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Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 166th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on March 5th 2024. About this show. – On March 2nd, Colleen posted the request line on her socials with an astounding picture, crafted as always by our dear Lee , asking us for some musical suggestions regarding the celebration of International Women’s Day : " The Balearic Breakfast Request Line is back! This coming Tuesday on the 5th March is our annual International Women’s Day celebration so please suggest songs by women artists/musicians. This show is always so inspiring and I look forward to discovering some new music as well as unearthing past treasures and celebrating women’s creativity. Now it’s over to you… " The show in itself was a Beautiful 3hour and a half musical promenade, allowing us all to discover tunes from Female artists that inspired generations, and that will, without a shadow of a doubt, inspire the generations to come... The Balearic Breakfast Family truly outdid itself on that one, allowing our Captain to draw a seamless female musical path... As Colleen stated, "This is an annual tradition and is always one of my favourite shows as it spotlights women’s creativity and musicianship. Your requests were incredible and spanned the musical spectrum and thank you. A lot of ground is covered - folk, jazz, soul, house, electronic, experimental and a canto pop record I discovered when I was in Hong Kong last month." Listen back to the 166th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST ( 2007 ) Aretha Franklin – Tree of Life ( 2020 ) Roseanne Reid  – Couldn’t Wish More for You ( 2024 ) Caoilfhionn Rose  – Fall Into Place ( 1969 ) Laura Nyro  – Captain for Dark Mornings ( 1968 ) Bobbie Gentry  – Jessye’ Lisabeth ( 1976 ) Joni Mitchell  – Amelia ( 1995 ) Tracy Chapman  – New Beginning ( 1986 ) Suzanne Vega  – Neighborhood Girls ( 1976 ) Joan Armatrading  – Love and Affection ( 1996 ) Neneh Cherry  – Woman ( 1970 ) Dorothy Ashby  – Heaven and Hell ( 2024 ) Kinga Glyk  – Opinions ( 2021 ) Cleo Sol  – Promises ( 2004 ) Jill Scott  – Golden ( 2015 ) Lindsey Webster  – Fool Me Once ( 2020 ) System Olympia  – 6am Romance ( 1985 ) ‘Til Tuesday  – Voices Carry ( 1984 ) Laurie Anderson  – Sharkey’s Day ( 2000 ) Sade  – By Your Side (Cottonbelly Remix) (1980) Sally Oldfield  – Blue Water ( 1979 ) Elkie Brooks  – Rising Cost of Love ( 1977 ) Marlena Shaw  – Sweet Beginnings ( 1982 ) 夏妙然 (Serina Ha)  – 看看你’ (Look at You) ( 1984 ) Sheila E  – The Belle of St. Mark ( 2024 ) Ada Morghe  – We Are One (Cosmodelica Remix) ( 2023 ) Spirit of Sundaze Ensemble & Cherise  – Earth is the Place ( 2023 ) Tigerbalm & Farafi  – Nina (Elado Remix) ( 2011 ) Ladytron  – Destroy Everything You Touch (Sasha Involv2er Remix) ( 1990 ) Lisa Stansfield  – This is the Right Time (Yvonne Turner Remix) ( 2007 ) Masters at Work ft. India  – Love & Happiness ( 2000 ) Ultra Naté  – Desire (Kerri Chandler's Brazilian Mix) ( 1997 ) Sounds of Blackness  – The Pressure (Jazz n Groove Remix) ( 1993 ) Daphne  – When You Love Someone ( 1980 ) Ann Margret  – Everybody Needs Somebody Sometimes ( 1992 ) Moodswings ft Chrissie Hynde  – State of Independence THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE This 165th episode really felt like a long walk into a forest, discovering music from artists we all deeply love and respect. A lot of the songs featured here were never played before during Balearic Breakfast, and even Colleen's flow felt somewhat different today; maybe it's me being oh-so subjective again, laughs! Anyway, I felt a beautiful musical equilibrium in this episode, and I was able to divide it into three parts, each one of them showcasing why a Woman will always be so much more than what we think... Let's dive in, then... THE EMOTION... To me, the first nine songs really depict how powerful and important a woman's emotions are in our Masculine World. We're drawn into today's trip by the opening track, Tree of Life, by the Unique Aretha Franklin . With its large and somewhat open soundstage (somewhat because you can feel that the instruments on each side of the left and right channel are somehow framing the soundstage while not closing it totally) and its realistic sound, Aretha's voice simply shines while she sings a leftover song from her 1973 studio album Hey Now Hey (The Other Side of the Sky , later published on " Rare and Unreleased Recordings from the Golden Age of the Queen of Soul " in 2007 on Rhino records. She is there, with us, as her imploring, yet combative, voice sings what I feel is a redemption song. From the second song on, Colleen chose to let the music speak, taking us through an emotional walk. And this is exactly what you feel while listening to Couldn’t Wish More for You by Roseanne Reid , someone wishing you well on your journey, Emotions. Colleen's timing here is perfect, the music flows, and really, everything falls into place. On her Facebook , Caoifflan shared, "I wrote ‘Fall Into Place’ to a person close to me, to remind them that there’s always hope and I’m willing them on every day. This song features many of my good friends and amazing musicians Janileigh Cohen and Chloe Foy on backing vocals, Jordan Smart on saxophone, John Ellis on piano, Alan Taylor on drums Rich Williams on guitar and production and Gavin Barras on double bass." With her voice being very similar to Kate Bush's, Laura Nyro almost fooled me. Her song, Captain for Dark Morning (first released on her 1969 New York Tendaberry studio album) , is so close to Kate's universe to me! In an interview, the self-taught-pianist and composer shared: "My jazz background put certain inflexions into my songwriting and singing. Throw in all the poetry I'd read since I was a kid and just being a woman, and that's what made my songs complex and emotionally rich". I love these kinds of songs—they are very dynamic, with beautiful outbursts and high-pitched notes effortlessly reached in a smile! Emotions equal Women, and Bobbie Gentry 's 1968 song Jessye’ Lisabeth proves it perfectly, too. There is that something in this first part of the show, a calm, reassuring but driving force; of course, you can feel Colleen's work here perfectly. These songs are all about hopes, the future, and friendly support. They deal with our journeys, just as Joni Mitchell's Amelia does! For those of you who did not know, Amelia Earhart was a pioneering aviator who, in 1932, became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and Joni's song deals with what it takes to go on a journey when life gets tough... "Basically, the false alarm was the end of a relationship. Two Scorpios couldn't let each other go. It was done, but we couldn't let go; we belonged to each other. It was winding down and I am driving solo without a driver's license across the country. I think of Amelia I think solo flight. I can't remember how many hotel rooms later it was complete" I love it when songs are so close intellectually to one another! It's just beautiful, and this is why I could listen to Colleen without end... Emotion... I must say I had teary eyes while listening to that edition of Balearic Breakfast; I think a tear rolled down my face while hearing that Colleen chose Tracy's Chapman " New Beginning " as, for several months now, I have been thinking silently about what it takes to be Balearic and one of the elements I figured out was that maybe changing the way we talk to one another would help improve our relations. When that happened to me, I swear, I didn't know Chapman's song... In fact, I discovered it while making the requests on Colleen's Facebook, finding that " Give Me One Reason " was nice but too bluesy for the show, I stumbled across that song... and it Clicked instantly... true story! To me, this is the most Balearic song we ever played on the show. It's all in there; now, all we have to do is apply Tracy's lyrics... Emotions? My goodness gracious, for sure! With Suzan Vega 's " Neighborhood Girls " solid structure following Tracy's relaxed delivery, we here have the dynamics I was talking about in the interview I gave to Douglas Noble about the creation of this very blog. Colleen's musicality shines here. The first part of this 165 edition of Balearic Breakfast ends with the beautiful "Love and Affection" by Joan Armatrading , her voice making me think about FitzRoy's one! THE ADVENTUROUS AFFIRMATION... These eleven songs take us through another phase of this episode, showcasing, on many levels, how much women know to take the con in life and how, musically, they are an undoubtful driving force. You must listen to this show like you would to an album. Not being able to participate in the chat gave me the opportunity to do that on this 165th edition of Balearic Breakfast, thus paying attention to Colleen's "breaks" (finding the hidden structure of the show 😉). The second part starting with Neneh Cherry 's song "Woman" is a Hint, Indeed, as this torch song was a take on James Brown's 1966 hit "It's A Man's Man's Man's World.", making Neneh Cherry a positive role model for women! I want to share with you this analysis of the song I found on the net, it's very inspiring indeed! "It sounds as a pamphletary one about the woman's condition in this world. I mean Neneh is talking to every women who have been forced to live under man's oppression without finding a space for expressing their infinity love. More specifically, she's talking about an African woman who has been chased by men who have taken everything from her except for her inner strenght. And she has been chased just because she owns some kind of mystical power ("And for my healing wits / I've been called a witch") which lets her heal people and it seems to me the men from her 'tribe' fear the popularity that she has got with this, since they would never admit to share their power with a woman 'witch'. It's a kind of jealous feeling, I think. So she's condemned to death on fire and every good things she has made must be forgotten by everyone for not making her a martyr."I've died so many times I'm only just coming to life." I assume she's talking she is like Phoenix bird, not meaning she will be born again in flesh&blood, but meaning it'll always exist another women like her who will be prepaired to try to spread love around this godless land..." This part of the show really showcases Women's musicianship and is a beautiful affirmation of their soul. Here, you can hear songs about Women stating who they really are; here, you can hear songs demonstrating their sensitivity and their musical empowerment, Dorothy's "Heaven and Hell" being a perfect example of that: a sad song, adapted from Khayyam’s poetry, acknowledging that no matter your spiritual path, death is at least some sort of end . As this blog article states, " not only could Dorothy Ashby play the harp, but also the piano and the Japanese koto, a stringed instrument plucked or strummed while sitting or kneeling. And she sang. You can hear her soul, her classical training, and her love of the stage in her playing, which could quickly veer from hushed to dramatic. " This track makes me think of another great French musician, the singer, composer and violin player Catherine Lara , who, at the end of the 70s and in the following decades, played the violin on her studio albums and on stage, being the first one to use this instrument as a solo and resolutely rock instrument! Talking about violins, we're not very far away from bass; I absolutely love how Kinga Glyk 's " Opinions " track blends a relaxed feeling with a very solid sentiment, enhanced by the slapping instrument! The Polish bassist shared her thoughts in a recent interview , saying " My musical heroes are not only bass players - I’m inspired by many, many other artists. Listening to different kinds of music and many musicians gives me freedom and does not close my mind to a single way of thinking. Always be yourself. Never try to be someone else. If you play, play as well as you can, but you don’t have to prove to anyone that you can do more than you can." But this part of the show, showcasing Woman taking the con, is also a rhythmical journey, and the empowerment can be absolutely felt both in Cleo Sol 's " Promises " rhythm and Lyrics! It's Solid; it's driven, even if the lyrics are somewhat sad you can feel this Woman is not ready to stop her journey because of what happened... Keeping the rhythm steady and the feeling absolutely vibrant, Colleen then plays Jill Scott 's " Golden " . Speaking about the song, singer-songwriter Sug Daniels explained: “ When I listen to ‘Golden,’ as an adult, it’s just a good song, it feels good in your body, it’s like you’ve got the top down, the sun is out. But she’s really prophesying, she’s really claiming her happiness, she’s saying ‘this belongs to me.’ I feel like as Black women, sometimes we don’t think about happiness, we think about survival. So to hear a Black woman being like ‘I’m taking my freedom.’ it really hit me, it really touches me .” Now, you understand the title of the second part of this show, don't you?! 😊 Even if " Fool Me Once " by Lindsey Webster has a slower tempo, it so beautifully showcases a Woman's soul and Behaviour when she knows something is not right! Listen closely to the next three tracks; you'll find a musical approach you never heard till that point of the show: " 6am Romance " by System Olympia is a very modern, resonant-sounding piece of music; you can almost picture the soundwaves in your head, and this effect is very well enhanced by the following song, " Voices Carry" , also a very vibrant sonic trip (the song is about an abusive relationship ... ), this being enhanced by the rhythm of the song (Colleen's selections and the order of the tracks are indeed perfect here, aren't they?)! Our Musical Audacity trip is reaching an end as Sharkey's Day enters our brains (take the time to watch Colleen's interview right here). The last two songs (Sade's "By Your Side (Cottonbelly Remix)" – the original version showcasing a beautiful sonic evolution of Sade's sonics – & Sally Oldfield 's "Blue Water"), which to me belong here, also demonstrate perfectly Women's adventurous affirmation, almost acting as a bond to the last part of the show (listen to what happens @1h42min and you'll understand)... THE RISING & THE SHINING... Of course, Balearic Breakfast has its own Soul, and the last part of the show is the one that will bring you dancing on your feet (the two first parts of this episode clock at 1hour47min., and this gives us 1hour42min. to dance, did I talk about Female perfection already?)! Still, this part is musically very interesting as it really Shines, allowing you to see a beautiful Female Disco Ball hanging somewhere over you. Here, I will only share a few facts about some of the songs that I feel really resonate with that image. Let's go then! An upbeat funky track taken from Elkie Brook 's 1979 album "Live and Learn", "Rising Cost of Love" has been recorded in a more downbeat tempo in 1979 by Darrow Fletcher. I discovered Elkie thanks to her "Pearls II" vinyl compilation containing the astounding song " Will You Write Me a song ", a must listen to! Colleen then takes us to Marlena Shaw's " Sweet Beginning's ", co-written by Leon Ware and John Bettis, a song that marked another change in style, funk with disco within the 1977 album of the same name that blended as various styles as Funk, soul and also R&B! The Beautiful Japanese song "Look at you" made me think of these "Waltz pop songs" I like so much, one of them being " Where boys are " by Mariya Takeuchi or the astoundingly and heart-wrenchingly beautiful " Moje jedyne Marzenie " (My Only Dream) by the great and very missed Polish Singer, Anna Jantar ... Colleen's mixing is just perfect here as " The Belle of St. Mark " hits our dancefloor, simple yet very effective! What a track, to me the Wow effect of that show! Our dear Captain always keeps her pulse on the music, and remixing Ada Morghe 's " We Are One" is such a great move! I hope this one will be included in the next Balearic Breakfast compilation! This show is a never-ending sea of Musical goodness, and " Earth is the Place " is another example of that: " The Nathan Haines/Phil Asher-produced ‘Earth Is The Place’ is a Secretsundaze classic if ever there was one, a constant feature in my sets and at the party since its release in 2001. The vocals around female empowerment have become iconic in my book, penned by Phil himself . In terms of our approach to it, the main desire was just to bring it up to date really, to bring it back into the current musical landscape and to take the opportunity to shed more light on a piece of music that is very dear to me.” There is always that moment in Balearic Breakfast where we reach true depths; here we do so thanks to Tigerbalm nicely followed by a trippy remix of " Destroy Everything You Touch " by Sasha Involv2er! Fun fact, LadyTron band's name is a reference to Roxy Music's 1972 studio album! Brian Eno was a big fan of the quartet: "Ladytron are, for me, the best of English pop music". With a darker theme, the song deals with human relations : " My take is that the person is afraid of getting hurt, so he sabotages relationships as soon as he senses he's getting too close to someone. "Anything that may desert you / So it cannot hurt you". He closes himself off from the other person and his own feelings, and he doesn't realize how much his actions affect the person he's rejecting. He ends up devastating the people who care about him. It seems like the singer might be in love with this person and wants to pursue the relationship despite knowing how he reacts to intimacy, maybe even thinking that there's a chance she could be the one to save him from himself." With One hour left to go, Colleen wisely chose tracks taking us back to her "Club 89" shows. As she states on her Website , "It’s always been about discovery and turning people on – the wheel never stops turning. Club 89 was one of the few weekly house shows in New York City,” she says. “I had Lil Louis, Romanthony, Danny Krivit, David, François, Joe Claussell, Louie Vega and others up as special guests. I always tried to make it bigger than myself. It was about community.” This part of the show really got us Hooked; I mean, hearing Yvonne's take on Lisa Stanfield, Masters at Work , Kerri's take on Ultra Naté, and Jazz n Groove's take on Sounds of Blackness in one single mix just made us lose our heads!!! After slightly easing down the tempo with "When You Love Someone" and " Everybody Needs Somebody Sometimes ", Colleen reaches out to Eternity by waving us goodbye on " State of Independence " ...

