Boogie Boulevard | DJ Emma (ft. Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy)

DJ_Emma, a member of the Balearic Breakfast family, is a renowned DJ and radio host. In this episode of Boogie Boulevard, she interviews Colleen!

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About this show. – Boogie Boulevard is DJ Emma's monthly radio show on 1BTN. In this episode, she interviewed Colleen about her musical journey. Let's dive deep!

Listen back to Boogie Boulevard with DJ Emma:

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PLAYLIST

(2008) Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra – San Diego

(1987) Quintus Project – Night Flight

(1982) Pat Metheny Group – Are you going with me?

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Wake up everybody (Re-recorded version)

(1975) DJ Rogers – Hold on, Be Strong

(1976) Stevie Wonder – As

(2024) Residentes Balearicos – Balearic for President

(Puerto Montt City Orchestra Blue Sky Mix)

(2000) Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now (Orchestral version)

(2008) Primal Scream – Uptown (Weatherall Mix)

(2023) Jacob Gurevitsch – Elevation in Minor (Cosmodelica Remix)

(1979) Brass Construction – Music makes you feel like dancing

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THE INTERVIEW

[DJ_Emma]

Hello, hello, welcome back to my June edition of Boogie Boulevard. I hope you're all well and enjoying this lovely sunshine. This show's going to be perfect for a sunny Friday because I've got a very special guest coming in very shortly and it's someone I hold in very high esteem and who's a big inspiration to me so I'm extremely honoured to be welcoming Colleen Cosmo Murphy onto the show for an extended interview.

She's also going to be picking out some tunes as well and some of her favourite tracks and also I'm going to be playing a few of the tracks from her latest Balearic Breakfast compilation, Volume 3. For the next two hours it's going to be quite a lot of chat but also some amazing music so I hope you're going to stick around. I'm kicking things off with one of my favourites from the compilation, this is San Diego and it's by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra.

Before we get started on the interview I just wanted to give you a little intro about Colleen and why I'm such a huge fan. So Colleen describes herself as a music lover, a music curator and a music educator and as well as DJing across the globe you will also find her hosting the London Loft Party, presenting both the classic album Sundays and her Balearic Breakfast show and remixing artists like David Holmes and Roisin Murphy. I'm an avid listener to her Balearic Breakfast radio show and have been for years and I had the pleasure of being on the dance floor in Love Dancing at We Out Here.

I'm sure if you've listened to this show before you've heard me talking about this more than once. So I experienced her DJing and it was just on another level entirely, something I haven't experienced before and I have been around a long time. Colleen is a true inspiration to me and so many others.

There's not many people out there that have such a vast knowledge of music and more importantly know how to share it with others the way Colleen does. So I'm really honoured to have her as a guest on the show. She's lived a truly fascinating life and I could have chatted to her for so much longer. I began by asking Colleen about her earliest memories of being a child and what inspired her musically.

[Colleen]

I grew up in a small town outside of Boston, Massachusetts and you know it's a very small town and most of my family were there. I was the oldest grandchild and my aunts and uncles were still like eight, ten, twelve, fourteen. You couldn't walk down the centre of town without seeing a Murphy. It was a great place to grow up. It was a great place to grow up but by the time I was a teenager I just I had to get out.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, the way it is isn't it? And what were your first musical memories and influences as a child?

[Colleen]

It was mainly what my aunts and uncles were playing. My parents were into music but not hugely into it. It wasn't something that was always on in the house. It was always on in the car but it wasn't really on in the house. But my aunts and uncles were so young and some were teenagers that it was really their record collections or their radios that I was listening to. And the things that I grew up with, I mean I remember hearing Rock On by David Essex which was a real kind of psychedelic experience.

I was in my uncle's room and he had the blue lights were on and that song came on the radio and I thought little men were singing it and it was really intense. And then I was listening to The Beatles, Hey Jude in my other uncle's Red Convertible. And then my other aunt, she was really into Bowie and Elton John.

And my first record that anyone bought me was Elton John's Greatest Hits (ed. 1974). I think it was my eighth one. So yeah, lots of kind of classic rock and of course there's always Top 40 on the radio. I really got into the radio. I got my first transistor radio about seven or eight at Christmastime and I just became obsessed. And I remember running upstairs, plugging it in, turning it on and Silver Convention, Fly Robin Fly was the first thing that came on the radio. So that kind of dates exactly what year I actually got it.

[DJ_Emma]

That's amazing. You can remember that that song came on.

[Colleen]

Yes, they're real. I can remember everything. I remember, you know, I just remember the whole feeling and the radio became one of my best friends probably. So it was very, very important to me. And then I got my first turntable when I was 12 and started raiding my aunt's and uncle's record collections and, you know, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Moody Blues, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, kind of all the classic stuff, you know.

[DJ_Emma]

Brilliant. Did you have siblings as well?

[Colleen]

Yeah, I have a younger sister and I'm really proud to say her daughter, my niece, has just started on her high school radio station as well.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, amazing.

[Colleen]

Yeah, it's really cool.

[DJ_Emma]

So let's go to your first tune. So your Ultimate Goosebumps track. I know you've struggled to find one. You've got quite a few, haven't you?

[Colleen]

I have quite a few. And I decided to go with Are You Going With Me by Pat Metheny because it's just so emotive. It's so lyrical, even though there's no words. There's a bittersweet kind of feeling to it. There's a nostalgic feeling, but there's still kind of these soaring melodies that take you elsewhere. And I remember playing, I've played it many times in my life and every time I've played it, it's been a very emotional moment.

