Balearic Breakfast | Episode 258 | Warm Memories (The 2026 Loft Special - 3 Hours)
- 2 days ago
- 12 min read
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 258th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on February 17th, 2026.
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
A few days after playing back to back with her longtime friend François Kevorkian, where she met some members of the Balearic Breakfast Family, and just a few minutes upon embarking the flight that would take her home, Colleen streamed the 258th episode of our beloved show, dedicated to the memory of her late and great friend and mentor, the beloved David Mancuso.
As expected, although this was a prerecorded show, it was a very moving episode in which Colleen shared memories of her friend, the letters he wrote to her, and, of course, the music that was central to their relationship.
On the chat, we all enjoyed the musical selections, the memories, the tunes, chatting happily with one another as we always do during these special musical moments. Of course, when it comes down to the loft and to David, some members get more excited than others, like for real, and I know someone, a young soul, who was really excited as can be, so much so that he, of course, shared his passion for the unbelievable cartridges that the Koetsus are (more about That Sound here)!
Other members shared their memories with us, and Aiko Kitawaga wrote, "I remember David's set at Filmore North at Precious Hall when it was still on the east side. My mother came with me, and we danced together. It's a beautiful memory". Our friend Kay shared, "You Pat Metheny fans should get involved in Classic Album Sundays - There'll be a recording of the album that was featured last year". Each song played brought memories and valuable insights. There is a great documentary about Sun Ra (Do the Impossible), available online. And, with Colleen sharing with us that her mom is clear of cancer, we all joined in a happy listening session! Join us!
Yesterday’s Balearic Breakfast annual Loft Anniversary Special is now up on my Mixcloud. For the last five years, each February I have hosted a Loft special, commemorating the party that my dear late friend David Mancuso inaugurated in his own home on the 14th February 1970. For those radio specials I invited members of the worldwide Loft community to share their reflections on The Loft and what it means to them, and for some, their personal memories of David. What he developed and evolved through the healing properties of music has infinite echoes and vibrations on all corners of the globe.
He also had a huge impact upon my own life, obviously professionally as we did a lot together, musically hosting Loft parties together in New York, London, throughout Europe, co-producing The David Mancuso presents the Loft Compilations, working together on his record label, radio documentaries and film projects and of course starting a Loft party here in London over twenty years ago.
But he also had a massive impact upon me personally and that’s had far more bearing on my life. He was an extraordinary person, a visionary and a musical healer. And he was also a profound friend, one who had my back and who looked out for me in the male-dominated world of dance music and DJs. I feel blessed.
So on this show I reflected upon our relationship and shared some of his letters. I’m not going to retell the story of the Loft – you can do that via a podcast featuring an interview with David by my friend Chris Menist on the London Loft website at loftparty.org. And I’m not going to talk about my first experience at The Loft as I’ve done that in many interviews already. But on this show I shared some of my personal exchanges with David whilst sharing some Loft classics. I hope you will enjoy and thanks for listening. Love saves the day.
Listen back to the 258th episode of Balearic Breakfast:
OTHER EPISODES DEDICATED TO THE LOFT
Have a listen to these other shows dedicated to David's Memory and to The Loft:
The 2025 Loft Anniversary special (click here);
The 2024 Loft Anniversary special (click here);
The 2023 Loft Anniversary special (click here).
THE PLAYLIST
(1968) Van Morrison – Astral Weeks
(1971) Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda
(1978) Paz – Kandeen Love Song
(1984) Pat Metheny – First Circle
(1963) Les Troubadours de Roi Baudoin – Missa Luba Kyrie
(2008) Alfredo De La Fe – My Favorite Things (Live)
(1981) The Love Unlimited Orchestra – Welcome Aboard
(1975) The O'Jays – Family Reunion
(1975) Harold Melvin – Wake Up Everybody
(1972) Labelle – Moon Shadow
(1973) Chuck Mangione – Land of Make Believe
(1978) Earth Wind & Fire – That's the Way of the World
(1977) Universal Robot Band – Dance and Shake Your Tamborine
(1981) Donald Byrd – Love Has Come Around
(1980) Ben E King – Music Trance
(1979) Brass Construction – Music Makes You Feel Like Dancin
(1969) Cat Mother – Track in A
(1970) Buddy Miles – Them Changes
(1970) Andwella – Hold Onto Your Mind
(1972) The Jimmy Castor Bunch – Creation / It's Just Begun
(1976) The Equals – Black Skinned Blue-Eyed Boy
(1973) Osibisa – Happy Children
(1971) Mandrill – Mandrill
(1970) Sweet Smoke – Silly Sally
(1967) The Chambers Brothers – Time Has Come Today
(1972) War – City Country City
COLLEEN'S MEMORIES WITH DAVID...