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 167th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on March 12th 2024. About this show. – At Last! After Colleen's travelling, after celebrating the Loft and International Women's Day, the Balearic Breakfast Family had its first free request line for itself and requested over 50 songs on Colleen's socials (Facebook and Instagram). Oh Incredible Joy!! When launching the request line, Colleen wrote: "Good morning! For the first time in 2024 the Balearic Breakfast Request Line is open to all suggestions as this week the show is not themed in any way. Please suggest the artist name and song title in the comments below and let your imagination run wild. I look forward to sharing some of your requests in this Tuesday’s program which streams live on my Mixcloud Live and Twitch TV." I love this show . Maybe I'm just too philosophical about it, sorry! But, once again, something hapenned. Lately, I spent some time thinking about what « reality » meant. Like, we know everything changes, " Everything must change " if we paraphrase the song, both things and people! This kind of thinking may be helpful if you’re very sensitive, like if you connect very quickly and "quite heavily" with people. Thinking about my past experiences, I remembered that we really never know anything, and we really know no one... Today's show had songs whose lyrics and tonalities brought that theme up. Life had a master plan (laughs!), but still, that was such a pleasant surprise! The main Idea I developed was that people change, and they change daily, by little steps we might not even perceive; some of them wear masks, and some make mistakes which unfold their nature to our surprised eyes and souls. The same goes for life; one day, anything goes, and the second day, you’re asking yourself if you made a mistake somewhere. For those of us who are very sensitive, these changes might confuse us and leave us stunned to the point where we no longer know how to behave. Seeing eyes without faces is disturbing, especially when places and life keep on changing! What are we living? The main question is here. Obviously, putting names, defining people, and trying to keep track of places we live in is not the best solution as we might always get lost to a certain degree. So, to me, we should acknowledge that we are living a kind of dream, a kind of parallel reality we’re a part of (I just realized something ...). Now, with that being said, the other question is how to cope with that; well… here are my late-night thoughts about the subject: «Whatever happens, failure is just a word if you step back. Do things for yourself. Hold on to your own dreams, make them true, and live within them if it makes you feel good . Nothing counts but your peace of mind. Sail on… » . And Remember, Just Be Balearic... Listen Back to the 167th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST ( 1996 ) Bim Sherman – Bewildered ( 1997 ) Lhasa De Sela  – El Desierto ( 1978 ) Deodato  – Love Island ( 1987 ) Sananda Maitreya  – Sign Your Name (Lee Scratch Perry Remix) ( 2010 ) Kings Go Forth  – High on Your Love ( 2023 ) Rodrigo y Gabriela  – The Eye that Catches the Dream ( 2024 ) Ronnie Lion  – Hombre Peligroso ( 1999 ) Thievery Corporation  – It Takes a Thief ( 1984 ) Robert Sandrini  – Occhi Su Di Me ( 1974 ) Batsumi  – Lishonile ( 1977 ) Bill Withers & Studio Rio  – Lovely Day ( 1978 ) Eddy Grant  – Walking on Sunshine ( 1979 ) Ivan Neville  – Dance Your Blues Away ( 1977 ) Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King  – I Don’t Know If It's Right ( 2022 ) Dave Lee & Omar  – Starlight ( 1977 ) John Gibbs & The U.S. Steel Orchestra  – Trinidad ( 1977 ) King Errisson  – Well, Have A Nice Day ( 2003 ) Ernest St Laurent  – Clumsy Lobster ( 1993 ) Brian Transeau  – Relativity (Carl Craig's Urban Affair Dub) ( 1976 ) Bellamy Brothers  – Let Your Love Flow THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Before we delve into the listening experience, I wanted to stress that this show, maybe more than any of the previous ones, showed its soul philosophically and Musically. Philosophically because, as I'll show you, the first hour has that uncertain, impetuous, dynamic flow, showcasing the possibilities our Balearic World has to offer and how much you don't have to stay locked when difficulties arise or when you meet eyes without faces, because, somehow, your own dream should allow you to find a way out. Secondly, and musically, we clearly have the duality you're now aware of, the first part being more reflective and the second part being more danceable. All in all, it's a great, great episode! Starting the show with "Bewildered", a 1936 popular song composed by Teddy Powell and Leonard Whitcup, and sung by many artists such as James Brown , Mickey & Sylvia , The Ink Spots , and many others; the message, here covered by Bim Sherman , is straight and clear: I thought I reached happiness but now I'm confused. We keep this lingering feeling in the second track, "El Desierto" by Lhasa De Sela (the majority of the tracks from the album were composed by Yves Derosiers; more about this just here ). By the way, this song should make you think of another tune, yes... the "Cheyenne" theme from "Once upon a Time in the West"! Same tonality, very close rhythm and that same lost feeling! When you take the time to read the lyrics, once again, the message is plain to see "I've come to the desert to laugh at your love / As the desert's more tender and the thorn kisses better. / I've come to this middle of nowhere to shout / That you never deserved what I wanted to give so badly. / I've come running, getting over you / Kiss me little bird, don't get frightened hummingbird / I've come on fire to the desert to burn / Because the soul is set alight when it stops loving" . Pretty tough, huh? Yet, we're in for a ride, as I told you in the introduction of this post; the first part of the show is a question of possibilities. It shows how much you decide about your destiny, and the calm " Love Island " perfectly showcases that. Love Island sees the participation of members of "Earth Wind & Fire" and also of John Benson, if you didn't know! When this song was playing, the Balearic Breakfast Family was having a ball as Matt Raistrick and Kay McMahon celebrated their birthdays! The next song, "Sign Your Name (Lee Scratch Perry Remix)" , made me see a river's flow, with all of its watering ramifications losing themselves, but ultimately joining back and plunging into the sea... This edit is stunning as it perfectly depicts the dream I was talking about in the intro, and, funnily enough, speaking about his song, Terence Trent once said... "It came from a dream where Sade asked me to write a song for her. It was inspired by a dream and seeing Sade perform at Live Aid in the mid-'80s." Another song, another break, going from worried minds to Happy places, Colleen played " High on your love " , followed by another more calm piece in the name of "The Eye that Catches the Dream" , also having its own rhythmical twists and sonic surprises ( "We wanted to do something different. We wanted to bring a cinematic quality and lots of action to this music to make it as exciting as possible" )! The feeling here is very strong as the listener is quite lost, with no unity; we're digging deep into all corners of the musical space, this kaleidoscope showcasing how everything changes, always, and how you should try to protect yourself from things, places, people that really, in the end, you don't know... Interestingly enough, Rodrigo and Gabriela explained in an interview: "We then realized that these nine titles told in exact order the story of our discovery of the precepts of Advaita. From that point on, we didn't change the basis of these songs anymore, and what you hear in the album is the music as we created it." Even more interestingly, Gabriela went on, saying : " Advaita Vedanta is a Hindu practice which, Quintero explains, “is mainly about this life being an illusion. There’s just one ultimate reality, and we can’t process that reality because it’s beyond the mind and the brain.” Its central tenet, ‘nondualism’, holds that the Self – the deepest part of us, our true nature – is our connection to that oneness, that ultimate reality. Everything else is a construct of the mind... A worried musical universe then opens its doors to us with Colleen playing " Hombre Peligroso " (meaning dangerous man in English) , "It Takes a Thief", & "Occhi Su Di Me" . If you didn't know, the original "Eyes without a Face" track is based on the 1959 French horror movie " Les Yeux Sans Visage " which tells the sad story of a plastic surgeon involved in a near-fatal auto accident which horribly disfigures the once beautiful face of his beloved daughter. Along with his assistant, he abducts young women so that he may surgically remove their facial features and graft their beauty onto that of his daughter's grotesque countenance... The song is quite philosophical , too, as it asks about both the reality of the loving and of the loved one... Well, isn’t the face a stage up on which the actor performs? Around which we build and or find ourselves on stage? Speech: “All the world’s a stage” by William Shakespeare Then, if you are just eyes, what are you? Just observers? Are they eyes truly the windows of the soul? Or are they prison window we peer from? A place we stay and watch our life spin around us? “When you look at some faces, you can see the turbulence of the infinite beginning to gather to the surface. This moment can open in a gaze from a stranger, or in a conversation with someone you know well. Suddenly, without their intending it or being conscious of it, their gaze lasts for only a second. In that slightest interim, something more than the person looks out.”― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom Pursuing the uncertain and worried road, and ending the first part of the show, Colleen then plays the incredible "Lishonile" (find out more about the album it is taken from here ). The second part of this 166th episode of Balearic Breakfast is much more musically stable and much happier, letting the listener feel that doubtful times have ended! Eddy Grant's Walking on Sunshine is still, to this very day, a Loft Classic and was played by David Mancuso many times when he hosted parties – The 1981 live version is to die for... ( Click here for more information about the forthcoming CAS event with Eddy Grant)! Keeping the rhythm steady throughout her presentation, Colleen first plays Ivan Neville's "Dance Your Blues Away", followed by "I Don’t Know If It's Right". Dave Lee & Omar's "Starlight", dedicated to a member of the Balearic Breakfast Family, brings an emotional moment. Then, John Gibbs & The U.S. Steel Orchestra's " Trinidad " (which has been featured earlier in the show ) and King Errisson's " Well, Have A Nice Day " bring an emotional moment. Colleen is so perfect when she does our beloved "little mixes"; plunging into music with her is really something to experience... The very last part of the show starts with "Clumsy Lobster" , followed by "Relativity (Carl Craig's Urban Affair Dub)" , Colleen ending the show with the great " Let Your Love Flow " .

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 168th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on March 19th 2024. About this show. – Balearic Breakfast is a musical celebration that never misses its goal of bringing to the forefront important moments of each year, and Springtime is one of them! On the 16th of March, Colleen posted the request line on her socials, sharing with us these few words: "Good morning! Here in the northern hemisphere spring is around the corner and a feeling of renewal in the suez. What would you like to hear this Tuesday on Balearic Breakfast to welcome in the new season? And for those south of the equator, please share the songs you’re feeling right now (...)" . The Balearic Breakfast Family got together and requested songs about Season change, Spring (the vernal equinox happens on Wednesday morning – 20th – at 3:06 in the UK), hope, and happiness, including, of course, some Balearic gems! In the end, the show did not disappoint. It brought to our ears a delicate flow, with a specific sonic signature (especially identifiable in the first hour) helping us to picture Spring's awakening on a Beach! Listen back to the 168th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST ( 1986 ) Jun Fukamachi – Morning Glow ( 1988 ) Vernal Equinox  – Sunrise ( 2024 ) Hermanos Gutierrez  – Low Sun ( 2021 ) Dora Morelenbaum  – Japao ( 1996 ) Boards of Canada  – Roygbiv ( 1991 ) Saint Etienne  – Spring ( 2024 ) Mike Salta & Mortale  – Hey Moloko ( Unknown ) Dorothy Ashby  – Little Sunflower (Danny Krivit Re-Edit) ( 1977 ) Dexter Wansel  – First Light of the Morning ( 1977 ) Ramsey Lewis  – Spring High ( 1980 ) I.C. Bell  – Explosion ( 1983 ) High Resolution  – Sweepin’ Off (Extended Mix) ( 2024 ) Kim Yaffa  – Once Bitten (Nick The Record & Dan Tyler Re-Edit) ( 2023 ) Smashed Atoms and Backdoor Man  – Hey Dreamer ( 2005 ) Matsubara  – S.O.S. (Prins Thomas Rework) ( 2024 ) Viscardi & Il Duo Magnetico  – Amore Mio ( 1998 ) Tom & Joyce  – Vai Minha Tristeza (Bob’s Le Mix) ( 2000 ) Kevin Yost  – Spring Again ( 1958 ) Blossom Dearie  – They Say It's Spring ( 1959 ) Nina Simone  – It Might as Well Be Spring THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE A rising sun gently illuminates an empty beach... Slowly, there, somewhere, silhouettes appear, one, two (of course, you can't separate these two...), three... hundreds, thousands of moving tiny stars, each one representing a spirit, a Soul, a member of... the Balearic Breakfast Family... Welcome to our Balearic World, dear reader; embrace the new sun and head over to new musical adventures. Our captain will show you the way, and we will hug you in a huge and friendly embrace. Jun Fukamachi 's Morning Glow is a perfect example of how much a musical piece can allow you to travel. The album "Nicole ( 86 Spring And Summer Collection - Instrumental Images )" was never officially released, only made available to the people attending the 1986 fashion show for the Nicole brand’s "Spring and Summer collection" until "We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records" reissued it in 2017 ! Were we talking about a new start? Laughs! Speaking about that, the first 48 minutes of this show (yes, I'm very precise, laughs!) will help you to picture the dawn of a new season! Although Vernal Equinoxe 's Sunrise Start , taken from their "New Find World" 1988 studio album, is slightly more preoccupied intellectually, it keeps the mental representation very alive! I'm sure you noticed that the first three musical pieces are all about the sun! To me, Hermanos Gutierrez 's Low Sun is quite close to the opening track; we have the same sun-rising pictures awakening in our minds... With Japao, Dora Morelenbaum offers the listener an awakening "Brazilian song about Japan" (as Mixmaster Morris stated on the chat ^^)... In an interview, the singer explained: "Originally, I wanted to record new songs composed by my friends, including “Vento de Beirada.” I had a few songs of my own but I didn’t recognize them as ready to record yet. It was only when I began to face my own songs, so to speak, and imagine possible directions for them, that I began recording. “Japão” and “Avermelhar” came at the same time, and they both had this feeling of the start of something—the beginning of my first songs, you know? They worked well with the whole idea behind the phrase “vento de beirada,” which is a surrender, a leap of faith, or first step that is recording a debut EP." Clearly, the feeling of a new start is very well represented in today's 167th episode of Balearic Breakfast. Add to this Colleen's glowing jacket ( green in reality 😉 – such a clever idea I must say!) and you have the whole picture of the Joy we all experienced while hearing Boards of Canada's light but solid, complex and psychedelic Roygbiv (an acronym for the colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). The following three songs ( Saint Etienne 's Spring , Mike Salta & Mortale 's Hey Moloko & Danny Krivit 's Re-Edit of Dorothy Ashby 's Little Sunflower ) have a quicker tempo, with a more upfront soul while retaining a gentle approach to the listener this feeling being present throughout today's episode! Something else needs to be mentioned here: all of these tracks have a solid but "neutral sounding" bass; the sound is very neutral, almost "dry"; it's not attacking the listener, it simply presents itself. I don't remember feeling that way to that extent before while listening to Balearic Breakfast! As Colleen is not forcing the mix, you can hear these details more than in a mix that imposes itself on the listener. I like it very much when Colleen gathers together songs sharing a common theme, a common musical structure, and a common spirit. You can easily feel that as Dexter Wansel' s First Light of the Morning plays on. It is pretty close to Dorothy Asby's Little Sunflower! By the way, a member of the Family shared with us on the chat a mix he crafted using several versions of that Classic tune; listen to it just here! To me, the show's second hour starts with the great Spring High by Ramsey Lewis . By the way, if you're a fan of the all MIghty Cerrone, I'm sure you noticed that this track does have a close sound to the ones found on his " Back Track " album, issued in 1982! As very often, Colleen keeps the musical flow throughout her presentation, and she then takes us to the dancefloor with the next three songs ( I.C. Bell 's Explosion , High Resolution 's Sweepin’ Off (Extended Mix) & Kim Yaffa 's Once Bitten (Nick The Record & Dan Tyler Re-Edit ), nicely put together! Balearic Breakfast is all about musical discoveries, and Smashed Atoms and Backdoor Man 's Hey Dreamer is a perfect example of that. The track blends the sonic elements of disco, Balearic, and electronic music in a spacy, danceable tune; definitely the wow effect of that episode! Keeping the spacey approach very alive, Colleen then plays Matsubara – S.O.S. (Prins Thomas Rework) & Viscardi & Il Duo Magnetico's, Amore Mio not searching to mix these tunes together, as evoked earlier this gentle way of letting the music play enhancing today's theme strength! Keeping a light touch on the mix, Colleen then plays Tom & Joyce's Vai Minha Tristeza (Bob’s Le Mix) & Kevin Yost' s Spring Again , two very Blearic tunes indeed! Till the very end, this show surprises the listener as we do not get one but two beautiful closing songs! The first one is Blossom Dearie's They Say It's Spring . Colleen then ends the 167th episode of Balearic Breakfast with Nina Simone 's It Might as Well Be Spring . The slightly sad song , which captures the sense of anticipation we associate with the season, was performed by Jeanne Crain in the film State Fair , her voice being dubbed by Louanne Hogan . In his biography of Richard Rodgers , William G. Hyland explains : “The song originated while Hammerstein was musing about the uneasiness of the female lead. He told Rodgers that even though state fairs were never held in the spring, Margy’s mood was such that it might as well be spring. Rodgers immediately recognized a song title.” An American standard, “It Might As Well Be Spring” initially reached Billboard magazine’s Best Seller chart on November 8, 1945, lasted 12 weeks there, peaking at number 5 and has been covered by many artists since its release! Such a refreshing show... Don't you think? Let there be Spring!

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 169th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on March 26th 2024. About this show. – On March 23rd 2024, Colleen opened the request line for the 168th and forthcoming Balearic Breakfast show, sharing these few words with us "Good morning! What would you like to hear on this Tuesday’s Balearic Breakfast? This will be the last request show for the month as I’ll be hosting the show remotely for the next few weeks with some special guest mixes all lined up (more on that Tuesday). So now is your time! Get those requests in and I hope to see you on the live stream and chat on my Mixcloud Live and Twitch TV from 10am to 1pm BST on Tuesday morning. Please put artist and song title in the comments and thank you 🙂" Of course, the Balearic Breakfast Family answered as one, with requests including tracks by the great DJ Alfredo to support the recently launched GoFundMe campaign ! The show in itself was really of the hook, with that light cosmic touch present in many of the tracks played by our captain, and with the promise of new mixes to be streamed in the coming weeks by members of the family, I decided to entitle this post: "Cosmic Family Affairs" (laughs)! After the show, Colleen shared these few words with us: "This week’s show is another mishmash of 80’s grooves, deep soul, Balearic biscuits and even the late Cockney Rebel makes an appearance. We are holding off on the requests for the next few weeks as I stream remotely with special guest mixes from our global Balearic Breakfast family and next week we have an interview with and a mix from DJ Paulette who has just published her first book ‘Welcome to the Club’. And once again, if you are a regular listener, please consider subscribing to my Mixcloud for £3 a month and a massive thank you to those who already subscribe. I appreciate your support." Listen back to the 169th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST ( 1977 ) ELO – The Whale ( 2024 ) Laurent Bardainne & Tigre d’Eau Douce  –   Eden ( 1985/2023 ) The NM Band  –   She Wants ( 2024 ) Jim  –   The Ballad of San Marino (Mang Dynasty Remix) ( 1978 ) Steve Harley  –   I Don’t Believe God is an Anarchist ( 2024 ) North Satellite  –   The Stars Are Ours (Conrado’s Vox Dub) ( 2023 ) Residentes Balearicos & DJ Alfredo  –   Sundown ( 2017 ) Odyssey ft Romina Johnson  –   Inside Out (Al Kent Remix) ( 1980 ) The S.O.S. Band  –   Take Your Time ( 2024 ) Lady Lois Snead  –   I Found Out (Divine Who Rework) ( 2024 ) Tuccillo  –   Magari ( 1999 ) Majesitka  –   Majestika ( 1979 ) Mascara ft Luther Vandross  –   See You in LA / Jet Plane Ride ( 1982 ) Carly Simon  –   Why ( 1980 ) Erasmus Hall  –   Just Me and You ( 2001 ) 4Hero ft Carina Andersson  –   Les Fleur ( 1981 ) Mike Post ft Larry Carlton  –   The Theme from Hill Street Blues THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Did you know ELO will be touring North America for their farewell tour ? Well, if you haven't had the chance to see them live, the time has come, folks! Starting the show with The Whale , taken from the 1977 Classic Album " Out of the Blue ", an instrumental musical piece including, in its beginning, the end of "Mr Blue Sky" reversed, Colleen sets the tone of this 168th edition of Balearic Breakfast! Still, this track is not their most Balearic from that album, as " Jungle " wins the lottery! Laurent Bardainne 's Eden takes us to a contemplative mood; there is a sense of anticipation, an indirect expectation, in this laid-back musical piece. The NM Band's She Wants has been reissued in 2023 and also brings that cool yet plunging feeling towards the sky, a feeling confirmed by The Ballad of San Marino (Mang Dynasty Remix) ! This edition of Balearic Breakfast WOWED the Balearic Breakfast Family at least two times. The first Wow effect hapenned when we discovered Steve Harley 's I Don’t Believe God is an Anarchist . Although the song is not a happy thing, as far as the lyrics are concerned, the lightweight, dynamic and realistic musical structure fits this Cosmic edition very well! Keeping the Cosmi Balearic approach alive and well, Colleen takes us to the sky with North Satellite 's The Stars Are Ours . Speaking about the choices he made while selecting the tracks for a remixing project, Eugene stated: " It's a theme which I already introduced as an instrumental in 2020 ("A Rising Sign"). To do a vocal variation seemed like an interesting move while I'm being reintroduced to the public this year. I think it makes a statement musically and lyrically. Hopefully it can attract people to the album if they haven't heard it yet. I was also looking for a concept where I could introduce the Cosmic Freestyle version which had been recorded as a kind of reprise at the end of the album, but I'd decided to save it for another project." The following number, DJ Alfredo 's latest musical project, " Sundown ", keeps the same slightly worried mind with a Balearic mindset open towards the sky's infinity. I discovered the track whilst publishing the post about the GoFundMe campaign launched in support of DJ Alfredo and simply felt I had to request it! Inside Out was another hit for Odyssey back in 1982, and what is interesting is that this Al Kent Remix shows how open the song is to this new, more neutral and slightly more worried, Balearic Treatment! Romina Johnson's voice shines here! What a nice way to start the second hour of the show by mixing this beautiful rework with The S.O.S. Band 's Take Your Time ! Colleen was on fire, and Boy how much were we happy!! This was another WOW moment for all of us for sure! Reading about the song on "Songfacts", I stumbled across this sentence: "Disco didn't die in 1980, it just got funkier"... Our funky, Cosmico Balearic Journey was in full bloom as Collen played the Divine Who Rework of Lady Lois Snead 's "I Found Out" ( Lois is still making music today!) , followed by Tucillo 's bouncy cosmic number that is Magari ! One of the most beautiful mixes Colleen ever did is just here as she blends Tucillo's track with Majestika ! Produced by Albert Cabrera and guitarist Cool Daddy, this funky number dates back to 1999 (oh, the secret weapon of well-produced tracks!). The voyaging sensation is also very much present in the next song. With  See You in LA / Jet Plane Ride , Mascara proposes a musical escape that can hardly be matched. When asked about the recording of the album, Chris Hill answered : "I produced it, along with Jurgen Korduletsch (one-time husband of Claudia Barry). We originally recorded in Munich with session players like Kieth Forsey, and then we took the tracks to New York to cut the vocals. I asked the studio “fixer” to find me the best session singers available, and he came up with Ulla, David Lasley, and to my total surprise, Luther whose voice was familiar to just about everybody! However, the next thing that happened really blew me away! Luther asked if I could put down guide vocals for him as I knew all the tracks. That I did, and to this day, on the multi-track, the vocals consist of Luther and myself, singing together!" . The last part of today's Balearic Breakfast show starts with what we consider here a "Timeless Classic": produced by the legendary Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers of Chic and played everywhere from the early Ibiza parties to the Paradise Garage, Carly Simon 's very successful Why was featured in the 1982 movie "Soup for One" soundtrack! Keeping the flow on the cool side, once again, Colleen did a Beautiful mix here...; our Balearic Captain played Erasmus Hall 's (the band's name comes from the building located in Chicago) classic song: Just Me and You . The album was remastered in 2014; for the sound lovers around, simply click here to get your grooves on! Winding down the Balearic route, the Balearic Breakfast Family enjoyed 4Hero ft Carina Andersson 's   Les Fleur . Colleen ended the show by playing the 1981 beautiful yet slightly sad Theme from Hill Street Blues . With such a show, I asked myself: "Are there any stars left in our musical sky?" ...