The most emotional time I played it was in 1999 or 98 or 99. I was on the radio on WNYU 89.1 FM and I had hosted radio shows there for nearly 15 years. And I was doing my last, I was announcing to my listeners that I was moving and that I was leaving not only New York, but the United States. And, you know, I had a very dedicated fan base. In fact, one of them is still one of my listeners and a contributor to Balearic Breakfast, Bert Francois. People hear his name all the time. 

But I played that song and I got so many emails and letters that I found during the pandemic, actually, and re-read how much this radio show meant to people. Because house music, even though a lot of it was coming out of New York, we didn't have a lot of places where it was actually played, especially on the radio. So I did turn a lot of people on to house music.

Because it was terrestrial radio as well, you're flipping on the dial. It's not like you're online looking for something. And there were people that had never heard it before. And yeah, it was just a very emotional, beautiful song. I love Pat Metheny's work. Pat Metheny was also a favorite of my mentor and friend David Mancuso. We bonded on that because I had gotten into Pat Metheny in high school. And yeah, I think that's the goosebumps track for today. But tomorrow that could change. I have a list of a bunch of them. You know, I was thinking like, it's also like This Woman's Work. Kate Bush is another one that just, you know, leads. And then I was thinking about like, Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin, the Blue Notes. I was thinking about Charles Earland drifting.

[DJ_Emma]

So there's so many. Yeah, This Woman's Work. I actually remember requesting it on the Balearic Breakfast about two years ago. I think I did. Yeah, you did play it as well.

[Colleen]

Oh, cool.

[DJ_Emma]

One significant part of your musical journey was your friendship with David Mancuso and the Loft Parties. And he once told Time Out New York in 2000 about you. He said, "she's very devoted and very pure about the music. She's one of the only people I would trust both with the music, the equipment and the dance floor to fill in for me". So tell me about your deep connection to David and his music and and how the relationship developed from being his protégé into becoming his close friend.

[Colleen]

Yeah, it was probably more the other way around, friend to, or maybe simultaneous, even really. But, you know, I started going to his parties in 1992 on East Third Street, and it was a beautiful space. But it was at a time, and I was just transformed by the music, the vibe, the feeling of safety as a young woman.

I could go alone and have a great time. And the fact that it was in somebody's home, it was also in my neck of the woods, the East Village, which is where I spent a lot of my time when I lived in New York. And he and I, I didn't really know him in the beginning.

  I just went to the parties. You know, I'd say hi, but I'm not one of those types of people to crowd the DJ booth or anything. And also at that time, I was still I was just beginning to I was DJing already as a radio DJ, which kind of led me to playing some, you know, public venues in the 80s, whether it was Mars (ed. now closed) or CBGB's Record Canteen.

And then in the early 90s, when I started DJing as well, I was playing, you know, local bars and things like that. But I was just so inspired by what he was doing. And I had a radio show called Soul School, and I wanted him to come up on the radio show and play some music. And he said, why don't we go out for a drink so we can talk first? And we just had a really deep conversation, you know, about music and synchronicity. And, you know, I had I think we connected on a spiritual level as well, because I had studied Buddhism.

I had lived in Japan in 1989. And I was a radio DJ there and I had studied Zen Buddhism. And I noticed with David, there were a lot of things that I learned in Buddhism that he seemed to be striving for himself as well.

  And I could just felt this kind of connection on so many different levels. But then very early on, and I thought about this, it's crazy, because I didn't know what the loft was. I think I think it's very important to say this, this party wasn't really that it was definitely not oversubscribed at the time. Many times there were hardly anybody was hardly anyone showing up. David was really suffering. And this is the 1990s for a lot of different reasons.

  And so I didn't really know his actual place in dance music history. It was all learning that and there was no internet and there weren't really you'd have to go to find old magazines on microfiche at the library. I mean, that was the only way to find stuff. So it was more like this is a really good guy. I love what he's doing. I want to help him.

So that's why I wanted to get him up on the radio to kind of say to people, hey, the loft is still going on. You need to support David because so many people supported him in the 70s and the early 80s. And then they didn't in the 90s for various reasons. And, you know, I was really trying to get the word out there that, you know, he was still around and still doing it. And then soon after, he asked me to play some records with him, which was something that I had never even considered would happen. Like I when I invited him up my radio show, I didn't think that we'd then be working together at some point. It was just more like, let me help this guy, however I can help him. And yeah, it was when I look back on it, I mean, I only played four records the first time, but then he started playing a bit more with him and then filling in for him. And we were doing fundraisers around my birthday.

And I just became very involved with him. I was being part of his music pool. We would listen to records during the week and turn people, turn each other on to stuff. And yeah, he became a friend. And I remember asking him a few years before he passed away. I said "You know, why did you trust me? You know, you didn't know. You didn't really know me very well. I was young. I was maybe 24, 25. And you trusted me with the music, with the people that were there, the dancers, but also the sound system". I mean, the Koetsu moving quill cartridges he was using were like two thousand dollars each.

And I just you know, he taught me how to handle it. And there's no headphones. It is all class A amplifiers and which run really hot. And he trusted me with it. And he said it starts with the vibe long before when it's the turntable. In any case, you know, I came up with the idea for the compilations in 1998 because I had just done a mix CD for Nervous Records in 1998 called New York After Hours, Later Shade of Deep. And I thought, gosh, David, if David did a compilation, that would really raise awareness about his story. And also it would be some good green energy for him, too, because he was, you know, as I said, times were really, really tough. And when I mentioned this to him, he said, "I only want to do it with you".

