Balearic Breakfast | Episode 255 | Unfolding Uncertainties...
- by The Lioncub
- 18 hours ago
- 6 min read
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 255th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on January 20th, 2026.
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Coming back from a few weeks of vacation, Colleen presented this new Balearic Breakfast episode live from the record room, for our utmost pleasure. As we shall see in the listening experience section of this post, today's episode was one of the strongest Colleen has done for quite some time (of course, as she stated, the first part of the show is introspective, but it is also much more than that!). Furthermore, the visuals that the music conveyed were also quite stunning and continuous, I should say. But more about that later on...
There’s only one radio show where you can hear Japanese ambient techno slide into the Grateful Dead . This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud and features loads of new releases including two new vinyl test pressings (thank you lovetempo and Mukatsuku), the radio premiere of Christopher Berg’s new Hird single & an advance promo from Test pressing and Alex Kassian.
The first half of the show is quite introspective and includes a classic Brian Eno track that soundtracked our trip to Lanzarote (no prize for guessing correctly) and a song from my most played album of 2025 – ‘Whispers of Rain’ by Alina Bzhezhinka & Tulshi (kind of like spiritual jazz meets Basic Channel).
Last night my daughter and I went to see/hear Tracy Thorn and Ben Watt at The Moth Club and it was absolutely sublime – an intimate performance in which they played some of their solo work, Everything But The Girl tunes, covers (like the Cole Porter one on the show) and a song from their son Blake’s Family Stereo. My first gig of the year and it was truly inspirational – loved every minute of it. Think I’m going to reread Bedsit Disco Queen on my flight to Japan.
And finally, rest in paradise Bob Weir. Thanks for listening.
Listen back to the 255th episode of Balearic Breakfast:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Colleen heads back to one of her favourite countries in the world and to some of her favourite clubs in the world. See you in Japan! Matane!
Saturday, 24 Jan: Precious Hall
Sunday, 25 Jan: BOARS
Friday, 30 Jan: @dj_bar_bridge_shinjuku
Saturday, 31 Jan: @woal_music_life Gunma
THE PLAYLIST
(1992) Brian Eno – Lanzarote
(2025) Alina Bzhezhinska & Tulshi – Child's Play
(1982) Everything But the Girl – Night and Day
(2025) Alice Russell & Amanda Whiting – I Am (Acoustic Version)
(1993) Peter Bardens – Sea of Dreams
(TBR) Léna C – Elle, Dani...
() Opal Sunn – Liquid Phase II
(1972) Arthur Verocai – Na Boca do Sol
(2026) Joel Sarakula – Hands of Love (Monsieur van Prat Dub Remix)
(2026) Bangs & Talbot – Keep Love Moving On
(2025) Slowly ft. Mahina Apple – Turn Up the Night
(TBR) Lovetempo – Thinking About You
(2025) Chicco – Shigomase (Opolopo Tweak)
(2025) Ayala – Melodia (Cee EIAssaad Remix)
(2026) Coflo & Emmaculate – Salutations
(TBR) Sade – War of the Hearts (Field2Factory Retouch Mix)
(TBR) Hird – Moving Forward
(2026) Nate08 ft. Benni Ola – Waiting (Dam Swindle Remix)
(2025) Yasutaka Sato – New Era
(1980) Grateful Dead – Lost Sailor
THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE
It took me a few minutes to feel today's show. I was surprised when this happened, although I am quite accustomed to it... Looking back, it's not the fact that emotions came through so quickly to me that stopped me in my tracks but the fact that, once again, Colleen's show came knocking on my life's doors...
I always thought that when you love Someone, you have to stay on the side, no matter what happens, no matter what is said or done. Your role, as a lover, as a friend, as a supporter let's say, is to take the good times but also the bad ones, should they arrive... And you should always accept the hard times in Silence, with Resilience, with a light distance, for only distance will help you to get through the storm... Don't try to answer, do not justify yourself, these dark clouds are only here to test your strength and your devotion... The more you will try to fight them, the more you will try to counter them, the more they will keep on knocking you down to the ground... Stay on the side, watch the fury, the incomprehension, the mistakes unfold, try to understand, maybe you've been prepared for them to hit you, maybe, if you're the sensitive kind, you already were observing things from a distance, knowing this dark moment could become a reality...
Brian Eno's Lanzarote perfectly depicts these dark moments, these infuriated rivers... You can almost hear the screams, visualise the lost mind yelling, trying to keep things somewhere in between the chaos... And Lanzarote is also an unfolding musical piece, one that keeps on revealing the horror that was waiting to explode... When the second track started, Alina Bzhezhinska & Tulshi's Child's Play, I already had found today's post title. I was just uncertain about the word's order... Unfolding Uncertainties or... Uncertainties Unfolding... As I try to keep Colleen's positive thinking in mind, I kept the first option, as I thought the second one was "passive/aggressive" and a desperate representation of the battles we all have to face one day or another... Listen carefully to Child's Play, there's also that same sense of discovery, there's the same battle somewhere, the same unfolding although it seems to be more open, but the magic is strained somehow as the dreamy sound of Alina's harp is confronted to the cold electronic waves...
As Colleen said, the first hour of today's episode keeps these eerie feelings alive and well... A lot of other songs selected by our dear Captain have that same revealing sonical aspect (even in the second hour)... Of course, it's the case of Everything But the Girl's Night and Day, even if the feeling is lighter, the story of a love affair unfolding should remind you of something... Dreams are somehow dangerous in their uncertainties... And the sonics of that version aren't what I would call "free and happy", there's something more in there... A kind of darkness somewhere... Fear is never too far, it reaches out to you with Alice Russell & Amanda Whiting's acoustic version of I Am which is named after the titular and thematic track, and is a song that allowed Alice to articulate something that she had long felt but hadn’t fully understood: “I had started therapy soon after my first child was born, and it opened up a bigger understanding of myself and some relationships that had shaped my emotional landscape.” Dealing with themes of generational trauma, healing and life’s darker side, ‘I Am’ acts as a liberating beacon, showing that we can all be our biggest lovers and advocates, “finding our own power, clear boundaries, and doing the work on ourselves to love so much more deeply.”
Do you Feel me now?
Unfolding Uncertainties...
As if we were watching a movie, Colleen then plays Peter Bardens' Sea of Dreams. There's a Constant tension in there, someone is freeing himself from a life he doesn't want no more, there's a battle... Also, did you notice how much Nature is present in these first few tracks? Léna C's Elle, Dani... acts as a transition, still keeping the unfolding element alive and well, and of course, as Colleen presented it during the show, the themes of grief and loss add to our reflections... Opal Sunn's Liquid Phase II is another example of the musical kaleidoscope we experience today. It's a revolving track, it turns round and round, but never stays with the same visuals... With Arthur Verocai's Na Boca do Sol you may think the skies will somehow become lighter... But it's not really the case as this stunning song has a soundstage few songs of that era had, it is such a modern track keeping the unfolding element incredibly present...
The first hour of the show ends with Hands of Love (that keeps a light worried mind if you listen closely) and with Bangs & Talbot's shiny Keep Love Moving On. Usually, when you unfold uncertainties, they tend to disappear...
MORE ABOUT THE SONGS
(Coming Soon)