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 170th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on April, 2nd 2024. About this episode. – As Colleen is on vacation, she had a special show lined up for us! This 169th episode includes, in its first hour, a mix by Tomohiro Yamada , a regular Balearic Breakfast contributor. Residing in Osaka, Japan, Tomohiro, who runs Imperfection Records , crafted a beautiful chilled-out mix that Wowed the Balearic Breakfast Family (he gave an interview for the blog; read it all here )! Part two of this 169th episode of Balearic Breakfast features an exclusive mix from and an interview with DJ Paulette . The 30+ year dance music veteran tells us about her new book ‘ Welcome to the Club: The Life and Lessons of a Black Woman DJ ’ which is the first memoir of its kind and entirely written by the DJ, broadcaster and journalist, herself (you’ll find a review in this post). She reminds us that there are a lot of stories that comprise DJ and dance music history that are still yet to be written and heard. Brava Paulette for leading the way. She has also put together a sublime and eclectic mix that ranges from Nina Simone to Ryuichi Sakamoto to Sylvester and much more! Welcome to our Balearic Club! Listen back to the 170th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST Tomohiro Yamada's Mix ( 2020 ) Raul Buelna – Angel del Mar ( 1985 ) Musica Esporadica – S.T. ( 1993 ) Terre Thaemlitz – Raw Through a Straw ( 2021 ) Mental Remedy – Noi (First Demo) ( 2012 ) Calm presents K.F. – Peace of Mind ( 2019 ) Caruso (ft Paul David Gillman) – Memories DJ Paulette's Mix ( 1975 ) Leroy Hutson – Cool out ( 1970 ) Lorraine Ellison – Stay With Me Baby ( 1967 ) Nina Simone  – Do I Move You ( 1980 ) A Taste of Honey  – Sukiyaki ( 2011 ) Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse  – Body & Soul ( 1993 ) 2 pac  – I Get Around ( 1992 ) Galliano  – Prince Of Peace ( 1979 ) The Clash  – Armageddon Time ( 1984 ) Ini Kamoze  – World-A-Music ( 1985 ) Prince  – Pop Life ( 1986 ) Kraftwerk  – Musique Non Stop ( 1984 ) Art of Noise  – Close to the edit ( 1981 ) Imagination  – Flashback ( 1979 ) Gina X  – No G.D.M. ( 1982 ) Fun Boy Three  – The lunatics have taken over the asylum ( 2009 ) Ryuichi Sakamoto  – Riot in Lagos ( 1973 ) Sylvester  – God Bless the Child THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE We had a lot of musical images in 3 years of Balearic Breakfast. But never before did I see what I saw while listening to Tomohiro’s mix, which resembled an oceanic bubble with glowing lights floating around, meeting me, sometimes calmly, sometimes more violently, me, a floating undiscovered entity, without conscience, without fear, without a now and without a tomorrow... Tomohiro’s mix, even through the strange buzzing sounds that penetrate the listener's ears is as Balearic as can be, it is a suspended moment in time that will allow you to meet your "Aura"… Starting with Raul Buelna's "Angel del Mar" , Tomohiro sets the tone of his mix, a contemplative and meditative trip, allowing the listener to dive deep within his own psychic unknown reality. The feeling of well-being conveyed by this opening track seems to be only logical when you know that Raul Buelna is a musical Therapist ! Tomohiro keeps the feeling alive and well by selecting another track holding the same psychic values, Musica Esporadica's S.T. This track is taken from the 1985 studio album, reissued in 2019 with a different cover. Speaking about the recording of the album, Suso Saiz said: "The recording was made with an incredible fluency and about 12 hours after, we had recorded Música Esporádica. Fluency, spontaneity, close friendship was the fuel that fed us." (more about the reissue here ). Throughout his mix, Tomohiro demonstrates that a good mix is one that sets you free, not one that jumps at you, and, by doing so, he easily joins Colleen's way of mixing the track, taking into account their "inner flow" and never perturbating them unnecessarily... The following musical piece arrives very slowly, after a perfect silence... We're reaching High Here (although the buzzing noises disturb us, it's interesting how they blend into the music, making this strange-sounding experience almost a part of the whole mix; I loved that!) If you have ever listened to some of David Mancuso's mixes or parties, you'll recognise, on a sonic level, some similarities with the songs he played at the loft. Appearing on the 12": Comatonse.000 , (US: Comatonse Recordings, 1993) and also on the album Tranquilizer studio album (US: Instinct, 1994), Terre Thaemlitz, reflecting upon the evolution Men have with sex over the HIV crisis, says that "Raw Through a Straw" is intended as an " audio blow-job ". Well, now that I listen to the track under that intellectual light, I can understand some of its musical speedy contractions, laughs! Liberation could be the title of Tomohiro's mix, indeed! Tomohiro's mix does not follow a rhythmicall evolution "Noi (First Demo)" (to read an interview click here ) & " Peace of Mind " ( click here to read an interview where Kiyotaka Fukagawa aka Calm shares his thoughts about Music) are indeed very different both rhythmically and sonically. On the contrary, his mix is all about a "free freedom" where only surprises meet the listener. And that's nice as we never know what to expect, still there is that mental unity to Tomohiro's mix which is truly beautiful... Reaching out towards a positive opening, Tomohiro selects Caruso's (ft Paul David Gillman) "Memories" , quite close to the Mental Remedy's track, "Noi" . I interviewed Steve Conry about his record Label "Ten Lovers Music", on which this last beautiful Balearic tune was issued ( click here to find out more). What a trip your mix is, Tomohiro! On the other side of today's 169th episode, DJ Paulette’s mix is as straight as her writing, as clear as her speaking, and as musically rich as her thoughts and intellectual openness... A joy to witness and a pleasure to listen to! WELCOME TO THE CLUB: A REVIEW (Artur MICHALSKI) If, like me, you follow at least a few DJs on Instagram, even just a few of the actual greats, you might get lost one day, just as I did, wondering about what it takes to be a DJ. I know this term is, at least lately and from my humble perspective, often misused as it allows people without proper knowledge and understanding of the intellectual, philosophical and cultural fields attached to jump into the revered craft's train without engaging in every level they should when working, thus, even oh so slightly, blemishing this beautiful yet demanding craft’s legacy. And, precisely, this is where Paulette’s book enters the scene: it should be a mandatory read for every young music lover who feels they have something to share using two decks, whatever form they take. In 7 chapters, approximately 300 pages, and with a direct, non-compromising yet humble and gently flowing writing style, Paulette’s book will take you through her life’s ups and downs. Just like a real Friend would, Paulette will invite you to her table in a one-to-one conversation, asking you: “Are you sure about what you want? Here is my story; let me share it with you. Allow it to enter your soul. Let me tell you how it happened, and then you’ll decide your next step” .  Sharing her story in a cleverly laid out structure and putting her experiences (some surprisingly tough) into historical and political context all along the pages, also letting other renowned female DJs share their own, Paulette never plays around. “Welcome to the Club” is not a pamphlet about the scene and indeed not about the job itself. It is neither a ranting nor your typical self-centred biography. It is an empowering statement, a call for Women to take a proud and deserved seat at life’s table. It is an assumed presentation of challenges you may face, sadly even today, when you’re a Woman spinning records and crafting mixes in some of the biggest events worldwide (and oh so, even more, should you be black, bi-sexual with grey hair…). It is also a beautiful presentation of “Life”, of what you need to spend time on before, or while, going out there (and it is surely not just about being “famous” or making people jump in whatever event life will allow you to be a part of). “Welcome to the Club” is an anchor, a small guiding light, a philosophical, deep, sincere but not soppy read that encourages you to wind on your dreams, proven your soul is ready to face both the challenges and the rewards…

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 171st episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on April 09th 2024. About this show. – For this 171st edition (already!!) of Balearic Breakfast, Colleen again lent her virtual desks to members of the Family. And what a trip that show was! Both mixes let us discover tunes we didn't know, and both proposed a resolutely balearic ambience we'll dive into in the Listening experience part of this post (if you listen to this edition as you should, you'll notice that Colleen chose to play Rob's mix first and then Greca's one, thus respecting the show's general vibe, growing from a slow/cooled out vibe to a more energetic musical reality)... Sharing her thoughts on her socials today, Colleen wrote: "Today’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud if you would like to have a listen (and please follow me while you’re over there). For this edition we are joined by more members of the global Balearic Breakfast family. First up are @johncbawcombe1970  and @rob_soulfood  with a @balearic_burger  mix. John started Balearic Burger as a Facebook group and YouTube channel during the pandemix and is now hosting parties up in Nottingham. Check em out! Their mix is wonderfully deep with tunes by @djrontrent   @deyadova   @third_attempt   @yaimamusic  and more. Then our friend @grecamac  picks up the pace with a slinky sexy dance mix with music from @francoisknyc @jim_uk15   @ilyasantana   @masalo.music @undergroundsystem   @clivefromaccounts   @henrikschwarzlive  and more…. Thanks to all who joined us on the live stream on Mixcloud Live and for all of your support for the mixes by our Balearic Breakfast community members. We have one more week of special guest mixes – this time from @rick_van_veen  and @melissalyde – and then I’ll be back in the driver’s seat hosting it live from the record room. Thanks for listening!" Listen back to the 171st episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST John Bawcombe & Rob Soulfood Mix: ( 2021 ) Lone – Visited by Astronauts ( 2014 ) Yaima  – Gajumaru ( 1999 ) Ron Trent  – Woman ( 1979 ) Peter Green  – Just for You ( 1974 ) Thin Lizzy  – Showdown ( 1978 ) Maze  – I Need You ( 1981 ) Jaco Pastorius  – John and Mary ( 1982 ) Dave Valentin  – Clove & Cinnamon ( 2006 ) Deya Dova  – Bloom ( 1973 ) Madeline Bell  – That’s What It’s All About ( 1988 ) Sade  – Give It Up ( 2023 ) Third Attempt  – Soul Body and Mind Greca McAlpin Mix: ( 2023 ) Jim  – Phoenix (Crooked Fire) ( 2023 ) Underground System  – Looking In (Clive from Accounts mix) ( 2010 ) Ilya Santana  – Time to Come ( 2019 ) Nicky Night Time, Dangerous Dan & Rhonda INTL  – A History ( 2006 ) Cold Cut  – Walk a Mile in My Shoes (Henrik Schwarz Remix) ( 1988 ) Raze  – Break 4 Love ( 2019 ) Masalo  – Cycles ( 2022 ) Parkway Rhythm  – Be Yourself ( NOL ) Direct Drive  – Pass the Paper (White Label Edit) ( 2019 ) Sun Palace  – Rude Movements (Francois K Mix) ( 1979 ) The Osmonds  – I, I, I THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE General Feeling of the Mix. – Rob's mix is as eclectic as a mix can be. Look at the playlist; you'll understand that he's reaching high and low in many musical corners. Still, the mix he crafted has a strong "musical spine," one that allows you to let yourself go and, more importantly, one that has a very nicely rendered "surprise" effect. From the short but brilliant "intro" that is Lone's "Visited by Astronauts" to Third Attempt's "Soul Body and Mind" , Rob includes artists like Thin Lizzy, Sade, Peter Green (which has already been featured previously in the show) reaching high up to Jaco Pastorius' "John and Marry" ! If that's not a "Balearic Burger mix", nothing will ever be! Add to this the smooth transitions Rob does throughout the mix, and you'll be given a beautiful musical trip (very fine mixing indeed, very delicate... Listen, for instance, to the groove when Thin Lizzy's song starts...)! I just came to think about it, but Rob's mix perfectly embraces the "Balearic" musical philosophy, which is one of musical freedom. You can play whatever you want until it's done with the right musical intention (read Joe Mugg's " The Balearic Aesthetic " ; the article greatly explains this point). Rob's mix perfectly embodies this philosophical approach to freedom through music. More about the songs. – Rob's mix reaches high and low in many musical corners. Let's find out more about the tracks he chose to play in his mix: Rob starts his mix with a somewhat intriguing atmosphere. Visited by astronauts by Matt Cutler is indeed a somewhat worried balearic track from his 2021 « Always inside your head » album, which beautifully blends into Yaima ’s 2014 «  Gajumaru  », also a worried piece of music, leading you to think about how you deal with hard times and sad thoughts ( Gajumaru is a Japanese male Name – 我 meaning "ego, self, i." Myself – Refers to one's own thoughts and opinions, and the determination to stick to them ). Rob ends this trippy overture by selecting Ron Trent 's " Woman " , a track perfectly showcasing how he feels about music "We’re dealing with something that you can’t really touch but you know it’s there. Sound. You’re dealing with something of a medium shift. If you’re a musician who knows how to house the sonics or if you’re a DJ that knows how to take in the energy of a room and give it to the people, it’s a different level of understanding" . Keeping the rhythm quite cool at the start of the mix, Rob then plays 3 songs that reinforce the listener's first feeling of uneasiness. Firstly, both Peter Green 's " Just for You " and Thin Lizzy 's " Showdown " (sharing a close sonic structure) have that cooled-out but also worried musical vibe. Interestingly enough, while Shodown deals with "something that's about to happen", that's exactly what the band experienced when they were working on the record [Note1] ! Lastly, this worried moment of the mix takes an end with the 10-minute-long "I Need You" from the 1978 studio album "Golden Time of the Day" , a funky, almost spacy piece of music perfectly fitting Rob's mix whose musical unity shines here! You may think that Jaco Pastorius 's John and Mary (you can read a beautiful review of the track here ) would announce a happier part of the mix, but not totally, as we shall see. The bassist's song from his 1981 studio album " Word of Mouth" is dedicated to his children from his first marriage, and thus beautifully blends into Dave Valentin 's (Grammy-Award Latin-jazz flautist) " Clove & Cinnamon " from his 1982 studio album. A beautiful Balearic moment here! But that happier interlude soon leaves more room for windy skies with the four last tracks Rob chose to play. First is Deya Dova 's " Bloom " , followed by Madeline Bell 's intense " That’s What It’s All About " (she composed all of the songs for the 1973 studio album with Led Zeppelin's bassist player, John Paul Jones and will reunite with Mink's original members in 2024 ! ). Although Sade 's "Give It Up" is more danceable, you still feel a kind of uneasiness to this Track ( CAS covered the album "Stronger than pride"), which really is an urgent plea... Rob then ends his mix by playing the also quite worried Third Attempt ' s "Soul Body and Mind" . General Feeling of the mix. – Greca's mix is astounding (let's use the right words...), both musically and rhythmically. It's a darky/happy/trippy/worried but also absolutely danceable mix, one of the finest ones we have ever experienced here on the show from members of the Family. As Colleen put it in her latest interview with Dave Howell "(...) there's so many people who are music lovers who don't do it for a profession. And they have great ears. It's very pure". While we were all enjoying Greca's mix on the chat – the Lioncub totally losing his brain while searching for some harshness (there wasn't any of that Greca, I can tell you!) in it (stop searching, buddy, laughs!) – our dear Ana Maria had these words, which perfectly described Greca's mix "I have the vision of sweaty bodies dancing in the dark with smoke around in an underground club as it used to be..." (PS. Thank you for the dedication Greca, we love you!). More about the songs. – Since Greca's mix presents a beautiful rhythmical unity (there's some very fine and well-done beat-matching here, Greca 😘), I will just share pieces of information I found about some of the tracks: Jim Baron was featured in the 135th Balearic Breakfast show ; Luke Unabomber hailed The Crooked Goth version of Phoenix as his track of the year ; led by Domenica Fossati and Peter Matson , Underground System 's musical journey experienced a beautiful epiphany when they played in France (2018) and then toured Europe in 2019, a few months before Covid stopped them. " Looking in " is taken from their brand new EP , a band to follow for sure; from the 2010 EP "Burning Jupiter" (also available on the "Deep Space Vol. 1" compilation, Space Disco Music producer & DJ Ilya Santana proposes here a track that immediately made me think of some of the Italo-Disco tracks from the 80's...; the WOW effect of today's show is right here as " A History " (a fairly basic stripped-back house track) presents a short but well-thought-of and executed history of disco/house music with various samples included (if you know, you know...), then being mixed into the well-known British duo Coldcut 's (Matt Black & Jonathan More) incredible cover (and oh so worried version ) of the 1969 song "Walk a mile in my shoes" by Joe South (also famously covered by Elvis Presley)! Just WOW !! ; the 1988 classic that is "Break 4 Love" has been famously used by many other artists, including Sydney Youngblood for his If Only I Could hit and has been praised by many DJs around the world; Masalo 's " Cycles " has that something coming from the 1990s (that New-Beat feel I talked about in that article on the blog); Parkway Rhythm 's "Be Yourself " made me think of another classic track which is Black Boxe 's "Strike it up" ; British Disco, Soul and Electrofunk act in the 1980s, Direct Drive 's "Pass the Paper" is a funky number released at the band's heydays (and I found an incredible article [Note 2] about how the band's first studio album came to be!); following the reissue of the classic Raw Movements album in 2016 (the song Rude Movements was one of David Mancuso's favourites and was played at the loft in 1984), a new double LP has been issued, including beautiful remixes (btw. François K knew David and he crafted a beautiful tribute mix, you can listen to this one here ); you might know The Osmonds thanks to their great albums, including the ferocious 1972 album "Crazy Horses", but the American family music group also lent their musical talents to the virtues of Disco in1979, here looking into a somewhat "Kraftwerkian" musical trip (if you hear what I mean...), interestingly enough the track was produced by Maurice Gibb! Footnotes: [1] See https://www.loudersound.com/ . – "The rehearsals for that album were exactly the same way as when I went down and jammed with them," Gorham told us. "Everything was loud, it was big. But when we got into the studio, Ron Nevison, the producer, kept saying: 'Just turn the guitars down a little.' Robbo and I would look at each other and go: 'This is our first album, and this guy’s just worked with Led Zeppelin . So we’ll just take it down a notch.'  "And Nevison was like: 'Could you turn it down a little bit more?' And the volume kept going down and down, to where the songs just didn’t have that drive any longer. We all walked out scratching our heads, going: 'What the fuck just happened there?' That’s when Phil [Lynott] goes: 'Fuck these producers, I’ll produce the next one.' I went: 'Oh shit. What have we let ourselves in for now?'" [2] Charlie Gillett, Oval Records and Music, ­June 2001. – "The most important sound in the history of Oval Records might have been the clunk of the cassette that dropped through the letterbox of our basement office in Clapham, South London, in the Autumn of 1981. I went to see who had dropped it off, but he had already gone back up the front steps and into the street. There was a note in the packet telling us the band was called Direct Drive, and this was their demo in search of a record deal. In those days, cassette demos came in by post on a daily basis, most of them by rock groups inspired by one or more of the current heroes ­Talking Heads, the B-52s and Elvis Costello. Gordon [Nelki, Oval's co-director] and I stopped whatever we were doing to play the cassette, and one thing was clear straight away: this band had not been listening to any of the above. The music sounded like it was following Earth Wind and Fire or Kool and the Gang, in the new style of British dance music that was being called Jazz Funk by those in the know. The vocalist had a high, near-falsetto voice, and the arrangements were very adventurous, full of spaces for instrumental solos and rhythmic punches. In particular, we liked the drive and melody of 'Don't Depend on Me'. To us, the demo sounded good enough to release exactly as it was, but we needed to check it out with the people who would have to sell the record if we put it out. These days, there are around 30 shops in Soho alone selling nothing but dance music, and many more across the rest of London; back then, there was just a handful in the whole city, and one of them was Record Corner, about a mile away in Balham. I called the shop's manager Dave Hastings and he said we'd better come to play it to dance specialist Carl, who said it sounded fine and if we decided to release it he'd place an order for 25. Next stop was City Sounds in Holborn, where the guy behind the counter said he'd buy 50. Later, I found out this was Mick Clark, who soon afterwards joined the A&R department at Virgin. With 75 sales in the bag, we phoned the group's contact number and found the drummer, Pete Quinton. We asked him how come he had chosen to bring the tape to Oval. He said he'd looked in the Yellow Pages and we were the closest company to where he lived. He confirmed that the band was up for a discussion with us about releasing the record, so we fixed a meeting with all six members where we explained the deal ­ we'd release all three tracks on a 12" single and publish the songs. And then there was a bit of a delay. I don't remember how long, maybe a couple of weeks. We seemed in danger of losing the momentum ­ there's a sense of adrenalin that can build when things follow naturally, but which can get totally lost if people start wondering if there might be a better this or that around a corner. We began to get phone calls from the keyboard player, Paul Hardcastle, who was getting frustrated by the slow decision-taking processes in a democratic six-piece band. Before coming to Oval, they had shopped the demo around the rest of the business, and nobody else had been interested. As far as Paul was concerned, we were the only choice left. Paul told us that he had given an ultimatum to the other five, 'if you don't want to do this deal with Oval, I'm leaving the band.' There was something about Paul, you knew he wasn't bluffing. They came, we signed, and we put the record out. As we got to know Paul better, he told us how he had joined the band. He had come into some insurance money after a bad crash on his motorbike, and had bought a keyboard at the music equipment and hi-fi shop where he worked on King's Road in Chelsea. He taught himself to play it by trial and error and reading the manual, and three months later answered an ad in the Melody Maker for a band looking for a keyboard player. Although he had never played with other musicians before, somehow he bluffed his way in. Vocalist Derek Green was recruited around the same time, and the six-piece rehearsed a few times before recording the three songs that were sent to us. It's still hard to believe that those confident and complicated keyboard arrangements were by somebody who had only been playing for three months. Listening now, twenty years later, the quality of musicianship in the whole band is outstanding ­ guitarist Robert Williams plays lovely fluid lines and bass player Mick Ward was among the best British musicians to perfect the slapping style that the Family Stone's Larry Graham had introduced a few years earlier. Pete Quinton provided the rhythmic fulcrum on drums, and percussionist Bones Hammond added flowing syncopations. Convinced that 'Don't Depend on Me' was the favourite for radio play, we made it the A-side and stuck the other two songs on the B-side. The band - particularly Paul - liked 'Time Machine'’ but it started with at least a minute of instrumental intro before the vocal started, which was against every radio principle we knew. Pete Quinton designed the band's logo for the front cover. We did the radio promotion ourselves, posting copies to any producer or DJ who might play it and quite a few who almost certainly never would. We were ignored by every daytime radio producer at Radio One, but John Peel played the A-side several times, surprising given his preference for much edgier music than this. Even more surprising, Robbie Vincent at BBC Radio London chose 'Time Machine' as the side to play, long intro and all. Over and over. This was the heyday of pirate radio, when most of the people who ran the stations were into exactly this kind of music, and they all played 'Time Machine.' Record Business, a rival to the long running trade paper Music Week, published a Disco Music Top 50; the single entered at #21 in the week ending 18th Jan 1982 and hovered