And I thought, oh, my gosh, I don't have a label. I was moving to another country. I didn't have the confidence to get investment to to start my own label. And that's that's when I spoke with Nuphonic about doing it because I had a relationship with them anyways. And they did a great job. And it really got David's story out in the world. And then, you know, he started going different places and traveling and playing. And he did parties with us here in London. He and I played together in different countries throughout Europe. He was going to Japan and his fortune started to change. The parties were reaching capacity. All the reservations would have gone. And he was getting into a better financial space as well, which was very helpful. And then once I moved here, we started working internationally together. So, you know, I was thinking about it today.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah.

[Colleen]

I worked with David and the loft for over half my life.

[DJ_Emma]

Wow.

[Colleen]

And I just a friend of mine said that. And she said, you've been working with him because she was there. You've been working with him for over half your life. I thought, oh, my gosh. And yeah, it's it's a relationship that I'll always treasure. You know, it's he says he felt he was lucky he found me. I feel lucky that I found him.

[DJ_Emma]

You continue the loft legacy by running the parties in London now.

[Colleen]

Yes. And I was and I was part of the loft parties in New York as David had brought me back before he passed away. But there's been a recent article in Resident Advisor, which sort of details an event that happened back in September 2022. Basically, David had chosen a board that he wanted to represent his legacy. And he had asked me to be chairperson and two other women who are in their 70s or his best friends to be on this board. And it was himself and another gentleman. And it was a woman majority board. And he won. One of the reasons he wanted me to chair it was because I was a woman as well. The whole yin yang balance was hugely important to David. In any case, he didn't he didn't legalize that. But the family that who inherited everything after David passed, because David didn't leave a will, they recognized our group and worked with us. We let some others onto the board. And in 2022, they did exactly what that Resident Advisor article said they did. They sent an email to say that some of us would no longer be involved.

They took out the majority of funds from the bank account and took all of David's belongings, including his personal belongings, and moved them to another space. We don't know where they are. And, yeah, so the family is in a legal dispute with them at the moment. And luckily, at least Don and I are not in this dispute because we don't own anything. We didn't take anything. But it's been a very harrowing, you know, as you can imagine, very difficult. But, you know, I have I have faith that we'll be able to somehow restore David's vision. And I think the interesting thing is David went through so much of this himself when he was alive. You know, he had when I first met him, he had a building stolen from him.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, wow. Oh, my goodness. Yeah.

[Colleen]

Yes. So these types of things, because it's an open kind of space and because there is so much trust in the community, it can almost open itself up to these types of people and situations, I suppose.

[DJ_Emma]

So I think that's a really good point. Yeah.

[Colleen]

Yeah. So, you know, I'm actually a little relieved that this story is starting to come out. It's going to probably have a lot more coming out. But I just I just hope that everything that, you know, David's vision is restored. And it's something that I and my fellow board members, Don and Elise, and I know the family are really committed to. So staying positive.

[DJ_Emma]

Going back to your loft parties, I mean, how would you describe the difference of the loft party experience to the more standard club experience? And for anyone that hasn't experienced one of these parties, how would you kind of talk about the loft parties? Because they are different, the way the music's played, you know, and there's other other aspects as well.

[Colleen]

There's a lot of aspects. I think the first thing is that it's based around community. And when you do and that's something that I've done with Balearic Breakfast as well. It's based around community, whereas a club night, it can be, but it's kind of open to one and all. And we decided to keep our membership private. You know, if you still become a member, you just have to contact one of us who, you know, are running the London loft.

But it's keeping tabs on who's there and creating a sense of intimacy. So it's not just, you know, random flyering and postering and club listings where anybody can turn up. So people need to be aware and interested in the ethos, aware of the ethos and interested in it. And because it's based around community, I think that really sets it apart from, you know, other aspects of my career, which is, you know, I DJ as well. And I do love DJing. It's just, it's a different thing to this.

Of course, the way we play the music, we use an audiophile sound system. You're hearing music in a completely different way. I think it's more immersive. It's warmer. It's more enveloping. And the volume isn't too loud. You know, we peak at about 100 dB, which isn't that loud. And when you think about clubs like Ministry of Sound, and it's, you have to wear earplugs. So there's a very kind of, it's a safe space in terms of, for hearing as well, because you're trying to create a safe space, not only socially, but also for people's, you know, for their health, really.

Also, music isn't mixed. It's just one song to the next. So there is no kind of performance element like there is when you're DJing and you're mixing, which I also love, don't get me wrong. I do look at these as there's some overlap, but they're also distinct. Yeah, because it's just a different way of programming and putting music together. So there's a lot of freedom with that as well, of course. It's a very long set. I mean, sometimes when I filled in for David, it was 12 hours. So this one here is seven.

Yeah. So that's really great, you know, because you really feel like you can go places, you know, that you can't normally go in a more, you know, shorter DJ set, like two hours.

[DJ_Emma]

And people applaud sometimes at the end of the songs, don't they, as well?

[Colleen]

Yeah, they do. You know, they don't have to, but they do, I guess, because they're feeling it. They're feeling a certain life energy come through the music. And, you know, it's a different way of, you know, you're trying to channel more, you know, and I'm really trying to relax so much into it that I don't even have to think too much about what the next record is going to be. It should just present itself.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, wow. It's like almost spiritual, spiritual thing.

[Colleen]

Yeah. There's more of that kind of a feeling. Yeah. So there's a lot of different things that make it different, but it's really the energy of the team as well that do it. We have a great group of people who are just so positive and just have a lot of love. And that comes through as well. So it's not just me, it's the entire team. And they're just good vibes people and really committed to David's vision. And, you know, it's so that's really great. So I'm really proud of them. David was very proud of them as well.

