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In the shadow of every great DJ you'll find a light of inspiration shining from up above... I asked Nick Jones , webmaster of the website dedicated to the Paradise Garage, to share his memories about Larry Levan... Don't be shy, enter the Paradise Garage... 1) Hello Nick! It’s an absolute honor having you on the Balearic Breakfast blog! This year, we’re celebrating what would have been Larry’s 70th Birthday (with Colleen paying tribute to the iconic DJ during Balearic Breakfast’s 184th episode). If I’m not mistaken, you met Larry during your formative years , working as a light manager. Could you take us back to those years and how it felt to meet Larry? I only knew Larry Levan professionally; we weren't friends or colleagues. He was a customer at a record store where I worked, and I also did lights for him at Lovelite (as mentioned in my blog). Additionally, we worked together at our NYC party called Wild Pitch. From 1982 until its closing in 1987, I was a devoted member of Paradise Garage. In 1985, I started working at a music store called Hi-Tech Music, owned by Studio 54's DJ Leroy Washington. Leroy, a good friend of Larry’s, often visited him at the Garage after Studio 54 closed for the night. One evening, Leroy introduced me to Larry in his booth at the Garage, knowing I was a big fan. Larry frequently visited Hi-Tech for music, and of course, he never had to pay for anything. He was part of a very select group of DJs who received music for free. It made good business sense because these DJs moved units, not just a handful of records. I recall one particular visit when the store was bustling with customers. Every record I played for Larry that he liked was also purchased by everyone else in the store. Larry was a pre-internet influencer! 2) In an article, you said that Larry, alongside other DJs from the New York scene « graciously answered my inquiries and shared some exceptional musical insights », and « imparted valuable lessons, showcasing unique approaches to presenting  music and its accompanying energy ». Can you share with us a few things Larry told you about DJing, and more generally about Music?  I learned a great deal from Larry by simply watching and listening. The night he played at Lovelite, where I worked the lights, I knew exactly how to handle them to his liking, thanks to years of observing and learning from his dance floor at the Garage. At the end of the night, he thanked and complimented me. It was totally unexpected, and I was thrilled to receive such high praise from someone I held in such high regard. The other DJs I mentioned in my blog—David Morales, Larry Patterson, and Kenny Carpenter—also played pivotal roles in my development. They generously shared their perspectives, experiences, music, and knowledge with me. 3) Larry’s remixes, and more generally, his musical approach towards DJing, had, as far as I am concerned, an absolutely uplifting spirit, with an unparalleled sincerity, and he acted like a « musical architect ». Do you share this feeling? What was the most important thing to him, musically speaking? Larry Levan had an uncanny ability to evoke emotions in people that they didn't even realize they had. I remember seeing tough guys, the kind who would normally be ready to fight if you looked at them wrong, reduced to tears on the dance floor because Larry had touched something deep inside them. It was incredible to witness. Larry had a knack for rescuing tortured and lost souls with his music. His selections and timing were unmatched. Larry would play songs you’d never expect to hear in a disco, and he’d do it in such a way that it left you completely amazed. One morning, he played "Beginnings" by Chicago, and we had an absolutely glorious time. We all loved that song, and hearing it in a disco was unbelievable. Behind the turntables, Larry Levan was truly fearless. 4) As a DJ, how do you build your sets? What is the core key of your craft, something you always work hard to share when you’re playing live? I have a general idea of the songs I want to play, but I never stick to a rigid program or plan. I let the night guide me as it unfolds. My style involves blending various musical flavors because playing continuous four-to-the-floor dance music for hours on end can start to sound like one long record, which tires the ears and makes the experience monotonous. I come from a school of DJs trained to play 8-10 hours each night, which allows us to explore many genres in a single evening. I love surprising my audience with long-lost, unexpected tracks or a special remix or different version of a song they adore—a lesson I learned from Larry. 