in and out of the top 20 for the next two months. At this time Oval split its distribution between Spartan and Rough Trade. Spartan had been formed by a couple of ex-major label salesmen to help small labels have pop hits, and they did well with the first few singles by UB40 on Graduate Records, a small label based in the Midlands. Rough Trade specialised in groups which weren't looking for pop chart success. Oval's releases tended to fall between the cracks, being neither commercial enough for Spartan nor quirky enough for Rough Trade. We found a third distributor, Greyhound Records, which specialised in importing dance records from the USA, for whom we were a natural addition to their range. One of the trickiest things to get right was pressing up the correct number of records, keeping up with demand without getting left with too much overstock. Three different factories made labels, sleeves and vinyl, and the pressing plant would not start a run until we had delivered enough labels and sleeves to match the order. One undelivered telephone message in any one of the three factories could take a couple of weeks to untangle. Having started with a conservative first pressing of 1,000 copies, it took us about six weeks to catch up with the demand for 'Time Machine.' Most people found it easier to buy the song on compilation cassettes of jazz funk being sold in London markets every Saturday, but we still sold over 5,000 12" copies. Listening to the music now, it feels like the band would have built up a following if they had been out playing live. But Oval did not have the resources to provide them with tour support to let them all give up their day jobs and go out on the road. We needed to make another record. Capital Radio offered a live session for the band, who played two songs from the first single and a new one, 'Time's Running Out.' We took the 16-track tape to Eel Pie Studios in Soho where engineer Mike Pela remixed the new song for release as a single, combined with a ballad, 'I'm The One.' This time we thought we had a real chance of radio play. We pressed a radio-friendly 7" and to make sure we were better prepared to meet demand this time around, we ordered 2,000 12" singles. But radio was not nearly so enthusiastic, and we did not even sell all of the first pressing. Listen to 'I'm The One,' and let me know if you understand why that was not some kind of a hit? Derek's singing is impeccable, the words are spot on, and the band plays like a dream. The two Direct Drive singles were consecutive releases on Oval, followed immediately by two more from the spin-off group formed by Paul and Derek, First Light. They took the name from the studio in Penge where the first single had been recorded. I don't remember exactly what happened to force the split, or maybe we were never told. For a while, we remained on good terms with both parties and Pete Quinton designed the First Light logo. But after we turned down the results of a new formation of Direct Drive featuring vocalist Alvin Brown, the group decided to go out on its own, and with vocalist Helen Rogers released a couple of singles on Polydor, making the lower reaches of the national chart with 'Anything'. We had every expectation that First Light would be commercially successful -­ a singer with a great voice with good songs, combined with a wizard musician who had a gleam in his eye and a feel for the future. Paul's decision to revive 'Horse with No Name' confounded the purists and achieved our first play on daytime Radio One when a producer commissioned a 'live session.' This was a euphemism for a tape copy of the record, which was supplied to meet Musician's Union requirements for a specified number of 'sessions' per day on Radio One. When Gordon heard the First Light single one morning played back-to-back with 'Just an Illusion' by Imagination, the UK's best-selling black act at the time, his heart sank. Where every sound on the Imagination record rammed home its intention, the sound of First Light was lighter, more innocent. In a flash, he knew our record didn't stand a chance. Among the follow-up songs we recorded was 'She's a Mystery,' full of melodic hooks which floated over an easy-going groove. Derek had his doubts that our promotion could do it justice, and thought they might benefit from having a more experienced producer. We didn't argue. If the group wanted a company with more clout, we would go and try to find one. We shopped around. Our former adviser Mick Clark had his hands full at Virgin with Loose Ends and I-Level. Ashley Newton at Island had as many black music acts as he could hope to get onto British radio, which was still not making these artists welcome. Roger Ames, the MD at London Records, did not usually initiate A&R signings anymore, but somehow we managed to get his attention long enough to sign the duo, although he would be the first to admit that he never had enough time afterwards to concentrate on figuring out what to do with it. While all these discussions were going on, Paul had been playing around with an idea for an instrumental, which he sent to us on tape. It sounded OK, but so what? Who played instrumentals on the radio? If Paul was pissed off with us, he didn't show it. But he persevered, asking if we minded if he sent the tape to Solar, one of the leading pirate stations. We didn't mind, but it needed a title in case they played it: 'A.M.,' sticking to the concept of the project's name. A week or two later, Paul called to report that the track was getting played on Solar. Two weeks later, it was in the top ten tracks most-requested by listeners to the station. All the other nine were released records already in the national top 50. Week by week the instrumental climbed into the top 3. Finally First Light's record label woke up to the realisation that it might be a good idea to release this track. By now we were on the brink of signing the group to London, but Roger Ames confirmed that it would not interfere with London's plans if this instrumental came out in the meantime. On the B-side were two vocal tracks featuring Derek, the new 'I Don't Care' and a revisit of 'Time Machine.' Mainstream radio paid no attention, but the pirates played 'A.M.' like it was their signature tune. Even though this time we knew there would be plenty of interest, we still had trouble keeping up with demand. The 12" single sold over 13,000 copies, more than the sales of the other three singles combined. For reasons I've now forgotten, when we finally signed to London and started discussing what to do first, 'She's a Mystery' was set aside and a new song, 'Explain the Reasons,' was chosen for the single. It was our idea to suggest Steve Levene as producer, after hearing his work on the first Culture Club single; but before we could get in the studio with him, 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?' came out and suddenly Steve was the producer everybody wanted. Not until three months later did Steve finally have time for First Light. To my amazement and embarrassment, Steve did most of the programming himself, with Paul sat beside him in the control room. By the time the A-side was finally finished, we had gone way past the budget, and Paul volunteered to knock off an instrumental B-side at a cheaper studio. Sticking to the theme, we called it 'Daybreak.' Despite the more professional sound of 'Explain the Reasons' and London's experienced promotion team, Radio One wasn't interested, but every pirate radio station across the country jumped onto 'Daybreak.' The single sold over 20,000 copies and the group made the pop chart for the first time. A different producer, Bob Carter, was assigned to do the next single, 'Wish You Were Here', and again Paul volunteered to provide the B-side. Observing that it was costing £500 a day to record, he pointed out that if he had his own home studio, he could record half of any album for a fraction of what it would cost in a commercial studio. We put the idea to Roger, who turned it down flat. "They need a producer." Gordon came out of the meeting seething with anger and suggested we help pay for Paul's studio as his publisher. Paul was fine with that, so we came up with a few thousand pounds, Paul put up the rest himself, and he finally had his own music-making factory at home. When we started discussing the release of the second single at London's office, the A&R man asked us not to put an instrumental on the B-side this time. "Why not?" we asked, 'A.M.' and 'Daybreak' proved that radio DJs liked instrumentals" "Exactly. First Light is a vocal group, and we don't want to give DJs a chance to play the wrong side again." It was a logic that baffled me then, and it still does. A compromise was agreed whereby Paul recorded another instrumental 'Stop the Clock' in a completely different style, almost reggae, so he could not be accused of appealing to the jazz funk DJs. But they played it anyway, and although Radio One ignored the A-side again, the record slipped into the bottom of the national chart for a token couple of weeks. Oval Records had released four singles by Direct Drive and First Light in a little over 12 months. At London, First Light managed to release only two more in 18 months, most of that time spent waiting around for producers to become available. Beside himself with frustration, Paul broke away and formed his own Fast Forward label to put out singles he recorded at home. He immediately made #41 on the national chart with a revival of D-Train's 'You're The One For Me' and was back there again a few months later, in a one-off deal with Bluebird Records, with an instrumental, 'Rain Forest,' which went on to become a Top 5 R&B hit in the States. In April 1985, having signed to Chrysalis, Paul was sitting on top of the world, with '19' at #1 in 13 countries. In many ways, '19' was the record that made the public aware of the concept of sampling; everybody who heard the record realised that the commentator's voice was somehow being manipulated into that famous stutter ­ 'N-N-Nineteen.' Not only did Paul provide Oval Music with our biggest hit, but he taught us a lot: among other things, that it's not simply a matter of having talent, it's what you do with it. It's been a privilege to be part of his story. As far as the UK is concerned, Paul may have apparently disappeared, but he has been one of Britain's most consistent sellers in Japan and the US, with a series of Contemporary Jazz albums (as the Jazzmasters and under his own name), each of which stayed on the Billboard Chart for two years. Derek Green had a brief shot at a solo career but then settled into the role of being one of the top session singers in the country, preferring to stand just outside the spotlight. We lost contact with the other members of Direct Drive apart from Pete Quinton, who turned out to be an excellent songwriter in his own right. We spent a couple of years trying to get covers of his songs, and he has gone on to make a living writing music for television. Pete, if we never properly thanked you for dropping that cassette through our letter box, this seems like a good time and place to do it."

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 172nd episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on April 16th 2024. About this episode. – Our beloved captain's vacation time is coming to an end, sigh! But wait! If she is coming back, it means that we're going to be able to request more Tracks?! Oh yes, so nothing is that bad, hey! And this episode is another one that just felt like it gave us what we All Needed: More Music (laughs)!! With all of these events going on, there's nothing more to add but give our captain the Mic! "(...) As it’s the last week of my hols, the show features two guest mixes from our family members @rick_van_veen  and @melissalyde. Both mixes truly compliment one another. Rick is from The Netherlands and is a longtime contributor to the show. His mix progresses from chillout to dancehall and hip hop to more of an acid house sound with artists including @kingbritt @officialmeshell    @basement_jaxx  @carlcraignet @sweatsonklank   @stgermainofficial  @sven_wunder Melissa is from Brooklyn, NY, is the founder of @alfredascinema  and has made some great requests on the show. Her mix is all about deep soul and jazz with artists like @cecilmclorinsalvant1 @scottgroovesdj  , @louievega  Joe Claussell, @_floydvader   @novakaneomega   #gracejones   #quincyjones   #minnieripperton   Once again thank you to the Balearic Breakfast community for supporting our special guests. Your enthusiasm is a joy to admire. I’ll be back streaming the show live next Tuesday, the 23rd April from 10am to 12pm BST and the request line will go up on Saturday. I look forward to your suggestions and until then, just be Balearic! Thanks for listening." (Our pleasure, der Captain!) Listen back to the 172nd episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST Rick Van Veen Mix ( 2022 ) Sweatson Klank – Ballad of a Sleepless Traveller ( 2023 ) Sven Wunder  – Take a Break ( 1983 ) Yellowman  – Zungguzungguguzungguzeng ( 1993 ) A Tribe Called Quest  – Oh My God ( 1969 ) Jim Sullivan  – Plain as Your Eyes Can See ( 2022 ) Sault  – God Is Love ( 2023 ) Meshell Ndegeocello  – Virgo (King Britt's Sirius B Remix) ( 1996 ) Basement Jaxx  – Paradise ( 1993 ) Maurizio  – Domina (Carl Craig's Mind Mix) ( 1996 ) Nuyorican Soul  – Mind Fluid ( 1993 ) St Germain  – How Do You Plead? Melissa Lyde Mix ( 1981 ) Adele Sebastian  – Man From Tanganyika ( 2023 ) Cecil McLorin Salvant  – Doudou ( 1978 ) Quincy Jones  – Poppy Girls ( The Wiz ) ( 1977 ) Minnie Riperton – Oh Darlin'... Life Goes On ( 1972 ) Ivete Garcia – Ameno Resedá (feat. Unidos Do Jacarezhino) ( 1980 ) Joyce  – Aldeia de Ogum ( 1976 ) Musiques de L'Afrique Traditionelle  – Percussions Senegal ( 2022 ) Louie Vega ft. Joe Claussell  – Igobolo (Feelin' Love) (Joe & Louis Mood Dub) ( 2021 ) Floyd Vader ft. Novakane Omega  – Speak Easy ( 2023 ) Scott Grooves ft. Cjay Hill  – Let Me In ( 1980 ) Grace Jones  – Private Life ( 1998 ) Kp & Envy  – Swing My Way ( 1976 ) Jean Carne  – Free Love THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE The "Balearic Watering Spaces Mix". – Being part of the Balearic Breakfast Family and being passionate about sound is quite a good thing actually, because you can help your friends when they need it! I met Rick thanks to the show, and we talk a lot together about music, about the show itself and also about other themes, believe it or not, Cookies and, of course... Pigeons, laughs! So when Rick asked me to check his mix (he felt the third track was louder than the others and wanted to correct the issue before it was streamed live by Colleen on April 16th), I was overjoyed and gladly accepted the proposition! Rick sent me his mix in .wav, and I lowered the third track's volume by only approximately 1db under Steinberg's Wavelab, leaving the rest of the levels untouched as they were even (thank you, Youlean Loudness Meter and my ears😊)! Then, while listening to his mix, an image came immediately to my mind with a title: the "Balearic Watering Spaces Mix" was born (Rick crafted this nice picture just the other day for you to enjoy 👌)! If you listen closely, all of the songs Rick selected do have that sonic "waving and watering" signature (listen to the bass or the echo in the songs; pay attention to the inner depth of the sound, the funky rhythm...). Nothing here is "harsh"; every beat is underlined by the melody, the bass; there is a groove, like a current; this mix has an undertow, there, somewhere... Hearing this, I said to Rick, wait, we're going to enhance that, and so did I by using two plugins I absolutely love: PSP Xenon (which put out the harmonics putting the "watering" effect to the forefront) and Gullfoss EQ (used at its minimum but best quality to enhance the realism of the sound). I feel the result is truly Gorgeous, and Rick's selections and the mix in itself also enhance the "waving and watering" feeling, as nothing is forced musically, and every song flows into the next one with grace. Such a beautiful mix!! More about the songs. – Here is some more information about the songs Rick used in his mix: with both a sensitive and an organic approach to sound, Sweatson Klank 's compositions step out and plunge the listener into a visual musical world. The Californian-based DJ, film composer and musician has issued several albums/EPs in the last few years, " Ballad of a Sleepless Traveller " definitely living up to his recent statement : " I look at my musical career more like a jazz artist in the sense that so many of my favorite Jazz musicians just had these incredible long careers, leaving behind great catalogues of work but were never huge. They were, however, respected, and their contributions to music are timeless. That's my goal "; Sven Wunder' s " Take a Break " is taken from his "Late Again" 2023 studio album, and the artist has already been featured in the show, a recent review stated " There’s certainly a cinematic, recorded-to-tape quality to Late Again, on which tracks such as the string-kissed “Take a Break,” “Pop-Jazz Structures,” and the horn-forward “Stars Align” evoke the work of Quincy Jones, David Axelrod, Stan Getz, and even Trouble Man-era Marvin Gaye " - Although the album is described as " a collection of nocturnal jazz pieces that depict shooting stars and scattered beams from the setting sun" , one thing is certain, it takes us on the deep side, Rick's choice being perfect here as this musical piece perfectly completes and expands the oh so well chose intro of his mix!; progression is a key element of our beloved show, there is always that moment in the mix when it happens, and once again, Rick, by choosing Yellowman 's classic 1983 song Zungguzungguguzungguzeng , shows how much a good mix elevates your spirit by 1) setting you free, putting you at ease and 2) lifting you up and this is exactly what this classic track does [Besides, the track is close to Cecil Wellington's "Boneman Connection", played at the Loft by David Mancuso, both tracks are in fact sampling... Alton Ellis' Mad Mad ] ; A Tribe Called Quest 's " Oh My God " is indeed another classic ( "without question the most intelligent, artistic rap group during the 1990s", further stating that the group "jump-started and perfected the hip-hop alternative to hardcore and gangsta rap" according to critic John Bush ), easily fitting its pumping rhythm and its drowning stereo effect into Rick's mix!; the WOW effect of Rick's mix is here: putting some folk after two reggae and rap classics is indeed a Genius move by playing Jim Sullivan's 1969 song "Plain as Your Eyes Can See"! It also showcases the dynamic part of the show as this song is, in fact, a sad one ( a lamentation of unreciprocated love ) , but its affirmed rhythm does bring hope to the listener. The Lost album of the unsuccessful artist has been reissued in 2019; Sault's "My God is love" can be found on their 2022 studio album UNTITLED (God) released along (4!!!) other studio albums , a concept album about Faith, but also about self-care, it seems, a subject we love here on the blog, as this review of the album states; Meshell Ndegeocello 's Virgo (King Britt's Sirius B Remix) is another example of Rick's astounding musical knowledge as the multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer Meshell Ndegeocello has been nominated for Best Alternative Jazz Album at the 66th GRAMMY Awards; his 2023 studio album "The OMnichord Real Book" being praised by critics ; Basement Jaxx 's " Paradise " takes us to a more Balearic, but still somewhat "Locked" musical trip, perfectly showcasing why Rick's mix is a loungy, deeply soulful musical affair, taking you deep down the ocean...; Car Craig 's remix of Domina sets the bar high indeed; read an interview here ; of course, those of us following Colleen, and keeping David Mancuso in our Hearts on a Daily Basis know Nuyorican Soul as their "Nervous Track" was played at The Loft! Rick proposes us here another beauty from Kenny “Dope” Gonzalez and Little Louie Vega ; taken from the 1999 compilation " From Detroit to St Germain " , "How Do You Plead ?" is a track Ludovic Navarre issued back in 1993 and to this day considered a classic. Melissa's "Free Spirit Mix". – If you're a regular reader of this blog (I hope you like it by the way, ha!) I'm sure you noticed what I wrote last week, sharing the Idea that Colleen always tries to stream Family's mixes that go well together, thus respecting the show's musical energy. And, today's episode, once again, confirms that Colleen keeps that idea for every show as we go from a somewhat reflective, deep, almost "enclosed" (I said almost Rick, laughs!) to an open and free-wheeling mix! So there is always that feeling of "evolution" in the air, that excitement that grows. And this is what hapenned on the chat as Melissa's mix started and went on! A lot of us praised Melissa's mix for its openness, its communicative joy and its freewheeling spirit. I felt that very strongly, too, and we'll dive into that in the second section of this part. Melissa's mix is light. She's not here to impress anyone but to share the musical fruits with all of us. It's a musical but also a gustative experience, one that shakes our senses, inviting us to a light but vibrant (almost tribal) dance where we delve into Music's Soul! Absolutely Brilliant and Sunny! More about the songs. – Here is some more information about the songs Melissa played in her mix: with its percussive tam-tams, Adele Sebastian 's (an Afro-American jazz flautist and singer) [ Note 1 ] " Man From Tanganyika " is a beautiful cover of Mc Coy Tyner' s 1968 song taken from his eighth studio album, "Tender Moments" and is actually referring to the Battle for Lake Tanganyika (a series of naval engagements that took place between elements of the Royal Navy, Force Publique and the Kaiserliche Marine between December 1915 and July 1916, during the First World War); Cecil McLorin Salvant 's "Doudou" is taken from her new studio album, "Mélusine" (the second on Nonesuch records). It contains five original songs and interpretations of nine others dating back to the 12th century, sung mainly in French, Occitan, English, and Haitian Kreyòl (the album's title refers to the legend of Melusine ); " Poppy Girls " is a funky but short number taken from the double LP and 1978 " The Wizz " soundtrack (if you haven't listened to that soundtrack, please do... It's a total trip...); taken from her 1977 and fourth studio album "Stay in Love" , Minnie Ripperton 's " Oh Darlin'... Life Goes On " is a very funky/Balearic tune indeed. Sadly, the singer was battling cancer at the time and succumbed to the disease in 1979 (diagnosed in 1976). Following Minnie’s passing, her husband wanted to continue her legacy and established The Minnie Riperton Legacy Fund for breast and women’s cancers at the Los Angeles based Concern Foundation for Cancer Research; Ivete Garcia 's " Ameno Resedá " is that Carnival song you'll keep in your heart for many years, it refers to Rio de Janeiro’s most important  rancho –  the street Carnaval groups that predominated in Rio in the early twentieth century, before the emergence of samba schools; keeping the Balearic vibe alive, Melissa then plays Joyce's "Aldeia de Ogum " from her 1980 studio album "Femina" (to discover more about her 1977 lost album, click here ). Joycé Silveira Palhano de Jesus (her real name) recognised that starting her career as a singer, she was the first Brazilian singer-songwriter to express herself as a woman, causing a scandal...; Colleen interviewed Louie Vega several times , including a very nice CAS event that took place recently . Igobolo (Feelin' Love) can be found on a double 12-inch set , including remixes and dub versions! Grace Jones' " Private Life " is a cover of The Pretender's song , found on their 1979 eponymous debut album. The song started as Chrissie Hynde's willingness to create a Reggae song. It was then Famously covered by Grace on her 1980 studio album (with a more upfront tempo) and remains a classic to this day; Swing My Way   was a staple in the 90s, and, fun fact, the new generation found out that the 1988 hit song featured rapper K.P. (Kia Phillips) on the verses and white singer Envyi (Susan Hedgepeth) on the iconic hook (to find out more about the duo , click here ); Melissa then ends her great set by playing Jean Carne 's classic "Free Love" from her 1976 debut studio album, a disco track on which the young kids of the 70s used to do the hustle (to find out more about the duo Jean formed with Doug, click here )! Footnotes for Melissa's Mix: Adele Sebastian was an Afro American jazz flutist and singer, active from the early 70s (when she was still a teenager) until her untimely death at the age of 27 (!) in 1983 from a kidney failure. In fact she had been depending on monthly dialysis to stay alive for years. She lived through and for the music and you can hear it on her only solo album 'Desert Fairy Princess' which was first issued in 1981. The mostly acoustic instrumentation brings a very natural and therefore rather retrospective sound considering the year the album was recorded. Adele and her band pull it off right from the start as if it had been 1966 and it was time for a revolution to shake the dust from the old time jazz. In a perfect way she mixes classic American vocal jazz elements with playful and more free passages, Latin music and tribal African sounds in the lengthy and quite rhythm oriented 'Man From Tanganyika' and makes the title track start with a mystical 'Allahu akbar' chant while it turns more and more into a dark and gloomy song with something like a psychedelic edge reminiscent of Pharoah Sanders on his early works. Wild rhythms from drums, percussions with tons of bells and chimes weave a thick groove carpet and conjure a magical atmosphere. Those jazz aficionados who love the mid 60s John Coltrane, his sidekick Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane will go crazy for this album.