[DJ_Emma]

So talking about David's vision, do you think we need it more than ever in these current times? Because, you know, do you think a Loft's values stand up in today's social media and obsessed world that we live in? And yeah...

[Colleen]

It's difficult. It's certainly not present in a lot of social media and in a lot of today's world. I mean, David tried to create an idealist community.

So it's almost like you have a microcosm of a social experiment. And because it was in his own home when he started these parties, he was able to kind of control it, you know, who was coming in, who would kind of people he allowed to be there, you know, who he would trust. And, you know, sometimes people take advantage of these situations, or maybe they don't understand the social evolution aspect of this.

I think, you know, it's something I think David and I both believe, I believe we're here to evolve as a species. And part of that is that we evolve as an individual. And, you know, I'm always trying to work on self-improvement. And I know David was too. He was a human, he was not a god and all this kind of deity language surrounds him. And I find quite distasteful. But he was an extraordinary human being. And he really tried to foster, you know, social justice and things like that. And yes, we do. We do need it now more than ever. I mean, you see steps forward and then steps going back and we see this whether it has to do with, you know, racism, sexism, homophobia, and all these other nasty kinds of isms.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah.

[Colleen]

And on social media. Yeah, I mean, some people don't behave themselves and they say terrible things. And it's awful to behold. But I do sometimes wonder if there'll be a reaction. I know we have daughters at a similar age and I do wonder if their generation will have a backlash against it at some point. So I think, you know, we'll see.

[DJ_Emma]

I feel like my younger daughter definitely is different to the slightly older one. I think the younger one's generation. So she's 18. You can't put all 18 year olds in the same group. But definitely her and her friends are very different and they still need their phones all the time. But it's kind of different.

[Colleen]

It's not constant selfies.

[DJ_Emma]

It's not the selfies. It's not the posing for the selfies and taking photos of yourself at every opportunity. Yeah, that's definitely changed.

[Colleen]

I just wonder if people get embarrassed when they're doing that. I see them. I'm like, you see everyone's looking. I mean, I think I've done two selfies. I'm terrible.

[DJ_Emma]

I hate them.

[Colleen]

I'm a total Gen Xer. I'm like, I can't even do it. And I look terrible in them. And I also feel like a nitwit, you know, when people are looking at me doing it.

[DJ_Emma]

I take the worst selfies ever. It's awful. It's not attractive. Usually I use it for a mirror when I'm walking the dogs. I'm like, I wonder how bad I look today. Oh yes, I do. So your second tune that you've chosen is one more tune. So something you play at the end of the night and you've chosen As by Stevie Wonder. So I've gone for this one.

[Colleen]

Because everybody loves it. And I am not too proud to say that I will play crowd pleasers because I don't only play crowd-pleasers. My whole philosophy as a musical curator, whether it's DJing or classic album Sundays or radio hosting, is to both have stepping stones and touch points for people where they know certain songs and then to turn them onto something new.

So it's almost like you're getting the trust and you're having this great, joyous musical experience when people do know the song and can sing along. And then that kind of sets you up as well to be able to maybe play things that they don't know. I feel an end of the night song in general, not always, but in general, it's great to have something uplifting that people can sing along to and they hold in their hearts when they leave. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I go really spacey and really just out there. Like I think I did the last London Loft Party. I played a Malcolm McLaren remix. It was really out there. But generally, other times you want to leave people really up and quite happy. And this is Stevie Wonder. I once joked I was doing a Stevie Wonder Classic Album Sundays event and I said, you know, I was being a little facetious, but I said, if somebody doesn't like Stevie Wonder, they cannot be my friend.

[DJ_Emma]

That's true. Who could not like Stevie Wonder?

[Colleen]

And I really, I don't know anyone who doesn't like Stevie Wonder because I just wouldn't be in my world. You know, I just wouldn't come across them. So it's kind of, you know, and it's such a beautiful, positive song as well. It's really uplifting. And musically, it's phenomenal. It's just it's just a great song that just seems to, I think music should bring people together. And that song really does.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, that's really interesting what you say about you give people a crowd pleaser and then, you know, you'll play some other things because your set in Love Dancing, honestly, is probably the best that I've ever seen in my life. All my friends, even my husband, who it takes a lot for him to enjoy himself.

[Colleen]

Now that he has a house full of women DJs because your daughter DJs too.

[DJ_Emma]

You know, he's very picky when it comes to music and DJing. And he's like, it takes a lot to to please him and get him to really relax and have a good time. But he absolutely loved it as well. And yeah, it was brilliant. That brings me on to the Love Dancing tent, because you obviously curate it for we out here. And curating the line up must be fun.It must be a fun job to curate something and put on different DJs and acts.

[Colleen]

But I love it. I love it. But it's also a bit difficult too...

[DJ_Emma]

Because it's a bit of a challenge.

[Colleen]

So many people. I mean, I've had you before. Yeah, I mean, I've had you before as well. It's such limited space. And and because I mean, it's great because Trojan Sound System programs the Thursdays this year. Sometimes Scruff and I switch days depending upon what else other things we're doing. He's programming the Friday and he always has a great lineup. And I'm programming the Saturday and then Dingwalls on the Sunday. So all jazz.

So I just program one day and, you know, you only have a few songs available. And what I try to do is have younger people and then more, you know, people who've been around as well, been around for a while, like myself, or a heritage act as well. So this year I have Greg Wilson in that heritage spot. And before me, I have Muscle Cars, who are a lovely young duo from from New York City. They have a new album out on VBE. And last year I brought Love Injection from New York. And I noticed that people really like the fact that I was bringing people over from New York as well. That connection seemed really important.

