't have put Duran Duran on the middle of my ambience.

[Colleen]

No, I don't think you would have. I don't think you would have.

[Morris]

I would have had to have a large chick to do that.

[Colleen]

So you mentioned that you'll be doing some live Irresistible Forest Gigs and you have these reissues on the horizon. What else is going on?

[Morris]

I've just done a remix for Kong that came out in Japan that's done really well. He's a very good friend of mine and he met his wife at one of my gigs. Oh, my God. The two of them are big fans of mine. So he gave me a most beautiful kimono from his clan in Yamagata. Yeah, Yamagata.

And it's a very interesting kimono. It's not like one I've ever seen before. Not the sort of thing you can buy in the shops, I think. I've been actually doing a lot of gigs in a kimono or a yukata. And as long as you don't get your sleeve caught.

[Colleen]

Yes, the sleeves are the thing getting caught on a turntable. I guess if you're doing digital, it's OK. But turntables, that could be painful.

[Morris]

Yeah, that's happened before. But if you get a Ryukyu kimono, it has short sleeves or no sleeves. And then your arms are more free. But yeah, I love wearing Japanese clothes. You see, I'm so Japanese, I sit on the floor. I've got it all over my head.

[Colleen]

On a tatami mat.

[Morris]

That's right.

[Colleen]

Well, you have a Calm remix coming out. Anything else you should know about?

[Morris]

That's already out. It's a cover of Holkazuka's third book.

[Colleen]

Oh, wow. That's amazing.

[Morris]

I'm always a big fan of Holkazuka. I got to play back to back with him at his first Sonar, which was wonderful. Then I got to play with Cam in Germany at the gig, which was fantastic.

[Colleen]

Oh, that's fabulous. I mean, I've only saw Domo Suzuki perform post-Cam. I got to see him twice, about 10 years apart, a few years apart, too. And what a dynamic performer and what a great band he had. I was just but I never got to see Cam.

[Morris]

I never got to see Cam. What this was, in fact, was the Cam solo tour. So each of the members had an hour to do their own thing. And then Domo Suzuki jumped up on stage out of the audience and did a song. He wasn't even on the bill.

[Colleen]

Oh, my gosh. Amazing. Well, Morris, thank you so much for this mix. We are loving it. And I really appreciate you coming up on the show. And good luck with the reissues. And I hope I get to see the Irresistible Force live as well. Thank you so much for joining us.

[Morris]

Yeah, and hopefully we can hang out in Ibiza sometime. Sounds great. Have a good one.

[Colleen]

Thank you.

[Morris]

Thank you very much.

[Colleen]

A massive thank you to Mix Master Morris for a wonderful, thoughtful, evocative mix and interview. He is just such an amazing DJ. Very eclectic. Has a great musical knowledge, a great breadth of musical knowledge, too. And you should follow him on Mixcloud. He does some great mixes.