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 173rd episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on April 23rd 2024. About this episode. - After taking two weeks off-air, Colleen is back in the Driver's seat! The Balearic Breakfast Family got together in the last few days and requested great tracks that transmitted Joy but also something of that "Unexpected truth"! Do not worry; as always, we will discuss that in the post, laughs! But for now, let's leave today's show presentation to Colleen herself: "Today's show features new music from musclecars Yuksek   Caoilfhionn Rose   FRANCK ROGER   DJ Spinna   Mad Professor  Alex Kassian and of course, a lot of great records that you have requested. It also includes a song featured on my forthcoming Balearic Breakfast 3 compilation coming out on HEAVENLY RECORDINGS   on the 7th June. At the moment there is no CD version, but next year there should be a CD that combines Volumes 3&4 like we did with the first two volumes. You will see a very high price tag for a digital download version – that’s because there isn’t one! This is a physical format release only. Thanks to all who have already pre-ordered and who have supported the compilation series over the past couple of years. And there will be some record release parties in the UK and Ibiza which I’ll tell you about in the near future. If you’re in London, hold this date: 15th June." Listen back to the 173rd episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST ( 2024 ) Ballaké Sissoko & Derek Gripper  –   Daraka ( 1971 ) Barbara and Ernie  –   For You ( 2024 ) Caoilfhionn Rose  –   Josephine ( 2011 ) Jonathan Wilson  –   Desert Raven ( 1971 ) Pastor TL Barrett and the Youth for Christ Community Choir  –   Nobody Knows ( 2006 ) Omar  –   Ghana Emotion ( 2023 ) Yuksek (ft Julia Jean-Baptiste)  –   Pura Onda (C’est Pas l’oiseau Jam Mix) ( 1985 ) Pino Daniele  –   Ferryboat (Club Mix 1985) ( 1981 ) Syreeta Wright  –   Move It Do It ( NOL ) Renée  –   Change Your Style (Pete Blaker Rework) ( 1980 ) El Turronero  –   Las Penas (La Caña) ( 2004 ) The Shapeshifters  –   Lola’s Theme (Lola’s Loungin’ Mix) ( 2024 ) Florecer  –   Hidden Thoughts (Hitchhiker Remix) ( 1981 ) Billy Ocean  –   Nights (Feel Like Getting Down) ( 1980 ) Wilton Felder & Bobby Womack  –   Inherit the Wind ( 1978 ) Lucio Battisti  –   Nessun Dolore ( 2024 ) Franck Roger  –   Enchanted (DJ Spinna’s Galactic Soul Remix) ( 2024 ) Musclecars  –   Running Out of Time ( 2024 ) Alex Kassian  – E2 E4 (Mad Professor Crazy Mix 2) THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE The general feeling of the mix. – As always, when Colleen mixes, images or ideas appear in my brain. Laughs! In this episode, I quickly felt that the Unexpected element was king. Listen closely to both the songs and the mix; you'll hear how many unexpected elements appear, even on a rhythmical side! This eclectic and unexpectedly grooving mix made me think about how important keeping a smooth approach to life is. The more you take things as they are, even when they Hurt, the more you'll be able to shift, to adapt, you'll learn to respond, to cope and digest anything that will come to you along the way, knowing that great things may happen too. Of course, if you're sensitive, you'll feel that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. That's also true. And that’s how I always feel, laughs! But remember that anything great can also happen. I'm not saying here that we should always be happy or that we should always expect good things to happen, but by staying on the edge, you'll be able to see things for what they are and not only for what you would like them to be, or what you think they are. And that's something that may help you along the way... The Unexpected Truth is out there, so be ready to experience it. More about the songs. – From the show's start, unexpected sounds, colours, textures, and tonalities greet you. The whole rhythm, the entire vibe, and the soundstage of "Daraka" are something we never experienced during Balearic Breakfast ( and for a good cause as the album, recorded in London with the vinyl being pressed at Pallas , allows Kora player Ballaké Sissoko – a stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa – and guitarist Derek Gripper to have a musical conversation ). With Barbara and Ernie 's "For You" , the unexpected keeps presenting itself to you, thanks to the track's dynamics and the instruments' realism ( this well-written review shows how much the album stands out in its original sonic structure) . Did you notice that the beautiful ballad did not age sonically at all, sounding fresh as ever? Colleen keeps the flow steady by playing Caoilfhionn Rose's "Josephine" , taken from her forthcoming album on Gondwana Records (and, think of it, perfectly falling into the "Unexpected truth" theme as, according to Caoilfhionn "Josephine is a song about what I’d tell my younger self / a younger person to give reassurance and comfort") . I had the absolute pleasure of talking with Caoilfhionn here on the blog, a wonderful interview during which I noted that her new album, while keeping her aerial sonic signature, felt more "solid" sonically. Stop. Listen to Colleen's mix right there. Did you catch the surprise as Jonathan Wilson 's   " Desert Raven " started? I did, Wow, right?! If you want to preorder your copy of Balearic Breakfast Vol. 3, do so here . The next song, " Nobody Knows " , comes from an album that has already been featured on the show ( Pastor T.L. Barrett 's legacy is celebrated in a beautiful box set, btw.) . I love the lyrics of that song, reflecting so much the main theme of this very post; besides, I love the unorthodox structure of the song too! Now, I'm sure you understand this post's title! And, as I just said, the unexpected is our friend today as Colleen then plays the very "bossa-like" tune that is Omar 's "Ghana Emotion" . Often referred to as ‘the father of neo-soul’, Omar Lye-Fook recently said in an interview, "My story has been going quite steadily for the last 35, 36 years. I just want to keep adding to the catalogue. This is something that I'm known for, that I produce a lot of quality music, and I just want to be able to keep that flow going" Well, so do we! With Yuksek's "Pura Onda" (the album's title "Dance 'o' Drome" is inspired by Yuksek's radio show he hosted on Radio Nova between 2020 and 2023) and its funky/cosmic sound (confirming Yuksek's love for Balearic Soundscapes, as he told handsupelectro.fr ) , Colleen keeps the surprise element as vibrant as ever; that soundstage is incredible. For now, Colleen is not focused on the mix; she lets the music breathe, and every song keeps its own universe, allowing the visual dynamics to hit the listener even more. Yuksek was also previously featured during Balearic Brunch , you might remember that! Colleen then takes us on the dancefloor, nicely blending Pino Daniele 's " Ferryboat " with Syreeta 's " Move It Do It " . The second hour of today's episode will be nothing short of surprising, and Colleen starts it with Pete Blaker 's edit of Renée's " Change Your Style ". Pete was with us on the chat today; he came by to say a quick hello! What a track! Another one perfectly showcasing today's show Powerhorse strength. It is followed by another incredible tune, El Turronero 's " Las Penas (La Caña) ", mixing the "classic disco sound" with Spanish lyrics in an almost Arab-like flair, Colleen taking us here on a musical Roller-Coaster with The Shapeshifters ' " Lola’s Theme (Lola’s Loungin’ Mix) " (more about how the song was born here ) which just got us on our knees, finally ending this incredible musical moment with Florecer' s dreamy " Hidden Thoughts (Hitchhiker Remix) ". There goes your WOW effect!! For the following songs, Colleen is going to keep her mixing on the top, as always, blending Billy Ocean's 1981 breakout R&B hit " Nights (Feel Like Getting Down) " , Wilton Felder and Bobby Womack's " Inherit the Wind " ending with Luccio Battisti 's great " Nessun Dolore " (found on his 13th studio album on which he collaborated with the lyricist Giulio Rapetti) . Colleen then ends the show by playing three last open-minded tracks: Franck Roger 's " Enchanted (DJ Spinna’s Galactic Soul Remix) " , Musclecars '  " Running Out of Time ", and the audacious and trippy Alex Kassian's " E2 E4 (Mad Professor Crazy Mix 2) " .

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 174th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on April 30th 2024. About this episode. – With each episode, a new sensation, new visuals, new stories to tell, new music and thus new post here on the blog! Today's show was gorgeous, and I had a hard time finding the right title – the general sensation was too precise... I even exchanged about that with my dear Ana Maria on the chat while Colleen was streaming! But hey, after all, it's all in the intention, and as always, we're going to discover why this show is all about these "Balearic Flutterings"! But for now, let's give the mic to our dear Captain: "Today's show features some great tunes for you – latin jazz, deep soul, funk, indie-pop, garage classics, breezy balearica, and more so get ready for another fantastic voyage. And along with the classics and the yesteryear obscurities there are some new tunes. And don't forget you can pre-order the next Balearic Breakfast Volume 3 compilation from the Heavenly Bandcamp at https://heavenlyrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/colleen-cosmo-murphy-presents-balearic-breakfast-vol-3 Enjoy the show and thanks for listening!" Listen back to the 174th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST ( 1970 ) John Cale – Big White Cloud ( 2024 ) Scott Grooves  – Sudden Burst of Rays ( 1971 ) Gabor Szabo  – Breezin ( 1985 ) Georgie Red  – Help the Man (Save ya' Mix) ( 1987 ) Quintus Project  – Night Flight ( 1979 ) Vangelis  – Chung Kuo/The Long March ( 2024 ) Psychederek  – Pacific State ( 2024 ) Brainstory  – Hanging On ( 1991 ) Snowboy  – Astralisation ( 1977 ) Lalomie Washburn  – Give Me Love with the Music ( 1977 ) Eli’s Second Coming  – Love Chant ( 2014 ) House of Spirits  – Holding On ( 1972 ) Alice Clark  – Charms of the Arms of My Love ( 1981 ) Central Line  – Walking Into Sunshine (Larry Levan Mix) ( 2024 ) Shunt Voltage  – To What Degree (A Space Age Freak Out) ( 1989 ) Womack & Womack  – Celebrate the World (The People Unite Mix) ( 2024 ) Two Man Sound  – Que Tal America (Dave Lee Mix) ( NOL ) Army of Lovers  – Lit de Parade (Foundation of Dub Remix) ( 2023 ) Zaimie  – Wildfire THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE The general feeling of the mix. – Today's mix has very clear imagery for me. Thanks to the songs, the rhythms, and the instrumentation – but also the mix itself (Colleen's delicate touch and the way she lets silence take its place help a lot to the free-flying effect) – we can easily picture a beautiful naturalistic open-to-all-winds field where butterflies and insects pollinate flowers and where birds and bees freely fly! Interestingly enough, this "light Flying" feeling, this fluttering and very natural-like presence, represented musically and lyrically, will stay present throughout the show, infusing its first part and transcending itself into its second hour... More about the songs. – With its big soundstage, John Cale 's " Big White Cloud " (taken from the enigmatic 1970 studio album " Vintage Violence " and, who knows, a song about LSD, maybe ?) perfectly sets up the imagery of today's episode. You feel the wavy touch in this song and the first "Balearic Flutterings"! We keep this living picture in our minds for the next two hours, even when reaching out to more "rhythmically driven" songs. Laughs! But for now, Scott Grooves '  " Sudden Burst of Rays " keeps enchanting us with this circular synth sound and its ever-revolving sonic nature! Both Gabor Szabo 's " Breezin " (written by Bobby Womack and famously covered by George Benson in 1976, the Hungarian guitarist being an essential figure for Carlos Santana ) and Georgie Red 's " Help the Man (Save ya' Mix) " have the wandering feeling of a bee flying in the open fields. The first minutes of today's show make you shake your head up and down, left to right, preparing you to leave Earth with Quintus Project 's "Night Flight" (the brilliant song was first issued on a very limited edition of the 1987 studio album "Moments" – produced by Walter Quintus who engineered lots of great modern jazz albums for his label CMP in Germany and who also worked with Kraftwerk, Gary Moore or Quincy Jones to name a few... – later discovered by Derwin label-head Alex Barck and given the remix treatment by Psychemagik ) . While we were all digging the Piano Solo on that unbelievable track, Roberto shared this message with us on the chat: "If anyone is digging the piano on the Quintus Project track - check out Dany Tenagilia's Future Garage remix of D*Note "Lost and Found" - wicked piano solo towards the end by Peter Daou " . Keeping the flying element absolutely vibrant, Colleen then plays Vangelis ' " Chung Kuo/The Long March " (from his 1979 studio album " China ") , which starts with the sound of a Synth also used by the great Czeslaw Niemen in his "Klaustrofobia " track, as played during his 1984 live concert . Do you hear what happens at the end of Vangelis' track? Isn't that mix just stunning, diving into Psychederek 's " Pacific State " ? Pure musical bliss right here... As we slowly reach today's show's first hour, Colleen keeps the fluttering effect on by playing the woozy, down-bad tune with a bittersweet ambience that is Brainstory 's " Hanging On ", mixing Snowboy ' s " Astralisation " into it with a perfectly respected groove "s'il vous plait..."  (in French dans le texte, laughs)! Listening to Lalomie Washburn 's " Give Me Love with the Music "(from the acclaimed 1977 debut studio album " My Music is Hot " ), pay attention to the way the song is rhythmically constructed, with its swift attacks, the melody swinging over that blissful rhythm section. Absolutely mesmerising; picture the bees right there as the flute plays its small arpeggios and try not to lose your head as Colleen, once again hot on her musical wheels, plays Eli’s Second Coming   " Love Chant " (Disco project led by songwriter, producer and Hall of Fame inductee Bobby Eli ) , followed by the whooping headbanger and mind-losing number that is Tom Noble 's House of Spirits " Holding On ", ending the mix with Alice Clark 's " Charms of the Arms of My Love " (a beautiful cover of Bobby Hebb's song from his 1970 "Love Games" studio album. By the way, do you remember Sunny? He wrote the song!). So, tell me, are you fluttering too?! We're in the Wow moment of the show right there! For the last part of this 173rd episode, Colleen takes us on a sunny trip on our Friendly Bee's back... Laughs! The free-breezing sun-oriented fluttering mix (are you still following us?!) starts with Larry Levan 's version of Central Line 's " Walking Into Sunshine " (David Mancuso played the original version at The Loft. It was also played live at the Paradise Garage where Levan was a resident DJ) , perfectly mixed with the following bumping number that is Shunt Voltage 's " To What Degree (A Space Age Freak Out) "! Oh boy, we're racing now, I can tell you! As Womack & Womack 's " Celebrate the World (The People Unite Mix) " starts, do you feel the rhythmical unity here despite Colleen's presentation? We're not ready to stop our Balearic Fluttering today, as Colleen then mixes Two Man Sound' s" Que Tal America (Dave Lee Mix) " into the groove, ending this second astounding mini mix with her secret weapon, Army of Lovers ' " Lit de Parade (Foundation of Dub Remix) " (listen to "Crucified", you'll see how many sonic similarities these two songs share, a favourite of mine by the way because of its imploring nature and of the crazy whistle notes...). I think it's the very first time that a mental representation keeps its vibrant picture in my mind up to the end of the second hour of the show, one of the finest shows of the series, Colleen, that's for sure... The last track, Zaimie 's " Wildfire " , which I discovered one night a few weeks ago as I could not sleep (I'm not at all intoxicated, and no one in the Family is! 🤣), clotures this Fluttering Balearic mix in eternal joy, can we start all over, please?!! Notes from the show : 1. – Welsh composer, producer, and Velvet Underground co-founder, John Cale with Big White Cloud from his debut album, Vintage Violence. It was released in 1970 after he left VU, and during a time when he was producing a lot of different kinds of records for the Stooges and former collaborator Nico. And just after this release, he played viola and harpsichord for Nick Drake's second album, Bryter Layter. So he was and is still involved with so many different sounds, including avant-garde, classical, and drone music. But that one in particular is a lot more traditional sounding. 