And so I wanted to do it again this year. It's like turning people on to somebody that they may not get the opportunity to hear. And then having younger DJs this year, you know, you have younger DJs and a DJ collective, Eve's drop Collective, are joining us on my day this year. Of course, I always try to keep a good balance, but I think we all do on all the days trying to keep a good balance of, you know, gender balance, which has always been something important to me.

But I think, you know, it's also having the giving younger people the chance. And it's something because they get a chance to play on a really great sound system, because our sound system is, well, of course, I think it's the best. But also Lemon Lounge is great, too. They're like our, they're our, they're our kind of little brother, little sister tent that we share a generator, which went out twice last year.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, no, no!

[Colleen]

That was great, too! I love them.

[DJ_Emma]

Because you played the whole 15 minutes of Get Ready.

[Colleen]

I did.

[DJ_Emma]

Off in the middle of it, didn't it?

[Colleen]

It really did! It's like right, maybe like a minute or into it and it went off. And I only had a few minutes left before Ashley and Rob were coming on. And I said to Ash, I'm going to be cutting into your set if I play this.

He said, just play it.

[DJ_Emma]

It's just brilliant. It added to the whole thing because it sort of went off and we were like, Oh, what's happened? And then it came back on. It's like, woo! It's amazing. Honestly, it's the best night.

[Colleen]

Play it from the start again.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, that was really fun to be back on the dance floor.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I can't wait. And this year I get to hang out the whole time because the last since the pandemic, I had multiple festivals on a weekend and the weekends that it's been held on was kept changing due to venue, the venue as well. But this year is on a different weekend and so I'll be there the entire time hanging out, listening to DJs and seeing bands and, you know, and hanging out a lot in our love dancing tent because I just, I love all the DJs that play there. It's so much fun.

[DJ_Emma]

We're there for the whole weekend as well. I can't wait. It's the only festival this year that I'm going to do the whole thing because they are knackering.

[Colleen]

Are you camping?

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, well, we've got, we've got not quite a camper van, but my husband's got like this utility van that we can sort of put a mattress in. So we are kind of doing living vehicle, which is a bit better for when you're a bit older.

[Colleen]

Definitely!

[DJ_Emma]

He's got like a makeshift shower in it as well. So, so we can have even freshen up, which is good.

[Colleen]

That's so cool! Very good.

[DJ_Emma]

It's good. Are you camping or are you in a van?

[Colleen]

I haven't camped the last year or two. I did the first few years, but the problem for me is I'm not a great sleeper and it's the sound and the light is too, too much. So just staying, staying off site.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, nice. That sounds good.

[Colleen]

Being a little bit of a diva, you know!

[DJ_Emma]

Well, I think when, you know, when you get a little bit older, you have to have your comfort. So I can't, you know, you definitely have to.

[Colleen]

And I'm working every day.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, exactly.

[Colleen]

You know, I am working. Yeah.

[DJ_Emma]

So no, it'd be fun. But yeah, gigs in general, do you still from time to time get gigs that are difficult or are you at the stage where you can say no to an event if you know it's not going to be right for you?

[Colleen]

Yeah, definitely. We definitely say no quite a lot in certain situations. And it's not that I'm snobby. It's just I have a better idea of who I am and what's right for me. And so does my husband's my manager. So I'm really lucky. So he vets everything. And he's more protective over me than I am, which is which is great. But sometimes that's due to the sound system as well.

Like if the sound system is just not going to work at all or. But generally, to be honest, because I don't have generally. Hum. I'm in nice situations, like if someone's asking me to play, they have a good idea of who I am. I'm not getting offered like big techno sets or anything like that.

[DJ_Emma]

Exactly.

[Colleen]

So I think it's, you know, I've been around for long enough that, you know, if people want to book me, they and I'm a bit versatile as well. It's not like it's not like just a single sound that I have. I did a Balearic Breakfast set last week for the for the record release party, and I've done a few of those.

In fact, I have a Balearic Breakfast set at First Light Festival on the 23rd of June, and it's the most easterly point in the UK. And I'm doing the sunrise session. So it's like the day after the solstice or something.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh Wow.

[Colleen]

Yeah. So that's exciting. So there's different. I feel quite lucky because there's different styles.Like, you know, I was playing Glitterbox main room last weekend in Ibiza. That's a whole other thing. And it's so fun.I mean, the people are great and it's a really well run club, but it's a different it's a different thing than other things that I do. But I like the fact that I do a lot of different things. It keeps me interested musically.

[DJ_Emma]

And you've certainly got a lot of records behind you to pick. Yeah, exactly. How does how does your memory? Can you remember all your records? Because I'm looking behind you and my I know my memory is absolutely horrific. And on my USB, I just I just forget what tracks I have.

[Colleen]

Oh, USBs are terrible. I cannot because I don't I have a visual memory. So now the only thing with my record collection, because I've worked in so many record shops, I've worked in four shops over the years. I'll think, oh, do I have that? Let's say, do I have that, hum, Chaka Khan album. And because I've seen all the albums and held them at different, you know, record shops that I've worked at, I have this visual memory that's attached to it. But then I can't remember if it's in my collection or not. So I'm thinking, gosh, maybe I need an intern to kind of like catalog all this.

But generally, I do. I do have a pretty good idea. And it is relatively organized as well for my own for my own...

[DJ_Emma]

Alphabetical.