Good morning, Balearicans. I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy hosting your weekly Balearic Breakfast on my MixCloud Live, and greetings to all gathered over there on the chat and thank you for joining me. For the last five years, each February, I've hosted a loft special commemorating the party that my dear late friend David Mancuso inaugurated in his own home on the 14th of February, 1970.
For all of these radio specials, I invited members of the worldwide loft community to share their reflections on the loft and what it means to them, and for some, their personal memories of David. What he developed and evolved through the healing properties of music has infinite echoes and vibrations on all corners of the globe. He also had a huge impact upon my own life. Obviously, professionally, as we did a lot together, we musically hosted loft parties together in New York, London, Europe, co-produced the David Mancuso Presents the Loft compilations, worked together on his record label, radio shows, documentaries, film projects, and of course, we also started a loft party here in London over 20 years ago.
But he also had a massive impact upon me personally, and that's had far more bearing on my life. He was an extraordinary person, a visionary, and a musical healer. And he was also a profound friend, one who had my back and who looked out for me in the male-dominated world of music. I feel blessed. So on today's show, I'm going to reflect upon our relationship and share some of his letters to me.
I'm not going to retell the story of the loft, and you can do that via a podcast featuring an interview with David by my friend Chris Menest. It's on the London Loft website at loftparty.org. And I'm not going to talk about my first experience at the loft, as I've done that in many interviews already. But today, I'm just going to share some of my personal exchanges with David while sharing some loft classics.
The first part of the show is part of the set that I musically hosted for the loft's 50th anniversary party in New York after David's passing. No, I didn't record it, but after playing each record like a good Virgo, I put it back in my record box in order, later wrote it down, and then a year later recorded it at home when we were in the grip of a worldwide pandemic. I've only included a segment of this set, the full set you can hear on my Mixcloud.
We'll start with a song from an album that David and I both cherished. In fact, I played it on repeat upon learning that David had passed in November 2016. It's an album that's been there for me for my whole life, as it was recorded the month I was born, and at a time when this Northern Irish musician was living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, not far from my home.
Van Morrison with Astral Weeks.
Les Troubadours de Roy Beaudoin with the Missa Luba, a version of the Latin Roman Catholic Mass using traditional Congolese songs, and the version we heard performed by a Congolese children's choir in 1963. Ahead of that, some more Loft classics: Pat Metheny with First Circle, Paz, Candine Lovesong, Alice Coltrane, Journey, and Satchitananda, and of course, starting off with Van Morrison, Astral Weeks.
Now you can hear the varied sounds that David selected at the Loft, not just disco, and he hated being called the godfather of disco. He played all kinds of music, and at that time was a real vinyl digger. He discovered Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango's Soul Makossa, and that became a hit. Woman by Spanish rock group Barrabas, and the Risco Connection version of McFadden and Whitehead's Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now, which we included on the Loft compilations.
By the time I met him in the early 1990s, he wasn't out digging in record shops, but others brought records to him. After David invited me to musically host with him for the first time at the Loft in New York back in 1994, he invited me to be part of his music pool, a monthly gathering of local DJs who shared records, and thus I started introducing records to the Loft, both at these meetings, and also when I was musically hosting at the Loft with David, whether back-to-back, my own sets, or even filling in for him. Paz, Candine Lovesong actually is one of those songs, Karma High Priestess, and Pasha One Kiss are all ones that made it onto the Loft canon.
David and I continued our listening sessions after I moved to London, as I helped him prep for our Loft parties over here. It became a routine. Every Friday before the party, we spent hours going through records, some that he had brought with him, and others that I introduced to him. He loved coming to our house and once wrote to me, Adam, and our daughter Ariana, "Looking forward to seeing you all in your home soon. Being with the three of you is always a calm center for me. It's one of those precious moments in my life that I continue to cherish and hold dear in my heart."
In 2007, David invited me to work on a record label he had put together, the Loft Audiophile Library of Music. The following year, the label released this record, the first and only release, a live version of My Favorite Things by Cuban violinist Alfredo De La Fe.
LaBelle with Moonshadow, ahead of that Harold Melvin, Wake Up Everybody, the OJ's Family Reunion, the Loft Unlimited Orchestra with Welcome Aboard, and starting it all off with Alfredo De La Fe, My Favorite Things, the live version from the Loft Audiophile Library of Music.
Now the LaBelle record I just played was given to me by David. It was one of his personal copies. In the summer of 2011, I had gone over to his apartment on Avenue B, climbing up the six flights of stairs all the way to the top in the oppressive New York City summer heat. And at this point in his life, he was making plans for the future. A couple of years earlier, he had written to me asking me to be the chairwoman of the Loft, which he described as a not-for-profit foundation with a mission to protect the principles of the Loft.
He wrote, "You are the best person for it. You have proven to be a good friend to me and the Loft. You are also involved in the music scene, DJ, producer, owner of a dance business, audio awareness, the list goes on. You have all the know-hows as I do with all aspects and are faithful to the principles. Also, you are a woman, and this gives a yin-yang balance to the overall concepts". Of course, I said yes.