2. – Over the last few years, Detroit producer Scott Grooves has been sonically branching out from his deep house roots into live music. On his Bandcamp, he has this little note: "I don't like making the same mistake twice. I like to make new ones each time I create". Recently, we've heard him expanding into a more spacey, ambient soundscape like this one. 3. – Breezin was written by Bobby Womack. He actually did write some lyrics to the song, but they weren't used until Womack released a version in 2010. The song, of course, was made famous by George Benson, but it was first recorded by the artist we heard, Hungarian jazz guitarist legend Gabor Szabo, and featured on his fourteenth album, High Contrast, which has a great lineup, including Phil Upchurch and Bobby Womack himself playing rhythm guitar on that album. 4. – Georgie Redd with Help the Man (Save ya' Mix), released as a single in 1985. And on the act's debut album, We'll Work It Out, Georgie Redd was German composer and keyboardist Jürgen, or George Kochbeck, and singer Phil Edwards. They released three albums before going their separate ways. Edwards released quite a few singles in the late 80s, early 90s. Kochbeck released a few albums, including one in 2020 called "Nine Inch Brushes" - The Beck and York Experience. 5. – Originally released in 1987, 'Night Flight' by Quintus Project, a moniker for the late German violinist, composer and producer Walter Quintus, was re-released on Derwin Recordings through Compost Records just over a decade ago, with reworks by Psych Magic and Lex. 6. – A classic from the late Vangelis, Chung Kuo and the Long March from his 1979 album, China, a concept album that uses Chinese instruments, even though the Greek electronic composer had never even been to China. In an interview at the time, he said: "For years, I've been passionate about the Chinese. I'm not talking about politics. I'm talking about the old China, the new China as well, about this enormous nation and the people who live there..." 7. – A new version of an old tune, that's Manchester producer Psychederek with a cover of his fellow Mancunians, 808 State's classic tune, "Pacific State", and that's coming out in June on Chris Massey's label Sprechen. 8. – BrainStory is a Californian trio of brothers, Kevin and Tony Martin and a brother from another mother, Eric Hagstrom. They started releasing records in 2017 and, during COVID, had to learn how to record themselves in their Long Beach studio. The result of that evolution and also the evolution after a lot of live gigs, after everything opened up, "Hanging On" is a tune from their new and third album, Sounds Good, released this month on Big Crown Records and produced by label head Leon Michaels. 9. – "Astralization", the B-side and third single and an Acid Jazz classic from 1991 of DJ, producer, percussionist and Latin Seeds bandleader Snowboy. He was originally in the Teddy Boy rock scene, believe it or not, before being drawn to Afro-Cuban jazz. And he found a natural home on the Acid Jazz label in the late 1980s. As a DJ, he also ran the Hi-Hat Jazz Dance Club at the Jazz Cafe in Camden. And he's one of the finest congueros in the U.K. He also wrote the book 'From Jazz Funk and Fusion to Acid Jazz, The History of the U.K. Jazz Dance Scene". 10. – Memphis-born, Nebraska-raised funk soul singer, Lolomi Washburn performed backing vocals for Ray Charles, Ike and Tina Turner and Shaka Khan. She also wrote for Shaka and Rufus, Buddy Miles, the Brothers Johnson, Aretha Franklin and embarked upon her own solo career in the late 70s. 11. – Disco Project, led by Bobby Eli, Eli's second coming with the song "Love Chant". And that's their only album. And Eli was a mainstay at Philadelphia International as a founding member of MFSB. And like so many on that label's roster, he was a multi-instrumentalist, producer, arranger, songwriter, and he worked with so many different people like Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Main Ingredient, Phyllis Hyman, Jackie Moore, the Jacksons, Curtis Mayfield and loads and loads of other incredible artists. His resume is absolutely gobsmacking. Sadly, he passed away last year, but he left us so many indelible contributions to soul music. 12. – House of Spirits, which was New York duo Tom Noble of the label Superior Elevation and Lipton Whitaker. And we heard "Holding On", which came out a decade ago on Beats in Space, the label from Tim Sweeney, who got his start on the radio show Club 89 on WNYU, taking over the Tuesday night slot after I left the show in 1999 when I moved over here (ed. London, England). 13. – "Charms in the Arms of My Love" by Alice Clark, the elusive American soul singer who grew up in the Bed-Stuy neighbourhood of Brooklyn and who wrote and produced her first record. And according to a friend who said: "I got the impression her life wasn't that great. She had kids and belonged to a religious order that forbade either bathing or washing hair. I don't recall exactly which". She released only a couple of singles and then in 1972 recorded her own, her only eponymously titled LP, which is a great record, and it's been listed on so many DJ's favourite album lists like Mr Scruff. He actually chose it as his favourite record by a woman for my classic Albums by Women book a few years ago. But the album didn't sell well when it was released, and Clark returned to family life in Brooklyn, which is really heartbreaking. She passed away in 2017, but we still celebrate her music. 14. – 1978 Two Man Sound's Que Tal America, the Dave Lee mix. Although they sound Brazilian, they were a Belgian pop trio who loved bossa nova and samba. The original track came out on their 1978 LP, "Disco Samba." 15. – British duo Zadie Zagundo, or Ziggy Funk, and Jamie McShane, going by the name Zamy. Ziggy is a DJ, a resident at Deep Into Soul and also plays at Soul Heaven, and recorded for DJ Spence label. Jamie got into the groove when his sister married Incognito's Bluey, and he remembers them writing their first album in the living room. bla bla bli blou bla bla bla

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 175th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on May 07th 2024. About this episode. – Occurring when the Moon’s orbit falls directly between the Sun and the Earth; in astrological terms, the New Moon means the Moon is conjunct or joined with the Sun. Since the Moon reflects light from the Sun, it seems to have disappeared from our vantage at this phase of the lunar cycle. This peculiar time of the year holds, on the astrological side of things, a special meaning of new starts and hopes and is often seen and felt as a positive time of the year. And I feel like sharing with you one of my favourite Poems by the great Robert Louis Stevenson : The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; She shines on thieves on the garden wall, On streets and fields and harbour quays, And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees. The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse, The howling dog by the door of the house, The bat that lies in bed at noon, All love to be out by the light of the moon. But all of the things that belong to the day Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way; And flowers and children close their eyes Till up in the morning the sun shall arise. As you shall see, and though I missed the first half hour of the show live, today's episode has a very special groove, a nice musical expansion, shall I say, a growing glow, a leading light, here, somewhere, under a new moon on Groove Avenue... But before I hit the night walk with you all, let's hand the Mic over to our dear Captain! "This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up and features new music from George Solar, Ken Fan, Jimi Tenor, Aura Safari, Sai Galaxy, Kaivili and Bernardo Pinheiro along with some of your requests, dedications to our birthday boy Bert Francois and a few tunes that sounded incredible at our London Loft party on Sunday (and thanks to all who joined us on Sunday!). It also features one of my favourite Eddy Grant songs which I played on Sunday. I had invited Eddy’s daughter Diane to come along on Sunday and hadn’t seen her arrive so thought perhaps she wasn’t able make it. So I put on ‘Living on the Frontline’ into ‘Frontline Symphony’ which is how David Mancuso liked to play it at The Loft – playing both movements together. About a minute into the song Diane walks up, says she has just arrived as this tune went on and that she has brought me a gift from Eddy and she hands it to me – it’s a t-shirt that says Living on the Front Line. You couldn’t even make that up – a true example of musical synchronicity. Next week I will be streaming remotely as I’m off for a couple of weeks – this Sunday in Athens for Burger Disco Club, then in Boston on Saturday the 18th May with Saucy Lady at Slamfunk on the 18th May and then over to NYC to play at the Good Room with Love Injection on Friday the 24th May. On Sunday, the 26th May I’m back in London for a double header – Gala Festival and then for an after party with CC Disco at The Pickle Factory. If you can make any of those, please say hello. And FYI - there are still some London Loft T-shirts available at https://weare1of100.co.uk/clothing/t-shirts/the-loft-party-music-is-love/ " Listen back to the 175th episode of Balearic Breakfast: THE PLAYLIST ( 2024 ) George Solar (ft Ken Fan & Jen) – Moonbeams ( 2024 ) Aura Safari & Jimi Tenor   – Lunar Wind ( 2024 ) Mary Greer Mudiku   – Happy Sunrise ( 1982 ) The Valentine Brothers   – Just Let Me Be Close to You ( 1975 ) Kimiko Kasai   – Use Me ( 1978 ) Lemuria   – Hunk of Heaven ( 1975 ) Earth Wind & Fire   – Shining Star ( 2024 ) Kenneth Bager & Findlay Brown   – Red Flowers (Club Mix) ( 1982 ) The NYC Peech Boys   – Life Is Something Special (Special Edition Mix) ( 2024 ) Sai Galaxy (ft Kaivili)   – Sometimes It Rains ( 2013 ) An 2   – Lazy Sun ( 2023 ) Bernardo Pinheiro   – Virabrequim (Original Disco Mix) ( 2013 ) Ananda Project   – Love Like This (Sean McCabe Remix) ( 1995 ) Lil Mo Yin Yang   – Reach (Little More Mix) ( 2009 ) Primal Scream   – Uptown (Andrew Weatherall Remix) ( 1979 ) Eddy Grant   – Front Line Symphony / Living on the Frontline ( 1969 ) Minnie Ripperton   – Les Fleurs THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Under a new moon, a man walks alone. The celestial star shines slowly, in a steady beam, a reassuring light in a somewhat dark night and in certainly uncertain and worried times. The very visual opening track by the self-designated " sunset specialist ", the Ibizian DJ George Solar certainly knows what he composes as his visions (quite strong actualy on Moonbeams ) transcend the music, meeting our own imagination. His next album on Nunothernsoul promises to be quite excptional! As we shall see, a lot of the coming tracks will have that "Lunar-themed" soul, both lirically and musically. The second track, Lunar Wind , keeps that calm and concentrated feeling with that light lingering shadow somewhere in the sky, allowing us to see more of the "Groove Avenue" we'll spend some time on for the next two hours. It's easy to understand why the listener creates images in his mind when listening to this track, the answer lies in the natural inner grove of the song! As it translates from an interview the 8 piece band Aura Safari gave a few days ago to dirtydiscoradio : "Most of the songs were recorded in one take without a metronome, capturing a naturalness often lacking in modern music". Originaly an instrumental piece with Jimi Tenor on the sax, Lunar Wind became a song and its initial groove has been changed as Nicola shared it during the interview "What I remember about this song is that I kept thinking, “I need to change the groove,” and indeed, at the three-minute mark, it changes completely, with flutes being added, the song reaching another magical dimension. " It’s a very warm and sensual tune ". Maybe today's "under a new moon Walking feeling" comes from the fact that this 174th episode has a very "poetic" soul, since George Solar collaborated with the Washington DC based love poet and since, for the next song, visual and performing artist and poet Mary Greer Mudiku , shares, in the absolutely powerful, yet distanced and Balearic musical piece that is Happy Sunrise , positive thoughts we should all keep inside our souls. The track is taken from the jazz-fuelled, spoken word odyssey album that is "Black Love Alive Again" and sees the poet, painter and percusionnist supported by the incredible musical group Oneness of Juju , formed back in 1975! It seems the album has been recorded back in 1995 (as per a Strut Records Instagram Post ), but no other information can be found for the moment, as this post on discogs states! Colleen keeps the cool and Moony visuals very alive with : the 1982 Just Let Me Be Close to You , by The Valentine Brothers who were responsible for "Money's too tight to Mention" (btw. Billy Valentine issued a wonderful album not so long ago, check this interview out); the next cool and funky number Use Me by Kimiko Kasai , a cover of Bill Wither's 1972 song appearing on his Still Bill studio album: "I didn't write it about a particular person. I came up with the song when I was working as a mechanic making airplane parts - the original inspiration was my employer. After all, I was making $3 an hour and I wasn't getting much attention from the ladies" ( click here to listen to Colleen's special CAS shows "Exploring Japan with Audio Technica" ); letting this nice funky moment flow with the 16-member group from Hawaii Lemuria , based around 4 vocalists – and named after the mythical lost continent – who, in 1978, recorded a 45 of the song Hunk of Heaven to promote their self-titled LP, ending it with the absolute funker that is Earth Wind & Fire's Shining Star, composed by Maurice White while he was strolling at night during the band's recording of That's the Way of the World at Caribou Ranch. He became inspired by looking up at the starry sky and took his ideas about the song to the other band members. This song is absolutely representative of the Band's musical philosophy, one that David Mancuso embrace dduring his whole life: "There are certain disciplines we apply to our life in respect of diet and living, the way we live. There are certain aspects which have to be kept clean, things that relate directly to the Creator. By adopting a totally positive approach to our life, we can reflect this in our music - we won't allow it to reflect any negative vibes or thoughts. All our music is 'up' in the sense that it is intended to bring people to that state. It is truly gratifying to know that we are finally getting to people, they are accepting us." Colleen ends the first hour of todays 174th episode of Balearic Breakfast by playing: Kenneth Bager 's Red Flowers (Club Mix); followed by Larry Levan's special mix of The NYC Peech Boys' Life Is Something Special . Actually, the band was formed at The Paradise Garage, influenced by Larry Levan , and recorded only one album in 1983 splitting in 1984! For the "fun fact", did you know that the song "Theme from S-Xpress" contains a sample from their 1983 hit, "Don't make me wait" ? ending this small mix with Sometimes it rain from a band drawing its musical  inspiration from 1970s Disco, Afro Disco & West African Funk (with artists like Nkono Teles, Jake Sollo et Mike Umoh etc.) , including artists from all over the world, making music that is full of joy & positivity: Simon Durrington's Sai Galaxy . The second part of today's show beautifully expands the visuals set in the first hour. With her "rhythmically upfront" selections, Colleen allows the listener to dance his night away on Groove Avenue... Can you see the Moon shining over the sea as An-2 's Lazy Sun starts? Well, the title itself does not directly match today's show imagery, but it does when you put it into context, right? Keeping the rhythm steady is something not everyone can do at that level; listen... Colleen then plays the very Balearic and happier Virabrequim (Original Disco Mix) – a nice cover of the Marcos Valle / Azymuth jazz dance classic, “ Virabrequim ”, taken from the soundtrack to the 1973 " O Fabuloso Fittipaldi " movie which presents the then rising career of the Brazilian Formula Driver. The soundtrack, which includes excerpts of dialogues from the movie, was reissued in 2019. The next mini-mix is truly one that got us all on our knees! Starting with Ananda Project 's Love Like This ( Sean McCabe Remix) , dedicated to our Friend Bert François celebrating his birthday with us all on the chat (to read an interview I did with Bert, click here ) , Colleen then plays the InFaMous Lil Mo Yin Yang 's ( collaborative house-music duo consisting of producers and DJs Erick Morillo and Masters at Work's Little Louie Vega) Reach (Little More Mix ), beautifully mixed in with Andrew Weatherall' s take on Uptown , which really fits into our imagery! (to read an interesting reflection I had on Adrew Weatherall's musical specificities, click here ). Today's show ends with two great songs, Eddy Grant 's Living on the Frontline/ Front Line Symphony (played by David Mancuso at the Loft back in the day!) and Les Fleurs by the great Minnie Riperton from her 1970 " Come to my Garden " studio album (also played at the end of the 20th episode of the series)... Are you sure you want to leave Groove Avenue now?!