 [Colleen]

It's all different. It's just how I can access it. So they'll be like a balearic section now because it's easier for me to go there when I'm doing a set rather than going through, you know, 8000 records. Um, yeah. So you have to kind of do that. Yeah. So but yeah, it's like it's it's it makes me feel like home. These records because, you know, they've been with some of them I've had since I was 12, 13, you know, years old.

[DJ_Emma]

I don't want to depress everybody, but the third tune is your funeral song. And I had so many songs.

[Colleen]

I had so many songs for this one. But the first one that came to mind was both sides now by Joni Mitchell. And she did it. She it's been on recordings three times. This is the first one that's on her album, Clouds, I believe. And she had just written it. She had just written this song. And in fact, Judy Collins is the one who sang it first and popularized it. Then Joni recorded it herself.

And it's it's a song that's so advanced for her years. So she's singing in her higher register because she still had a higher voice. And she's in her 20s singing this song. And it's so deep. It's really, really about life experience. And the time that the version I would want played at my funeral. There's two other versions. One is from the year 2000. So she was just a few years older than me now. She was in her late 50s. And the gravitas that she has when she sings it. I mean, I'm almost crying just thinking about it. It's so deep. And then she sang it again. She there was a concert. I think it was Newport Folk Festival. They brought her. It was a few years ago. Joni Mitchell and Friends. And they performed that as well. And then she's now in her 70s singing this song. And it's incredible. But the one I feel that is resonating with me is the one that she released in the year 2000. And it's an orchestral version.

I think it's maybe been nominated for some kind of award, possibly a Grammy, actually. And it's just phenomenal. And I think, you know, that line, I really don't know life at all. I mean, we are all still trying to figure out why we're here, what our purpose is. We have belief systems that might help us, guide us and get us through. But at the end of the day, the jury's out about what's going to happen. Like, is there life after death? We don't know. And you won't. Yes, you can't live to tell the tale of whether or not it is. So I think it's that that song kind of taps into that emotion. She means seeing life from many different angles.

  There was another one, too, that I thought if I could do a second choice, is Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World. Why not? Because life is a gift. Yeah. Life is a gift. And it just is, even with all of its all of the terrible stuff going on that has always gone on, quite honestly. There's always been terrible things going on as part of the human experience. But we also find beauty. And I remember seeing a photo. I believe it was in war-torn Syria, possibly. But it was an older man in a room with his turntable. And things, you know, things are bombed all around him. And he was still trying to find beauty in life through music. And that's just image stayed with me. And, you know, it still is a wonderful world. And we do. You know, it's our job to protect it. But but life is a gift. You know, it really is. And we are whenever things are bad. You try to remember the good things if you can.

And obviously, I'm not getting this millions of people on this on this planet right now that have are facing a life and death situation every day. And I'm in a very privileged position to not be facing that. I am saying this with my privilege and I want to acknowledge that. But you do have to be grateful. I suppose if you're in that situation, maybe it's grateful for another day being alive. But yeah, it's it is a it is a wonderful world in many ways, a difficult, challenging world and lots of terrible things. But there's just so many moments of beauty and joy.

[DJ_Emma]

Let's just go on to the Balearic Breakfast show. So you started that in 2020, didn't you? Was it 2020? Yeah. And it turned out to be a great comfort to so many people during that challenging time during the pandemic. And then, you know, four years later, the Balearic Breakfast community has really grown and friendships have been made. And every Tuesday, your show brings loads of happiness to so many. So as the creator of the show each week, what does the Balearic Breakfast mean to you?

[Colleen]

I mean, it is a community that is based around the love of sharing music, that that's definitely what it is more than a radio show to me now. And I think, you know, because it started in a pandemic, made it so much more emotional and gave it a lot more weight and gravity. And it's, you know, so many people struggle with mental health.

And so many people got in touch privately to say that this show really helped them. It helped me when I was struggling through different times as well, just being there with the community and, you know, focusing on music and having a support system. Um, I think that's and it's great because, you know, once everything opened up again and I started traveling, I've been able to meet people.

I've met people in Australia, New Zealand, people in Hong Kong. There's people all over the world. I was just in New York and I was at a record shop and a guy said, are you Colleen Cosmo Murphy? I said, yes. He said, I'm from Ecuador. I listened to your show and yeah, it's crazy. I think, you know, it's, it's really when, um, Worldwide FM took a pause. I thought I could just end this show, but then I thought, you know, let me take a leaf out of David's book and do it yourself. And it just flew. It kept going. So I think, you know, the fact, I think it's the community is number one. And then the music is, you know, it's all over the place. It's new and it's old. I get turned on to stuff every week and everybody else gets turned on to stuff every week. And plus you hear some favorites as well.

  And I think it's just a show that appeals to a lot of different ears because it is so eclectic. Whereas it's not like a house mix show or something like that, which would only appeal to certain people.

[DJ_Emma]

And I think it's also, you know, you learn so much from the music because you're so knowledgeable. For me being a listener and also your voice is really calming. You've got a really nice voice to listen to on the radio as well.

But it's also, yeah, the way you educate about the music. I learn something new, I hear something new every week. So yeah, I can see how it's grown as big as it has. And it's so popular. And you've released the third Balearic Breakfast compilation recently, very recently. It's just literally a few days ago it was released. How do you go about selecting the tracks for these compilations?

[Colleen]

We avoid the major labels like the plague. That's the first rule. Because everybody, because the licenses aren't that much. It's only for vinyl, that's why we don't have digital releases. It's a very simple license and everybody gets the same. So there's none of these kind of major label politics and the costs and you have to buy a bunch of them.