So back to 2011, I was at David's and he was getting ready for the future and asked me to host a fourth Loft Party, a summer party, as there was a big demand for Loft Parties in New York City. The next day, he followed up with an email in which he elaborated that he wanted me to transition into his role and envision a scenario in which we would both musically host an equal number of Loft Parties in both New York and London until he could no longer do it. And then he took my breath away when I read these words. He asked me to be the caretaker of his records and equipment upon his demise, and he wanted me to have the rights to name the Loft.
At that time, I was still raising a small child, so I knew I couldn't go back and forth to New York City all the time. And then the following year, David got sick. But eventually in 2015, he made plans for me to come back to New York City to do the sound and musically host, and eventually I was able to do it. Of course, things changed after his passing, and things are still changing. But when I read these words, it really meant something to me.
"Never feel that you have to be obligated to do anything for anybody, especially when you have earned your space. As you can see, what I'm suggesting to you is not 99.5%, but 100% of something. You have always done the same for me. 100%. And it's always been there between the two of us. It was always that way from day one, which I remember like it was yesterday". And on that hot summer day, he gave me a stack of his records, all with their special markings, including the LaBelle record we just heard. And he also gave me this one. In my ears, the most special record of the Loft canon. And he had stuck a post-it note only on that one with these words: "To a dear and beloved friend, with respect and gratitude, David".
Balearic Breakfast with Brass Construction, Music Makes You Feel Like Dancing, Benny King with Music Trance, Love Has Come Around by Donald Byrd, The Universal Robot Band with Dance and Shake Your Tambourine, and Earth, Wind and Fire, That's the Way of the World. All songs that David championed at his party, the Loft. And those were songs that I played at the Loft 50th anniversary back in 2020. Now it's not the complete set, as I wanted to play you another mix I did in tribute to David's first iteration of the Loft at his home at 647 Broadway. This is the Loft that I wish I had gone to, as I feel it was the most pure form of the Loft. And I think David felt that way too. He said that space, his home on 647 Broadway, was the only one he dreamed about.
If you have a listen to that podcast I mentioned earlier at loftparty.org, you'll hear him talking about it. I also love this era musically, as it was before there was a genre named disco and before disco was a thing. He was playing R&B, rock, and soul. And a few years ago, I put together a special Loft 647 Broadway mix of some of the songs that he played, starting off with another record that David gave me by Catmother and produced by Jimi Hendrix and Electric Ladyland Studios. It's pretty far out. Catmother with Track N.A.,
The Chambers Brothers with Time Has Come Today, Sweet Smoke, Silly Sally, Mandrill with Mandrill, O.C. Bisa with Happy Children, a live version of The Equals, Black Skin, Blue Eyed Boys. I don't think David had that one. I found that one a few years ago. Amazing. The Jimmy Castor Bunch creation, It's Just Begun, Anduella, Hold On To Your Mind, Buddy Miles, Them Changes, and Catmother, Track N.A., and that's all part of my 647 Broadway mix.
And funnily enough, just up the road from 647 Broadway was our radio station, WNYU's at 721 Broadway. And on the 25th of February, 1994, David joined me there for my Friday night radio show, Soul School on 89.1 FM. After attending loft parties for a couple of years, I finally worked up the courage to extend an invitation. Well, not completely courageous because it was through a friend who knew him. I wasn't the kind of person who went up to the turntables trying to converse with the musical host or DJ as I preferred to be on the dance floor. But towards the late morning hours, David would put on The Orbs, Adventures Beyond the Ultra World or Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, and sometimes I would quietly sit behind him in the church doors, spacing out and riding the music. On one occasion, he offered me a lift after the party as he would head to Port Authority bus station to take a bus up to his cabin on Mount Tremper in upstate New York. I lived along the way.
But he was still quiet and mysterious, and I didn't feel I knew him well enough to ask him to be a guest on my radio show. So my friend asked, and he said he would like to hang out with me and get to know me first. And so we went out for drinks on Avenue A in East Village and talked and talked and we really vibed, we really connected. He was completely different, engaging, dynamic, excited, especially when we shared our experiences of musical synchronicity. And so he agreed to come up to my radio show on the condition that he wouldn't talk on the microphone. He did not want to be interviewed. He just wanted to select the records.
And the records he selected reflected not only songs that are long-term staples of the loft musical canon, but also house tunes that were recent at the time. Black Rascals, The Luna Project, Psychotropic, and the gorgeous Love Masquerade by 280 West featuring Diamond Temple. And he also played this song, one that he loved musically, but also thematically, as it reflected the tempo of his life. For half the week he would stay in his cabin in the woods on Mount Tremper, and for the other half at his loft space in Alphabet City in New York. And so I feel this is a special song to leave you with. War with City Country City.
Thanks for listening, and love saves the day...
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