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 176th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on May 21st 2024. About this episode. – While on tour, Colleen always tries her best to keep her Balearic Breakfast Family together and happy. Well, as you might have noticed, there was no show last week, sigh! Though that deeply saddened us, we were also absolutely supportive towards Colleen. It seemed obvious that streaming a 2-hour show was not the best thing to do when you just played a beautiful set in Athens and you're about to fly to... Boston! As Colleen put it, "After 3 hours sleep 2 nights in a row I’m now sat in Heathrow waiting for my flight to Boston and have realised that I actually am human and I do need rest and therefore I have to postpone tomorrow morning’s Balearic Breakfast stream until next week. I have finally admitted to myself that I will be unable to wake up at 4:30 am Boston time to get the stream ready. I hope you don’t mind but I need one weeks break." So we all patiently waited for this week's show, for which Colleen woke up at... 5;09 am, sharing with us live on the chat "It's 5:09 am here in Boston. That's how much I love all of you"! Good news Colleen, we Love You Back! This 175th episode of Balearic Breakfast was a special one for all of us, and I mean it. Firstly because of the Gorgeous interview Chris Coco , a kingpin of the sunset sound, did with Colleen (transcription availiable here ), chatting about his new album ‘Daydream Utopia’ , gifting us an exclusive mix. Secondly, Breakfast family member Constadino Folias shared with us a calm yet thoughtful mix and, strangely enough, both of these mixes perfectly blended with a somewhat sad mood we all felt as we shared concern about our beloved and ageing parents and family members. Life Circle never ends sadly, and there is nothing we can do except lend our heart and soul to the ones we so dearly love. And strangely enough, Constandino's mix gave us both a lightly sad feeling but, at the same time, a feeling of hope that really matched what was hapening on the chat while we were listening all together. So, without further a do, let's listen back to this beautiful episode! Listen back to the 176th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST Chris Coco Mix ( 2024 ) Chris Coco – 3BlueHidrotape ( 1996 ) Durutti Column  – Guitar For Mother ( 2024 ) Chris Coco  – Synesthesia ( 1977 ) David Bowie  – Art Decade ( 2024 ) Chris Coco  – Extraordinary Measures ( 2023 ) Sonlife  – Piecebypiece ( 2015 ) Lost Horizons  – Thunder Storm EFXS ( 2024 ) Chris Coco  – Tokyo Ame ( 1981 ) Brian Briggs  – AEO ( 2016 ) Leon Vynehall  – Midnight On Rainbow Road ( 2023 ) Chris Coco  – Leap Year ( 2020 ) Tenderlonius  – Kirwani ( 1986 ) Colourbox  – Philip Glass ( 2021 ) Green House  – Royal Fern ( 2024 ) Chris Coco  – Serenity Test Constadinos Folias Mix ( 2022 ) Agosta  – Carricante ( 2019 ) Ed Longo & The Applied Arts Ensemble  – New life ( 2020 ) Kenkou  – Everlasting Dreams (Calm's Still Dreaming mix) ( 1986 ) Paris Bis  – Unis Dans La Nuit Unique ( 2023 ) Canebrake  – Bike Ride 6AM (Minus Yogis Remix) ( 2023 ) Mike Salta & Mortale  – Hey Moloko ( 2021 ) Jesse Sizmo & Seb Hall  – 45 Degrees ( 2019 ) Max Essa  – The Price You Pay (For Loving That Way) ( 2015 ) Ilija Rudman  – So Much (Kaleidoscope Mix) ( 2019 ) Ed Longo & The Applied Arts Ensemble  – Arcadian Dream THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE The General feeling of Chris Coco's mix. –  It is quite interesting to see how Chris  constructed his mix, his music meeting the music of other artists in one beautiful musical wave. I love the result, a worried yet somewhat "driving" mix, perfectly showcasing how you may feel when sad events occur in your life... After all, what are we if not unknow to ourselves diving creatures? Concentrating our lost attention on one point, whatever it is, wherever it may be, does, indeed, help us to move along, searching for that next stop where we'll find solace before meeting another hard morning, another heartache, another smiling deadly and hollow figure, or another friendly leading and helping hand... Chris' mix is an inner journey, it is one of these mixes that brings out the feelings you may want to keep deep down inside for they may hurt you should you let them surface... But, remember, we must keep on diving... As I like to say, "I keep my sadness alive so my joy won't die..."  and Chris' mix, and his music also actually, is exactly that... Something driving you somewhere through a light nothingness, that nothingness you always try to ignore when the sun is shining, apparently... More about the songs. – For your musical knowledge, here are some informations I found about some of the tracks played by Chris during the mix: Durutti Column 's  Guitar For Mother   is taken from the 1996 “Fidelity” studio album (remastered and reissued in 2020), the track perfectly showcasing the album’s dream-like atmosphere, the band’s exclusive guitar sound being here expanded with the use of synthesisers  while keeping a resolutely balearic musical approach; taken from the 1977 " Low " studio album, recorded between the " Chateau d'Hérouville "  in France and Berlin, " Art Decade " showcases the " non-commercial " approach Bowie wanted to give the album (the first one of the "Berlin Thrilogy" sounding, interestingly enough, both dated and very modern), and really is about West Berlin " a city cut off from its world, art and culture, dying with no hope of retribution"; being the second digital single from SONLIFE’s self-titled 2023 debut album, Piecebypiece  keeps the "lost feeling" of Chris' mix intact. A lot of the tracks were created in the middle of the night when SONLIFE started working on the album, this explaining that...; beginning of the 90s, Stan Hatzakis, boss of the Dance Tracks (rings a bell 😉) record store in New York, Tony Confusione DJ and Keyboard player, as well as Joaquin Joe Claussell, DJ and young store salesman, came together to release music under the "Instant House" moniker ( Thunder Storm EFXS  being a great example of the musical fusion these three crafted). This double CD compilation brings together the best of their first release between 1988 & 1993; a classic often played by David Mancuso, both at the Loft and during the radio show he hosted, Brian Briggs ' AEO  is another great example of Chris' mix sonic and musical unity! an extremely cathartic piece of music, Leon Vynehall's Midnight On Rainbow Road has been issued on vinyl (2016) and is part of the second Musik For Autobahns  compilation (2015) by the revered DJ Gerd Janson ; Tenderlonius ' (here joined by the instrumental quartet JAUBI  from Lahore, Pakistan) Kirwani  takes us to other musical horizons, letting us discover a specific Musical Indian scale  used to portray emotions of longing, love and devotion (more about this here ); a lot of people might get confused on that one, but this track is Not a piece of music by the great Philip Glass (the renowned musician composed, among other stunning pieces of music, the incredible Opera " Satyagraha " dedicated to Gandhi), it is, on the contrary, a well-deserved tribute to the musician by the English electronic musical group Colourbox  signed on the 4AD label, who released between 1982 and 1987 several records ; taken from the debut LP Music For Living Spaces , “ Royal Fern ” ripples with optimism, like sonic skipping stones toward the sun: “I’m trying to hit that part of the brain that’s affected by the emotional state that you’re in when you perceive something as cute,” Ardizoni says. “Cuteness and joy are gateways to compassion. It’s the gateway to empathy and activating the network in your brain that boosts moral concern for other people in the world around you”, explains the Los Angeles-based non-binary artist Olive Ardizoni. The General feeling of Constadinos Folia's mix. –  As always, musically speaking, Colleen never misses the show's unity. Whenever you listen to Balearic Breakfast, you always feel Home, music simply leads you elsewhere, where you know nothing, showing you its true force, its true power. We feel that very strongly when hearing the first few tracks Constandinos selected for his own mix, they really shine in response to Chris' own selections... Though I feel Constadinos' mix is more open, having more positivity to it, being more "open", it still has that uncertainty, just like a light cloud lingering there, at the heart of the nowhere you did not understand yet... Both mixes are incredibly precise in their respective flows, thus perfectly reflecting Colleen's own musical approach... As Family member Siobhan Murphy so rightly wrote on the chat: "A massage for the mind thank you" . While we were all enjoying the mix, it seems the sun went out simultaneously in several corners of the world as many of us, including yours truly, shared that the sun was coming out! As often, while we were enjoying Constadinos' mix, we also took the time to talk about other artists we truly love. Family member Kieran Mac Can reminded us that "Today would have been Arthur Russell's 73rd birthday. Just in case anyone needs a reason to listen to his music later. I went for a morning walk listening to "Love is Overtaking Me" earlier."  to what our dear Captain answered, "Wow I didn't realise that Kieran - I just read Richard King 's amazing new book on Arthur and I'm hosting a talk with him at Rough Trade on the 3rd June. It's an incredible book. Very intimate" . We all said goodbye as Constadinos' mix was ending, our dear DJ sharing "My inspiration to do the mix is all of you guys the BB gang... Thank you Colleen for giving me the opportunity xo" ... By the way, did you hear how much Constadinos' mix unfolds itself towards the end? I'm sure you noticed the global musical progression of today's episode! 😉 More about the songs. – Here are a few stories about some of the songs played by DJ Constadinos during his mix: for the first 2 tracks, Constadinos takes us to Italy as both Agosta and Ed Longo are from the sunny Country, the feeling of openness being also very well translated through the third track thanks to Calm 's rework of Kenkou 's Everlasting Dreams , giving to the sunny musical piece a sentiment of eternity we already felt in Chris Coco's mix; Paris Bis were a Swedish duo ( Tom Wolgers on keyboards and Irma Schultz doing the vocals) that issued a few records on the also Swedish Record Label. Unis Dans La Nuit Unique , the down-tempo sexy Balearic tune, is a nice love song very representative of their style, sadly Tom Wolgers passed away in 2020; keeping the ethereal/cloudy/open/worried feeling alive, there comes Bike Ride 6AM by Canebrake (a thicket of any of a variety of Arundinaria grasses - AKA Palms & Charms Tokyo-based record label co-founder Samuel Bruce ) with a track celebrating the joys of cycling at dawn here remixed by Minus Yogis ; already featured during Balearic Breakfast, Mike Salta & Mortale 's Hey Moloko was picked up by Hot Chip for their splendid Late Night Tales compilation (more about the track here ); should you need to learn more about that "Balearic Music" genre, Jesse Sizmo & Seb Hall   may have some interesting information to share as 45 Degrees greatly fits into their musical visions...; the Japan-based DJ Max Essa (here with The Price You Pay (For Loving That Way) ) released this Balearic gem back in 2019 on the Jansen Jardin label; Constadinos Folia ends his mix with two beautiful tracks, enhancing the sunnier times we all experienced live, blending Llija Rudman 's track So Much with Ed Longo & The Applied Arts Ensemble's   Arcadian Dream . CHRIS COCO INTERVIEW WITH COLLEEN [Colleen] Good morning, Balearicans. This is Colleen Cosmo Murphy on Balearic Breakfast, hosting it until 12 p.m. on my MixCloud Live. And greetings to everybody over there joining in the live chat and video. Well, today I have something very special for you. Today we have an interview and an exclusive mix from Chris Coco. And many of you probably know who Chris Coco is because he's one of the major names on the Balearic chill-out scene. But for those of you that don't know, we'll tell you all about him. And he also has a new album out called Daydream Utopia. Welcome, Chris.   [Chris Coco] Hi, nice to be here.   [Colleen] Well, it's funny because we've known each other, I think pretty much since I moved over 25 years ago. But there's things about you that I just didn't know. And I was looking through your biography today. I didn't realize that you were an editor of DJ Magazine. [Chris Coco] Yeah, I mean, it was a long time ago, but yes, that's true. It used to be called Jocks at one point. I don't know if you remember that, which is like the worst name for a magazine ever.   [Colleen] It does seem a little unsavory, a little stinky.   [Chris Coco] Yeah, it does, especially in the U.S. sense of it (ed. : In the United States and Canada, a jock is a stereotype of an athlete, or someone primarily interested in sports and sports culture, and does not take much interest in intellectual activity. It is generally applied mostly to high school and college athletics participants who form a distinct youth subculture). [Colleen] Yes, exactly. [Chris Coco] But yeah, and we changed that. I kind of fell into that role and then changed the name to DJ, which seemed a bit more appropriate. And that was kind of around the very exciting time of the evolution of house music in the U.K. from Acid House onwards. So it was kind of a lot of fun for quite a few years because everything was very fluid and a bit mad. And then it turned into more of a business and I kind of got bored with it and stopped doing it, basically.   [Colleen] Well, it was a really fresh time. It's like the DJ scene is just, you know, taking a whole new turn, it's a whole new vista. And you were very involved in the Acid House scene. But then at some point, you really got into this kind of whole chill-out side of things. I mean, before you had Coco Steel & Love Bomb , it was more, you know, house-oriented music. What was your eureka moment for getting more into the sounds, the sunset sounds, let's say?   [Chris Coco] I think it was actually the cliché of Café Del Mar listening to José Padilla play. And that was when I was doing the DJ Mag job. So I was kind of sitting there thinking that I was getting bored with playing in clubs because it was becoming more formulaic. I mean, you know, things have changed again now. There was a point then where it was being broken down into all these sub-genres of house. You had to play, you know, two, three hours of a specific sub-genre and if you didn't, people thought you were weird or something, which, and I always liked the mixing stuff up, you know, bits of old stuff, new stuff, this go house, whatever it is, breaks, whatever. So this was like this revelatory moment of, oh, you can play whatever you want, any tempo, any genre, as long as it fits together for the feeling, which is kind of what you do now, in fact, isn't it? [Colleen] Yeah, yeah. [Chris Coco] So that was really that. But if you look back to that, the Coco Steel & Love Bomb album that came out on Warp , it's not all house music. There is some ambient and down-tempo stuff as well. So I've always been a little bit, because I'm quite a mellow, people always tell me you're quite a mellow person. You're quite laid back. I've always had this like different sides, the party side of it and the more meditative, spacey side of it. And I think even at the height of when I was club DJing, I was still considered quite relatively mellow compared to what other people were doing.   [Colleen] Yeah, exactly. And you're not doing the big drum rolls and your fist pumps into the air, are you?   [Chris Coco] Well, no.   [Colleen] Are you doing that?   [Chris Coco] Occasionally, but not every three minutes for four hours.   [Colleen] Well, there's a really interesting part of your story as well that you toured with Robbie Williams. Yeah. And I just think that is so interesting. I'm fascinated by him, actually. Because I didn't grow up with the boy bands, I can't even name a Take That song, believe it or not. I can't even name one.   [Chris Coco] That's probably a good thing.   [Colleen] It's probably a good thing, exactly. But there's something I like about his personality. I don't know, there's something about him that seems just kind of wild.  He seems a bit genuine to me. I could be wrong, that's just what I see. But I would love just to know, gosh, it would have been great to be a fly on the wall for that tour. But it was, I don't know, 10 years ago or so with that tour. And I just wanted to, just two quick questions about it. What was your favorite memory and what was your worst memory of that tour? Because touring with a major superstar is a very different thing. And I'm sure you were aware of things and seeing things that maybe things you can't talk about anyways. I'm not asking for gossip, but just more about what it felt like for you to be on a whole kind of different journey.   [Chris Coco] I think, I mean, I think the best thing about it was probably just the kind of adrenaline rush of being involved in something like that and playing in front of so many people. I can feel my heart beating faster now. And there was, because I was in, I was the DJ of the band. But when we did the encore, I had to play stuff off of CDJs to kind of build the crowd up before the band came back out. And that bit was like madly kind of exciting. The best DJ experience, because I DJed before as well. This was before, it was actually 2006, if you don't think that's a long time. But so it was before DJs were, the DJ show was a thing like it is now. So I used to, I was just playing off CDs, two decks, no lights, no nothing.  But the most brilliant DJ experience was playing at the San Siro in Italy . And I got, I did an hour set in front of his crowd as the only warmup before he came on. And that was insane. That was, you know, one of my best DJ experiences ever, if not the best. And it was just, it was in the year that Italy had won the World Cup as well. So everyone was kind of slightly excited, shall we say.   [Colleen] Very excited. I mean, football's also a religion there like it is here as well.   [Chris Coco] Yeah, but that was pretty amazing. The worst part was, I don't know. I mean, there's, as you alluded to, like hanging out with a massive superstar and that year that was the biggest tour in the world. It's just like this constant, you're under constant pressure and there's a stress because you don't know what's going to happen because you don't know what the guy at the top of the pyramid is going to do next. So you're kind of constantly like aware that something might happen or that you might get kicked off or something might kick off or whatever. And that's kind of the draining part of it. But obviously compared to working in Tesco on minimum wage, it's not really a problem, you know.   [Colleen] Exactly, exactly. You're privileged in that sense. And I'm sure the cortisol levels run high for everybody that's involved in a tour like that. I don't know how they do it. It's kind of crazy. The amount of pressure they have as well, quite honestly. Anyways, let's get back to you. Enough about Robbie Williams. But I just have always been curious about that. The other things that you do, I just want to let our listeners know if they don't know already, you have your own label called DSPRR , Disappear. And aside from putting out your own album releases, which you've done quite a few, I mean, you have the new one, as I said, Daydream Utopia. You put out one last year with George Solar. You also put out these balearic compilation series too of some of your other works to kind of compiling them all together. And it's a really great thing that you're doing there because it seems like you're kind of running it all yourself. Everything is, you run your own radio show like I do on Mixcloud, Melodica, your weekly Melodica show . And both of us have a radio show without a radio station. So congratulations on that! Of course, it used to be on Radio 1 with The Blue Room with Rob DeBank, which was a great show, a great chill-out show. Can you just tell me a little bit more about your record label, Disappear?   [Chris Coco] As you said, it kind of started as being a way to release my own stuff. And then in the pandemic, because it was something that I could carry on doing from home, as you say, on my own, I kind of started working, connecting with more artists online and having conversations and ending up saying, oh, why don't you make some tracks for me, for my label? And it kind of, it's evolved into this little community, balearic community kind of label. Well, actually, I mean, this year I've decided to call it Beyond Balearic because balearic can be a bit of a cage sometimes. So I'm now working with quite a lot of new producers, which is really interesting because it keeps me on my toes, like when I'm making stuff, because you're listening to, I made another, I put out another album last year by a producer called Sunday, which is kind of ambient breaks in that area. I've spent a lot of time thinking about how do you make these sounds, you know? And I actually, I've remixed a couple of his tracks and learned a lot about his production techniques from talking to him and sneakily looking at what he does when I'm remixing. So it's turned into this kind of, quite a nice kind of community thing. And there's one part of it is releasing stuff on vinyl, which is, you've got to make a big commitment to, which is an interesting process in itself. And part of it is doing digitally piece with newer artists, just to see where it goes. So giving people the chance to start that process and having someone to be involved who's been doing it for quite a long time, because obviously it's easy to put out a record if you want on your own, but it's really difficult to make any kind of impact with the digital release. It's about trying to build new artists as well.   [Colleen] I think that's really good. I mean, you and I probably have a similar age. We both started in the 1980s and I'm also mentoring up and coming DJs and presenters. It's great to be able to kind of pass on the knowledge because for me, for instance, I had mentors that helped me. Did you have any mentors that helped you?   [Chris Coco] Not directly, I don't think. I mean, I think my hero when I was growing up was John Peel and his radio show on Radio One, because it was the only place to listen to alternative music at the time. If you want to do psychology, rather than talking about music, he was almost like a father figure in some weird way, from a distant father figure who was like going, hey, listen, have a look at this, have a look at this, listen to this.   And all the thoughts that come along with that and the kind of feeling of liberation that comes with discovering new music and a world outside of suburban England at that time, which was pretty dull, shall we say. But not like a massive mentor exactly in person, no. I don't think so. More these kind of like virtual figures.   [Colleen] Well, it's interesting, because that's what you said. I grew up in the suburbs as well outside of Boston and I had a similar thing. I was turned on to artists like Brian Eno from a radio DJ named Oedipus . I had a show called Nocturnal Emissions. So there you go. I don't even know if you could do that anymore. In any case, it was a great show. And yeah, the radio is kind of what really kind of wrote me in and got me started as well. Well, let's get back to this wonderful mix that you've provided here for us, which is also featuring some of the songs on your new album, Daydream Utopia. And we'll come back with Kris Coco in a few minutes and talk about this latest album. [Music] [Colleen] And we're back. I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy, and I'm here with Kris Koko, who has a new album out called Daydream Utopia on his own record label, DSPPR, or Disappear. And you can find that on his bandcamp. And I have to say, Kris, it's another beautiful, beautiful album. This record, it says it's made to be played in two sessions on a vinyl record. So you have one side, side one, then you have to physically flip it over and play side two. First of all, why did he want to do it that way? And then second of all, how are the two sides different?   [Chris Coco] At this point in time, you don't need to make a physical release of music. You can do it digitally and it's very efficient and it works. So you're making an artistic choice if you decide to make a record, especially on the ancient technology of ancient vinyl technology. So my view of it was, and it's been the same with the other records that I've released with other artists, is like, if you're going to do this, it's a big commitment and it's a big deal because we're choosing to put this thing out into the world that's going to hang around for a long time and that people are hopefully going to cherish. And you're really limited with what you can do because of the limits of the format. You've got about, you know, maximum 20 minutes, probably less per side. With electronic music, obviously with digital, you can make, if you want to make a track that's four hours long, you can. It's not, may not be advisable, but it's possible. So you've really got to think about what you're doing. From an artistic point of view, that's really good because it makes you start thinking like, do I need this eight bars? Do I need this 16 bars? Can I cut it down? And then you're actually thinking about that. And a lot of the time you say, yes, I do, because it's supposed to be a long track. So if you start with the intention of making something for vinyl, it ends up completely different from if you start making something sprawling without a focus. So it gives you this brilliant focus. And then you start thinking, okay, side A is different from side B. How's it going to be different? Which was your next question? And with this one, it's kind of turned out that the A side's kind of lighter and the B side is darker. And that's also reflected because you can do that on vinyl because it's a piece of art, if you like. The front of the record is a cloudy sky, which, you know, a cloudy sky with the words Daydream on it. The back of the record is the night sky. I'd actually, to be honest, I didn't plan all of this, but it kind of ended up being like this because that's what happens in the creative process. You give yourself these parameters and then things happen. Then afterwards you go, wow, this looks like we planned it. And the same on the labels on the inside. One side is daylight, the other side is nighttime. So I think that's how you would describe the two different sides. It ends up with a little coda, which is called Serenity Test, which kind of like leads you back to turn it over and start again, if you like.   [Colleen] Oh, cool. I didn't get that. That's really interesting. And that's also on your mix that we're listening to right now, if it's coming up. I think it's your last track on the mix. I guess we'll have to listen to the radio show again and then when this radio show finishes.   [Chris Coco] Yeah, definitely.   [Colleen] Now it seems like there's a bit of a Japanese connection here too. You have some guests, Japanese musicians, and also there is a song called Tokyo Ame. What's that all about? Why is there this Japanese connection on the album?   [Chris Coco] Mainly because I've been to Japan quite a few times DJing. So one of the Tokyo Ame track was a friend of mine called Mar, who also has a radio show in Tokyo. He was staying here. It was actually just before the pandemic when everything was getting a bit weird and he wasn't sure if he was gonna be able to get back home. And he was finding out his girlfriend, who's now his wife, they were having a, I asked him to do it and I recorded their phone conversation. And they were just talking, as lovers do about ordinary things, mostly about the weather, in fact. Because Tokyo Ame means it's raining in Tokyo, basically. I think you can feel that kind of their love and that they were missing each other in the conversation, even though it's about the weather. And it kind of feels really beautiful. And I was making a track and we put their conversation into the track. He was kind of here in the studio and listening and helping me make decisions about the track. So that was kind of a beautiful, a lovely thing.   [Colleen] That is a beautiful story.   [Chris Coco] The other one is I've been inspired a lot by the Japanese way of looking at things. Again, this kind of attention to detail and precision, which I tried to put into this, the making of this record. The other collaborations with a guy called Yoshiharu Takeda , who I've never met, but again, long distance relationship, swapped files and ended up making something peculiar and strange, but rather fun.   [Colleen] Who is he? [Chris Coco] He's a jazz musician who normally makes, I don't know what you call it, ambient jazz, abstract jazz. He came up with, used a hang drum and got his friend to sing and completely transformed one of the tracks into something lovely.   [Colleen] The singing is beautiful. It's really beautiful. Feels kind of old fashioned, kind of Japanese singing.   [Chris Coco] It does. Yeah, it does.   [Colleen] For the most part, you play, programmed and mix this entire album. And it's quite a nice equipment list I like on your bandcamp page. Do you play bass and guitar and keys and all of these things?   [Chris Coco] Yeah, I play bass on a couple of the tracks. Guitar is a friend of mine, Nick Cornu , who I've worked with for years. He's an amazing guitar player. I play lots of things really not very well.   [Colleen] Same with me!   [Chris Coco] But there's a lot of people who do play really well. And if I need to, I get them to come and help me.   [Colleen] Well, it sounds great. I absolutely love it. So it sounds fantastic.   Why don't we get back to your mix, which is featuring some of the songs from this album. And you are listening to Chris Coco here on Balearic Breakfast. [Music] [Colleen] And we are back. We have been listening to Chris Coco's exclusive mix for Balearic Breakfast. And it's for his album, Daydream Utopia. And actually there's one more song I did want to talk to you about, Chris, that starts with synesthesia. Do you have synesthesia?   [Chris Coco] It's something that I'm interested in as an idea. Synesthesia being the phenomenon where when you listen to music, you see colours. So it's connecting the spectrum, the sonic spectrum with the visual spectrum, which I find a fascinating idea because I like, as you might have guessed from the title of the album, daydreaming quite a lot and drifting off listening to music. It's always been one of my favourite occupations. So, no, I don't, but I kind of, I'm fascinated by the idea of it.   [Colleen] What else is going on in Chris Coco's world? You have the weekly radio show, Melodica, and you have your label, as you said, you're signing other artists as well. Are there more compilations coming out or are you touring at all?   [Chris Coco] I do a thing called the Chill Out Tent with some friends, which again came out of not knowing what to do in the pandemic. It started off as an online thing, but it does have a physical presence sometimes.   [Colleen] Oh, I didn't know that because I was invited as a guest of yours as well during the pandemic. So there's actually a physical spot for this.   [Chris Coco] Well, we're doing a Chill Out Tent at a festival that's run by 1BTN, which is a radio station based in Brighton. They do a festival called We Are Love, which is the 26th to the 28th of July. So we're going to be there for the whole weekend.  With an actual physical iteration of the Chill Out Tent, which is really nice. Again, it's kind of, it's a family thing as in musical family. We've got Phil Meisens coming to do it.   [Colleen] Oh, Phil's great.   [Chris Coco] Paul Hillary is-   [Colleen] Oh, Paul's great. They've both been up on the show as well.   [Chris Coco] And then it's kind of mostly our crew. It ends up on the Sunday with me and the Balearic Ultras guys here from Brighton as well. [Colleen] And they've been on the show as well.  [Chris Coco] Oh, well, there you go!   [Colleen] So we're all one big family, Chris!   [Chris Coco] Exactly, yeah. But that's kind of, that's the sort of big deal thing that we're doing. We do, we also, there's also a Chill Out Tent iteration every Sunday at a pub called Simon the Tanner , which is in Bermondsey, which is, it's a little pub and it's playing records or vinyl, in fact.   [Colleen] In terms of this album, I guess you don't really tour these albums, do you?   [Chris Coco] I did a few, I did a few playing the record in listening bars thing. It's not a live project, it's more of a studio project.   [Colleen] But you have had live acts like City Reverb as well.   [Chris Coco] Yeah, yeah.   [Colleen] Which you kindly asked me to remix for you many, many years ago when I just started remixing. Are you ever going to do any other bands?   [Chris Coco] I don't know. I mean, I'm working with Sun Life, who I mentioned earlier, has a live version of what he does, which I'm not in the band, but it's really interesting trying to develop that. And there's a couple of other bands that I'm kind of involved with but aren't signed to the label yet, but let's see what happens kind of thing. So I think I'd probably be more interested in that side of it. It's like trying to develop working with other people to make that happen. But, well, yeah, there's also, actually, there's so many different things.  There's also another album that I've made, which isn't quite finished yet, which is kind of ambient collaboration with a really good piano and keyboard player called Kevin Pollard , who worked with Smith & Mudd and those guys, Claremont 56 . And that could - [Colleen] He's been on a show! [Chris Coco] Yeah! Fantastic! But that one could turn into a live thing possibly, but I don't know yet. I mean, that's more something for the end of the year, so.   [Colleen] It sounds like you have your hands full and congratulations on the new release. You are definitely a Sunset Sound maestro. It's a great album. It's called Daydream Utopia, and it's out on your Disappear label, and you can find it on your Chris Coco Bandcamp.   [Chris Coco] Yeah.   [Colleen] And you know what? I do want a vinyl copy. You did offer me one, and I definitely would like one. So I'm just gonna let you know that here!   [Chris Coco] Okay. It's not, I can tell you that it's on its way!   [Colleen] Okay, great. Thank you so much, Chris, and good luck with the album.   [Chris Coco] My pleasure.

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 178th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on June 4th 2024. About this show. – On Saturday, June 1st 2024, a few hours before her last Balearic Brunch show on NTS, Colleen posted our beloved "request line" on her Instagram and Facebook accounts, sharing "Good morning! After 3 weeks of pre records this coming Tuesday’s Balearic Breakfast is all about your song requests and some of the tunes I have recently picked up. What would you like to hear on the show this week? I look forward to your requests and please join me for the live stream and chat from 10am to 12pm BST on my Mixcloud Live." Boy, hapiness here, hapiness there, hapiness everywhere, laughs! The Balearic Breakfast Family joined together as one, and the requests were off the hook! Showtime arrived, and boy, emotions here, emotions there, emotions everywhere... Each member of the family had at least one reason to be Happy (we were celebrating Bradley Circle's Birthday!), but we all agreed on one point: today's show was one of the finest Colleen ever did. As far as the title of this post goes, it made perfect sense to me, for many reasons that I will explain in the Listening experience, to refer to that situation where, whatever you do in your life, you're somehow in the position of a follower, serving some kind of purpose you don't always understand (and of course, referring here to the profound cover made by Trevor Horn & Lady Blackbird of Grace Jones’ song)... But before we dive into that philosophical part, let's give the mic to Colleen: "This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud for your listening back pleasure. Today’s show features some new and old records I have recently picked up, some new promos and as always, your requests. It was great hosting the show live and thanks to all who joined me on the Mixcloud Live and Twitch TV chat." Listen back to the 178th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST ( 2023 ) Yussef Dayes – Tioga Pass ( 2024 ) Torn Sail  –   Consider Your Position ( 1981 ) Leon Ware  –   Rockin You Eternally ( 1972 ) Earth Wind & Fire  –   I'd Rather Have You ( 2023 ) Trevor Horn (ft. Lady Blackbird)  –   Slave to the Rhythm ( 1990 ) Gal Costa  –   Brilho de Beleza ( 1972 ) Milton Nascimento  –   Tudo O Que Vocé Podia Ser ( 1972 ) Astrud Gilberto  –   Take It Easy My Brother Charlie ( 2024 ) Paul Weller  –   Nothing ( 1980 ) Rodney Franklin  –   Felix Leo ( 1981 ) Pieces of a Dream  –   Warm Weather ( 2024 ) Shunt Voltage  –   Generator ( 2024 ) Residentes Balearicos  –   Balearic for President (Puerto Montt City White Sand Mix) ( 1982 ) Satin & Green  –   Spectacular ( NOL ) Esther Phillips  –   I'll Be Your Pleasure (Extended Funtown Records Edit) ( 1976 ) Johnny Guitar Watson  –   I Need It ( 2023 ) Exo Fender  –   Music in My Mind (Justin Van Der Volgen Edit) ( 2024 ) Luminodisco  –   Solero ( 2000 ) Blaze (ft. Chris Herbert)  –   Home Is Where the Heart Is THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE It is excruciatingly painful sometimes to find the right words, especially when you're experiencing Loss. We're all losing. Always. We're losing things, opportunities, and more profoundly, we lose people. But the thing we cannot bear to lose, that one thing that's so important, is losing an 'aura'. Yes, an 'aura' can be lost. It can be taken away. To me, the 'aura' is the supreme step of a 'love' relationship. Think of it: we constantly create bonds with people; we have friends, colleagues, mentors, no matter the name, the reality behind it remains the same. There is 'love' there. But not always the same kind of 'love' and this is where 'aura' comes into play. For instance, let's say you fall in 'love' with someone. Of course, you love that person for what she is, but did it ever occur to you that, somehow, there is something more in that relationship and that you also love what that person reflects about yourself? Or, let's take another example: you work with someone for a long time, so it's a professional relationship, yet you create a bond with that person, and you 'love' her for the things she brings to you and that she might even not be aware of, but somehow you receive these 'things'. I think you got it by now that 'love' is not only the direct relationship but also everything that goes around it consciously or unconsciously, and this is the 'aura' part of love, something intangible, not limited to memories, I would say something of a soul... And when someone dies, somehow, you lose something of that 'aura' that was linked to the relationship, but it’s not always dying totally though… And as I said, it can be taken away... I'm thinking here about what Colleen is going through. Not only did she lose her best friend, her mentor, but also, a part of his 'aura' that was reflected through the New York Loft Parties, and that's just painful to a point where words do not have their say... I felt I needed to share this here as the very first minutes of today's show had a profound vibration climaxing in Trevor Horn and Lady Blackbird's rendition of "Slave to the Rhythm." Let's go back to the music and see how much today's show is about situations where all you can do is try not to let destiny swallow you whole into an unknown nothingness... Lost at sea, you can't see anything in front of you, and still, the wind blows, leading you somewhere. You feel the boat drifting; the undertow is there, leading you against your will... Today's show is an adventure, and Tioga Pass , with its worried feel, perfectly represents the destiny that drives us each day (speaking about the song, Yussef Dayes said : ' A family trip in the heart of Yosemite National Park, Tioga Pass was one of the views that remained clear in my mind. Rocco’s bassline and Charlie Stacey's synth instantly take me back to that moment. This is an ode to that time I guess, and to my mother who would bring us to these beautiful locations. We worked with the incredible Chineke! Orchestra for strings and the song felt complete '). This somehow lost feeling, with its twists and turns will stay present in the songs to come. Listen carefully to Torn Sail's Consider Your Position . We also have these 'currents' appearing in this song; although it has a beautiful open soundstage, it still contains these sonic elements that indicate that anything can happen, at any moment. We're expecting them to come, and they do; they're in the details, so listen closely (to read the interview I did with Delia Recordings click here ) ... As always, Colleen knows what she is doing, and she beautifully keeps on building the atmosphere with Rockin' You Eternally , which starts in a darker tone before slowly evolving, we still have the same structure here, a very open soundstage and that lightly worried spirit somewhere... Keeping the rhythm steady, in a perfect beat, Colleen then plays the loving plea that is I'd rather have you , which still holds the same "scenery" within itself, perfectly fitting into the songs played beforehand, ending this set with the powerful and desperate Slave to the rhythm ( click here & here to read about Grace Jones' 1985 album) . Listening to the lyrics, I asked myself, what are we in this life if nothing more than just puppets trying their best not to disappear? The tears came down. I wasn't prepared for them. Of course, I cried for personal reasons, but I knew these tears were also dedicated to Colleen... Your pain is ours... I knew by then I just found today's post title and the Wow moment of today's 177th episode... As the show went on, the feeling stayed and got bigger. I slowly felt better talking to other members of the Family on the chat and was very surprised to hear the absolutely modern-sounding Brilho de Beleza by Gal Costa ! Balearic Breakfast is that moment where anything can happen, and you can share your feelings and your sorrows with friends on the chat. That's so heartwarming. Each one of us had its hard times lately; some of us lost close friends, and others experienced hearing problems but being able to share our thoughts on the chat helps the mood! Colleen kept on playing songs that resonated with us, such as the poignant Tudo O Que Vocé Podia Ser ( a very interesting song – 'Everything You Could Be' in English – dealing with choices in the face of adversity and how, even when remaining silent, one can refuse to obey and stay rebellious...) . When I heard Take It Easy My Brother Charlie , I understood that life was a vibe, a rhythm that was leading you, and that you had no choice but to dance along, even when crying, surrendering to the beat... I must add here that the album Now , from which this song is taken, released in 1972, is one every music lover (and Sound aficionado ) should have in his record collection. Mind you: Astrud took charge of the production herself, with Eumar Deodato arranging all the songs. The impressive line-up on Now includes Deodato on acoustic guitar, Airto Moreira on percussions, label vice-president and production mastermind Patrick Adams on bass (alongside Bob Cranshaw and Ron Carter), the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and Jazzberry Patch band's Mike Longo on keyboards, including the incredible Billy Cobham on drums! This peculiar moment of the show was absolutely interesting because I felt the deep meaning of the song without listening to the lyrics (and while writing this, I think about our Dear David Mancuso, for obvious reasons), which, sung both in English and in Portuguese, use the metaphor of the rose to convey a very Balearic Message... (the original version is by Brazilian musician, composer and singer Jorge Ben Jor ). As Nothing' started, I was once again struck by the musical unity Colleen proposed. The video clip is quite interesting as it unveils some of the messages found in the song's lyrics and, after all, nothingness is at the centre of today's show, isn't it?... I would like to mention also that the end of the video clip perfectly represents the emotional state we all feel when losing someone... (for the Paul Weller Fans out there, check out the Paul Weller Fan Podcast where former Radio Broadcaster Dan Jennings interviews Paul about his latest studio album 66!) The next two songs ( Felix Leo & Warm Weather ), closing the first hour of today's show, are quite interesting: while they also have a worried and questioning nature, they both feel like an invitation to dance, perfectly reflecting the title of today's post! As always, for the second hour of the show, Colleen takes us on her private dancefloor! And even if the first hour was deeper than usual, that second half of the show really take us down. The first mini mix Colleen proposes consists of Shunt Voltage 's Generator / Residentes Balearicos' Balearic for President (Puerto Montt City White Sand Mix) and Satin & Green 's Spectacular ! Keeping the rhythm steady, we're then drawn into the groove with Esther Phillips'   I'll Be Your Pleasure / Johnny Guitar Watson's   I Need It / Exo Fender's Music in My Mind (Justin Van Der Volgen Edit); this crazy dancing moment ending with Luminodisco's Solero ! Closing the show with Blaze's (ft. Chris Herbert)  Home Is Where the Heart Is , Colleen proved here, once again, how much she embodies the Love Saves The Day "Moto" and how much, the Balearic Breakfast Family mean to her... SLAVE TO THE RHYTHM A short story by The Lioncub A new day was ending. Slowly, above the London houses, the sun gently prepared the indirect end of its journey... Trying to write a few last words on the blog post dedicated to Balearic Breakfast's 177th episode, I was exhausted. Everything was almost ready; I could at least publish a temporary version, which, as usual, I would finish in the coming days... – Once again, nothing was planned; life had a master plan. And it brings endless tears of joy to my eyes… I am living for moments like these, where destiny creates Perfection for you, for me and for the entire Balearic Breakfast family. Yes, nothing was planned, nor the title, nor the structure, nor… – – Artur?  – Yes, lion cub?  – I'm going to see if Colleen is upstairs!  – Ok, big guy, but don’t bother her if you see she’s working!   – You know I would never do that! The lion cub headed towards the stairs. I looked at the almost final result of my work when suddenly, I saw… – the image. – Everything was there in front of my eyes; the perfect union was being created once again, and I didn't see anything coming?! How was that possible?! Was life playing another game on me… Petrified with fear, I instinctively understood what was happening.  Colleen!  Everything but not that!  I dropped my keyboard and ran through the living room, hoping to arrive... The lion cub clumsily climbed the steps leading upstairs and was surprised by the crystal-clear silence surrounding the record room... Colleen? ... Colleen?! ... Are You here?  ... An icy cold seized the four-legged spirit. God, it's so cold in here! ... It's unbelievable... he said to himself... Suddenly, he saw her and rushed to her feet... Colleen! I am so happy! How are you… ? ... Something ... Something ...  He felt ... A shiver of horror ran through his body as he looked up. She stood there. Frozen. Colleen? ... Do you hear me?... Colleen?!  repeated the lion cub with tears in his eyes... He felt. He understood.  The sadness of the record room suddenly crushed him.  He sensed her tears, heard her cries, witnessed a hand reaching out to a vacant sky, and imagined her dignity trapped in the unyielding stone of the rejected moment .  Colleen?! Not you! Not now! I refuse to believe it! Come back to me! Can you hear me?! Come back to us! Come back to Your Family! Don't cry, I beg you; don't let yourself be carried away by their smallness!  On time... As I gazed at the static image, I realized the inevitable terror unfolding. Holding the lion cub close, I attempted to calm him: – Calm down, calm down dear fluffy thing!! We'll find a solution, we'll bring her back! – No! Howled the lion cub, it's too late!  It’s over! I’ve been away for too long!  It's my fault!   – No, dear Lion cub! No, it's not your fault! Wait... Wait wait wait wait wait. Look! Maybe it’s just… – An Armour?! A freaking and hideous armour?!! declared the bewildered lion cub... A damn armour representing her sadness?!!  Tearing himself away from my embrace, the lion cub fiercely struck the hard stone . Come back! Come back, Come back Colleen!! Without you everything is useless! You are my friend, you can't abandon me! You can't leave Us all alone! I know you're in there!! You are not a slave to the rhythm, you are the rhythm itself! You are life! One shot, then two more, like in an endless chain, the lion cub kept on hitting the stone with his forehead... Do you hear me?! You are a part of my aura! I am nothing without you! Colleen! Listen to me!! We're all here for you, we're waiting!! We need you!! With each blow, in the distance, friendly faces were appearing... dozens, hundreds, finally thousands... Unexpectedly, the stone collapsed. As the lion cub soared into a splendid Milky Way, I shouted in terror: " Lion cub!! Nooooo!!! " Plummeting endlessly, convinced his end was near, the lion cub shut his eyes and prayed fervently. ... Suddenly, a gentle voice rescued him... " And remember... Just be Balearic..." – Colleen?!! Colleen?!! Is it you? Is it really really you?!! shouted the lost four-legged spirit... – Yes, my dear Fluffy one, it’s definitely me!  – Oh Colleen!!! I'm so happy to see you!! I wanted to welcome you and tell you that David is with us!  Love Saves the Day!!  The lion cub fell into Colleen's arms and burst into a continuous, unending cry... Slowly returning to their beloved musical path, Colleen was welcomed by all those who knew that love saves the day... As she went from hug to hug, Colleen stopped at the sound of a pigeon cooing there in a very Balearic manner... – You didn't forget me at least, did you...? – Oh Rick! Don't start!  While everyone burst into laughter, somewhere, a phrase resonated in their eternity... And remember... Just be Balearic...