So the way I do it is I try to sort of create the arc of a radio show. So it's kind of starting out a bit more mellow and building up. Also, there's difference, making sure there's different sounds represented. I try to get a few things that are older tracks that are hard to find on vinyl. And then some of it is stuff that I've played on the show that never had a vinyl release. Because so many people are able to release their own music through Bandcamp, which is great.

But they may not have the funds to press up vinyl because it's very expensive. So I kind of will go through things I've played to see if it's something I loved and it never came out on vinyl. I also want to play it out. So it's also for myself as well. And then Heavenly do all the licensing. Ardnex does the artwork. I love working with Heavenly. Jeff Barrett is a legend. He's been running an independent label for 35 years, at least. And I remember I got Fox Bass Alpha by Saint Etienne when it came out. And it was one of my favorite albums at the time. So I've kind of been a fan of the label since that time. And Jeff and his whole team, Daisy and Danny and Catherine and Georgia, they're just great people. And they've really done such a great job with this. I can't believe it's still going.

[DJ_Emma]

And I have to say, you mentioned the artwork. It's just beautiful. And I know sometimes when I'm going vinyl shopping, I will pick out a record.

I won't know who it's by, but if it's got a really lovely artwork on it, that sometimes, you know, if there's no work and listen to it, sometimes, you know, you can get a chance to listen to it on some decks in the shop. But if I really like the artwork, I'll buy it. But the artwork from Black Breakfast, I love it. It's really eye-catching and gorgeous.

[Colleen]

Yeah, he's a fabulous artist. He's from Indonesia. And you should follow him on Instagram because anytime something comes up, Ardniks is his name. A-R-D-N-E-K-S. Because it's just beautiful to see that on your feed. And he also does stuff for Craven as well.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, I love it. And I think this third compilation is probably my favourite so far. Yeah, I think I really love your selections.

[Colleen]

That's so cool...

[DJ_Emma]

And you've picked one. So your final track that we're going to play is a track you've picked from the third compilation. And you've picked Uptown, the Andrew Weatherall remix by Primal Scream. So this is really rare, is it?

[Colleen]

Oh, it's so rare. So I borrowed a copy once to play at one of the loft parties that we do in Italy. I remember hearing David playing it once at one of our loft parties here in London. But I've never had a vinyl copy. And I went on to Discogs and I'm like, wow, it's so expensive. Anyways, once I befriended Jeff, he told me, Jeff was Andrew Etherill's first manager. So he said, I have a copy of everything that Andrew ever did on vinyl. I said, do you have a copy of Uptown? Because I am just desperate for a vinyl copy. And he said, if I have one, I'll give it to you. Because he says, I don't really need to use it. I said, great. And then he looked and said, I don't have a copy. So I started to think like, maybe this could be good. But you know, Primal Scream, major label, this is going to be difficult. Now, I've interviewed Bobby Gillespie four times in my life. The first time was in 1991 for Screamadelica when I was producing syndicated radio shows in New York. And then I interviewed him again a few years later, the entire band.

Then I interviewed him for my sixth music show, Sounds of a City. Then I interviewed him in the band again for another event. So I've interviewed him quite a few times. And Jeff is very close with him. And Jeff mentioned that I would like to include this on the compilation. And he said he'd be happy for me to have it on the comp because the major label doesn't know the copyright on that. Andrew Weatherall mix, thankfully. So, yeah, so I was really lucky. And I have to thank both Jeff and Bobby Gillespie and the spirit of Andrew Weatherall as well, because I think it's important to recognize his great contribution to music and especially this kind of a sound.

I mean, when Screamadelica came out, it was a really important album for me because it kind of married my rock and indie rock sensibility with my dance music sensibility. And we didn't have the acid house revolution in America. It was a different thing. Ours was, you know, house music. It wasn't a bunch of younger people on ecstasy. It's not that it didn't have that element, but it was, you know, we dance music had been going on. It kind of evolved out of disco. And so you have these communities were already present already. So it's a different thing.

But I kind of lived through the acid house movement vicariously through interviewing. I interviewed all these bands like Apex Twin and Orbital and Shaman and Prodigy and like all these bands. I kind of knew what was going on and had my finger on the pulse, so to speak. But getting that Primal Scream song was just that Andrew Weatherall mix was just when he said we got it, I was just jumped for joy. It was amazing.

[DJ_Emma]

Lastly, you've been in the world of music for a few decades now. And I know from my own experience that music creeps into every aspect of your life. It can be an obsessive thing to be into. And it's sometimes at the expense of family and friends as well, I think. And relationships. How have you managed that?

And who got better at it over the years, do you think?

[Colleen]

Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting. I've noticed a lot of women who are in music tend to often are with partners who are in music as well. And I think my husband and I have a very good understanding. We work together on some things, but we support each other on the things where we're not working together as well. The life balance when I had a baby was difficult. Actually, at that time, most people forgot about me anyway. So it's not like everyone was knocking on my door to do gigs, quite frankly. You know, this is at a time when, you know, now it's great because when women have babies, whether you're Jamz Supernova or Ash Lauren, they're right back out there. And that's wonderful.

But, you know, my agent got rid of me. I had no agent. Nobody was booking me, really.

It was very few people. Some people still were. There were some friends that were. But I ended up doing a lot of production at that time. I just kind of got into my own world, which was fine. And then I later started Classic Album Sunday. So I had to generate my own thing. But it was, you know, still difficult. You know, if I went to Japan for 10 days, I'd have to arrange child care. So I'd have to like sometimes I remember once I had to fly to Boston to drop Ariana off with my family and then fly to Japan and then go back to Boston and then back here. And so things like that were very because we have no family in London near us. So that was difficult as well.

But, you know, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I mean, your your your path and your journey is what it is. It makes you who you are today. So, yeah, there have been challenges. But, you know, trying to stay on top of taking care of yourself and eating right and all that kind of stuff. I don't burn the candle on both ends. I mean, I'm a hard I'm a hard worker, but I'm not like out partying all the time either.

[DJ_Emma]

So I think it's difficult because, I mean, my daughter, obviously, she's in a DJ collective and they've just gone over three years. They've just catapulted into the stratospheres very quickly. And I think, yeah, I think it's quite overwhelming for for her because like she's been thrust into this world and it is a lot of partying, a lot of traveling, a lot.

And it takes its toll on her mentally, I think. And she does find it she does find it tricky at times. I think she's definitely a little bit better now and she's enjoying it. But it is definitely had its challenges. And I think, yeah, it's it can be a difficult to manage it in that way.

[Colleen]

It is it can be, you know, it's interesting because you spend a lot of time by yourself and maybe she's in a collective. But a lot of times I'm out traveling by myself. Not that I mind. I enjoy my own company. I used to go backpacking by myself for months on end. So it's not a and I love reading and I love all I love exploring and taking walks. And now, actually, that I've been doing this for so long that this communities and a lot of the places where I go, where I know people. So that's that's really quite nice, too. But it is something that has to be managed.

I think for myself, because it wasn't like that for me where it was like it's just been like a kind of slow and steady kind of build for my career. So I've been able to accrue wisdom on how to handle it gently, you know, and as opposed to like, you know, you look at some of these superstar DJs like the whole Avicii story. Here's a young man had no support system out there on the road by himself, had some issues, mental health issues. And and then he's playing, you know, he's just has this massive following it and the pressure is on to deliver as well. And yeah, it's such a sad, sad story.

[DJ_Emma]

It's so true what you say, where you've done it gradually and it's it's taken, you know, organically grown over the years. It makes a big difference. It's true when you're thrust into it so quickly, it's it can be very difficult, I think, mentally, especially when they're so young, especially if you're young. Yeah, yeah. I'm keeping my eye on her at the moment a little bit.

[Colleen]

Good. Well, she's she's lucky to have you because you understand some of the pitfalls because, you know, you think about Avicii's family maybe didn't like off you go. You know what I mean? It's like I'm not saying they did it. I don't know. I'm just saying if you're from a family that has, you know, you have musicians or, you know, people that understand what you do, it my family don't really understand what I do still. I mean, my my my my family, like not not my husband's daughter, but my, you know, other. Yeah, exactly. Like and do you get on the microphone?

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, well, my mom's the same. She's like, oh, you're deejaying again. You know, she's like, shouldn't you stop doing that and get a proper job now? Go back to your teaching. Yeah, so that's the kind of about it now. But just lovely coming up the next few months for you. Have you got I know you've got Houghton got we out here. You've just come back from a.

[Colleen]

Eastern Electrics. Yeah. Eastern Electrics first light low stuff festival. I'll be doing some other gigs throughout Europe. I have a remix of Bryony Charmin Pinto coming out on True Thoughts next month. A song called Moving Forward. Great lyrics. Really beautiful. And I just did a remix for Joe Goddard.

  In fact, I'm working on new music with Joe Goddard from Hotship. So I'm working with the whole band and a woman named Lou Hayter.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, I know. Yeah, I know who Lou Hayter is.

[Colleen]

And we're starting another kind of act. So I've been working on music. Yeah, she has a new album coming out, too. So that's really exciting because I haven't made new music. I've just been doing remixes for a long time.

[DJ_Emma]

We haven't touched on that at all, because I know I love your remix on on the Balearic Breakfast compilation that you just released.

[Colleen]

Thank you.

[DJ_Emma]

That's one of my favorites on there. Actually, I'm going to play it in a minute. Oh, great.

[Colleen]

Fantastic.

[DJ_Emma]

But yes, I know Lou Hayter. And I've sort of been following her over the years. Because she used to work in Aire. The Young Pony Club.

[Colleen]

And she's worked with Aire as well.

[DJ_Emma]

One of my really, really good friends used to be her boyfriend quite a few years ago. So that's how I know of her. It's small world.

[Colleen]

Cool. Yeah.

[DJ_Emma]

Anyway, oh, that's brilliant. Well, thank you so much for chatting today.

Oh, thank you, Emma. We can talk all day. And I'm sure, are you ever going to write a book?

Because I know DJ Paulette, Smoking Joe. I'm reading Smoking Joe's at the moment. I just think people have been asking.

[Colleen]

And yes, eventually I will probably do that. I just have to find the time.

[DJ_Emma]

It would be a brilliant book. Yeah. Well, I'll be first to write that one.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I'd love to do that.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, the story. Yes, exactly. I definitely look forward to your partying days at the beginning.

[Colleen]

Let's remember, we didn't document any of that stuff.

[DJ_Emma]

Yeah, that's the trouble.

[Colleen]

We weren't taking selfies.

[DJ_Emma]

No, thank goodness. Thank God, we were just living life. Thank God we didn't have cameras around that time. That would have got me into a lot of trouble.

[Colleen]

I know.

[DJ_Emma]

Goodness!

[Colleen]

Yeah.

[DJ_Emma]

Anyway.

[Colleen]

Not good.

[DJ_Emma]

Oh, thank you so much.

[Colleen]

Well, thank you so much for having me.

[DJ_Emma]

And thank you. And yeah, brilliant to chat to you.

[Colleen]

You too.