5) I found out about you thanks to the nice website you launched dedicated to the Paradise Garage . We know how much Larry was all about Sound, if I’m not mistaken he was mentored by David Mancuso and then went on developing his own sound system (you share some live recordings on the website). Would you say that Larry somehow enhanced David’s sonic visions at the Paradise Garage? A friend of mine once described the Garage as the Loft on steroids. It's well documented that Larry was heavily influenced by the Loft and Nicky Siano’s Gallery. Naturally, he drew motivation and inspiration from the clubs where he felt most at home. This approach influenced how my colleagues and I shaped our venture at our party, Wild Pitch. We incorporated everything we loved about each club into our own. The website is my personal tribute to Larry and the Garage. There are generations who never had the chance to experience Larry at the Garage. In the pre-internet days, there wasn't much footage or recordings of the Garage, aside from the final night video that's circulating in the community. It's mostly word of mouth; those of us who witnessed Larry's magic can share what we experienced. The recordings on my website can give people a glimpse of how we partied. The energy and crowd participation were epic. Thank you so, much Nick for sharing these memories and your personnal pictures with us! Pictures in order of apparition: 1 - Nick at Club Add - Sendai, Japan (unknown year) 2 - Nick and Danny Krivit at Body and Soul- NYC (unknown year) 3 -  Nick at Club Yellow - Tokyo, Japan (unknown year) 4 - Nick at High Tech Music, NYC - 1985 5  - Nick Jones and David Morales at The Shelter - 1992 6 - Nick at Club Add - Sendai, Japan (unknown year) 7 - Nick and Francois K - Wild Pitch, NYC 1990

Gilles Peterson invited Colleen to his weekly 'Brownswood Basement' radio show on Worldwide FM on June 06th 2024. About this show. – Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy joined Gilles in the studio this week to discuss her latest release, Balearic Breakfast: Volume 3. Gilles is also joined by Kiiōtō (Lou Rhodes and Rohan Heath) for a stripped-back live session and for conversation with Rikki Stein and Mark Murphy. Listen back to Brownswood Basement (6th June 2024): PLAYLIST Curtis Mayfield – We Gotta Have Peace SHOLTO   –   For The Love of Stripes Melissa Aldana   –   Echoes Of The Inner Prophet IZCO & P Wavey   –   Beauty Inside Androo   –   Lyriso Joe Armon-Jones feat. Nubya Garcia   –   Nubya's Side of Town Holy Tongue feat. Dali De Saint Paul   –   Breicha Bricknasty   –   Ina crueler Hypnotic Brass Ensemble feat. Yasiin Bey   –   Space Mås Ēxödus   –   Arrival (lofi version mastered) Andromeda Turre feat. ELEW   –   Earth Waltz Insane Who Sane Featuring DePeila   –   Keep Pushin' Aun (Original Neo​-​Tech Soul mix) William S. Fischer   –   Patience Is Virtue James Alexander Bright   –   Oh My Yara Lapidus   –   B4 from The Man Who Sold The World Metronomy feat. Faux Real & Miki   –   Contact High TYSON   –   Jumpstart James Clay   –   New Delhi Rubel   –   Forró Violento Bruno Berle – Tirolirole Mike Welch   –   All My Life Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation   –   Portals Jacob Gurevitsch   –   Elevation In Minor (Cosmodelica Remix) Zero 7   –   On My Own (12" Version) Pigeon   –   Infinity (Josh's Extended Disco Mix) Scientist   –   The Voodoo Curse Scientist   –   Dance of The Vampires Scientist   –   Blood On His Lips Fela Kuti   –   Question Jam Answer Charles Aznavour   –   For Me Formidable Rachid Taha, Brian Eno & Mick Jones   –   Rock el Casbah (live) Fela Kuti   –   Fear Not For Man Randy Crawford   –   You Might Need Somebody Kiiōtō   –   Painkiller Kiiōtō   –   Hem [live in session] Kiiōtō   –   Here Comes The Flood [live in session] Kiiōtō   –   Song For Bill [live in session] A Guy Called Gerald & Lou Rhodes   –   Humanity Kuna Maze   –   Broken Light THE INTERVIEW colleen and gilles [Gilles] Yes, Colleen. Hi. Hello. It's lovely to see you.   [Colleen] Great to see you. It's been a while. [Gilles] It's been a while.   [Colleen] Oh, no, actually, I saw you at BBE at Muscle Cars. We were. Yeah, I did see you there. Just a few.   [Colleen] Well, my daughter was tending bar. [Gilles] Was she? [Colleen] Yeah, she works.   [Gilles] She works for Pete. It's become a spot, hasn't it?   [Colleen] It has. It has. And I'll be doing a party over there with Hands On Fam . [Gilles] Will you? [Colleen] Yeah, I don't want to mention the date yet because I have to promote my breakfast release party first, but we'll be doing one. Yeah, I'm really excited about that. [Gilles] They've nailed the sound in there, haven't they? [Colleen] It sounds fantastic. They have all that great Klipsch heritage speakers, Cornwalls, which are some of my favorites, actually. Great, great frequency response on those. I don't want to get too crazy on the sound system here, but it does sound wonderful. And the thing actually, and it's a beautiful vibe. That's the thing that's so great.   [Gilles] Yeah, I think Pete does. If there were medals being given out to people who sort of support the scene over the years, I think Pete gets it because, I mean, that label, BBE.   [Colleen] When I worked at Dance Tracks, I'll be honest with you, actually, when I had mentioned to David and I think it was 1998, David had been suffering quite, you know, so much monetarily at the time. I suggested he do a compilation because I had just done a mixed CD for Nervous Records. I thought that's a way that he could maybe get some green energy. And he said he wanted to do it with me. I was surprised. And I thought I didn't have a label. I thought of two labels, one Nuphonic, of course, the other was BBE. I never got to Pete, though, because, you know, I had been working at Dance Tracks and BBE had such great compilations. BBE did the Stranger Games and things. They had great comps. And I just really admire what Pete has done over the years, over the decades, we should say.   [Gilles] Well, that loft Nuphonic compilation, you know, you still it's iconic, whether it was on BBE, you know, they did a great job. [Colleen] Yeah, Nufonic did a great job. It was a good job. [Gilles] And it was an amazing collection. And it was, of course, your relationship with David Mancuso, who you're talking about. And there's been some talk in the press this week, right?   [Colleen] Yeah, it's upsetting that it's come to this, that it's had to come out publicly. But, you know, there is a group that have kind of taken control of the loft party in New York, David's assets. And also, they've been controlling the narrative, actually, in the community since David's passing. And there have been a lot of kind of untruths and misconstrued accounts and statements that have, you know, I think some have maybe influenced by personal motivations that aren't in alignment with David's vision and David's wishes. And tragically, that's kind of what's been out there. And many of us haven't had a voice, you know, which has been really difficult, as you can imagine. And yeah, sadly, the family after so much behind the scenes trying to work things out or trying to communicate and just being rebuffed, and those opportunities not being taken by that other party. This is what the family has had to resort to.   [Gilles] Okay, well, it's obviously super complicated. You've been an immense champion of the work of your mentor.   [Colleen] Yeah.   [Gilles] And over the years, and there is an exhibition happening in New York, right? [Colleen] There is Yeah, [Gilles] Which is celebrating his life. And yeah.   [Colleen] But yeah, that that that, again, I'm gonna have no comments on that publicly at the moment. It's just, it's just very sad. You know, David had chosen three women along with another man to represent his legacy. And he wanted the parties to continue as you know, as they did. And, you know, one of those women was Elise Sifanushin, who was his best friend, his chosen health proxy. She's been sidelines throughout this. Donna Weiss, as well, who is his the face at the door for 40 years consistently with one of the people who never left David's side. Again, she hasn't been celebrated or taken into account. And then obviously myself as well, when David asked me to be chairwoman of the board. So you have this kind of female majority. And David was always, always championed women's rights. And his vision of the loft was one of, you know, he championed civil rights, he championed gay liberation, he championed champion women's liberation, 55 years ago, even longer. And these things are all kind of coming to the fore now, he was way ahead of the time with his vision, and kind of protecting a very safe space with integrity. And it's been very challenging since he passed. I, on a personal level, have thought many times of just walking away, it got that bad. But, you know, it's very difficult when you've made promises to somebody who's your mentor and one of your best friends. And when you see David's vision, not being executed properly, and not being executed with his core values, integrity, and safe space. And that's something that we have to protect. It's something that's worth protecting. I mean, I feel for the family, because they're the ones that are kind of in the firing line on this. And, you know, sadly, they, you know, there is a legal dispute between them and these, this group. Luckily, Elise, Donna and myself are not involved in any legal dispute, because we don't know anything, and we didn't take anything. But of course, we support, well, we have to support the law, number one, but also they really tried to do the right thing for so long. And, you know, I've, you know, it's, it will all come out the truth, the truth will eventually set us free on this. But for now, well, that's all I really want to say.   [Gilles] Thank you so much for saying that. And it's interesting, because I mean, we're talking about PBBE, having been such an important sort of important part of the structure and the infrastructure of the scene. So have you. And you know, you've come and you've celebrated and it's been consistent and it's forward thinking and it's in the spirit of David and, and that scene that you grew up around, which ends up with records like the New Balearic Breakfast. Now, funnily enough, my, my, my encounter with David, weirdly enough, I only ever played with him once, but I did. I don't know if you know this, but it's funny. I remember this as you were talking just now, because I'm going to Portugal to play a gig this weekend. And the last time I think I was in Portugal was with David. [Colleen] Oh, my Gosh... [Gilles] It was that many years ago, it was at a festival. And I remember he was so specific about the sound. I remember he was there, he was there all day, basically, just getting it ready. You know, I remember he was just extra sort of, you know, I just turned up with my records.   [Colleen] As he said, he said, good sound is a human right. Yeah.   [Gilles] We got Colleen Cosmo Murphy here today. Good morning to you. Welcome. [Gilles] You just tuned in. Great track. Thank you so much for bringing in your album.   [Colleen] Thank you. This is a remix I did for a Danish guitarist who plays Spanish guitar, Jacob Gurevich. Yeah. And it's called elevations in minor. And, you know, it's one of the, you know, you do a remix. And then I sometimes, I don't know, I just don't get sick of it. But I just don't always love it immediately.   [Gilles] Yeah.   [Colleen] And this is one I actually kept liking.   [Gilles] Do you play your remixes out?   [Colleen] Not all of them. [Gilles] Not all of them. I played the Secret Nightgang one.   [Colleen] I think. Well, that was I really enjoyed that opportunity. Thank you. I mean, that was I did. I have played that one. I actually even had an acetate made so I could play it at the loft because we only have digital. We only have digital on that remix. [Gilles] Did we never put it on vinyl?   [Gilles] No, no. Wow. That's something we have to do. We're just doing a new. Anyway, I'll talk to Emily about that. And so with regards and the other one that was really big for you was the Lady Blackbird, that was really big.   [Colleen] I think it was the top five in the DJ history.   [Gilles] Yeah.   [Colleen] You know, poll at the end of the year. That was a great opportunity. And I loved working with Ross Allen on that. Usually I don't I just get on with my mix and I don't really discuss it with A&R. But with Ross, he had we talked throughout it and even before and we just had such a good time. I respect him so much as an A&R guy, also as a radio presenter and a great ear. But I think we got somewhere really, really great with that. And I'm really, really proud of that one. It sounds very different to a lot of other things. I think has a real bluesy vibe, but her voice. I mean, did you hear the new thing? The Slave to the Rhythm cover? [Gilles] I haven't heard that. [Colleen] Oh, that I put it on the Balearic Breakfast Show this week. [Gilles] Slave to the Rhythm?   [Colleen] Yeah. Trevor Horn did a whole album of covers and Lady Blackbird sings Slave to the Rhythm. That's interesting. Unreal. [Gilles] Well, we're bigging up Ross Allen and Ross listens to this show.   [Colleen] Oh, hey, Ross.   [Gilles] I can't believe you didn't you didn't tell me about that. But probably because it's not he's not putting that one out.   [Colleen] Oh, yeah, exactly. That's probably why. Yeah, she has her a new EP out. We should say that about Lady Blackbird.   [Gilles] Absolutely. And also when it comes to your remixes and stuff, this one you just played is that did it come out?   [Colleen] It came out of Music for Dreams. Yeah, but it didn't come out on vinyl. So this Balearic Breakfast Volume 3 compilation, there's a lot of things on there that never came out on vinyl. It could be remixes of mine or things that I've played that we got from Bandcamp, you know, from labels and artists that don't have the cash flow to print, you know, to press vinyl. We know there's not a huge return on that. And so, yeah, it's great to have the opportunity to be able to do that. And plus a few older things that are kind of harder to find on vinyl, especially that Primal Scream. Goodness. And that 07.   [Gilles] We're going to play that in a moment. So we're talking about the labels a bit. I think Heavenly have done a great job as well, because this wasn't it's like, you know, they released they did the Mild Life album. They did that.   [Colleen] Yeah, we just went to see them the other night. We went with the Heavenly crew with Jeff Barrett and Danny and Daisy and Georgia and Catherine. It was great.   [Gilles] And all the kids work in different record shops. [Colleen] Yeah, just like my daughter. [Gilles] Yeah, no, it's great. [Colleen] My daughter did her internship at Heavenly. Yeah, the nepotism. Sorry.   [Gilles] What did Heavenly mean to you as a label? Because it was...   [Colleen] Saint Etienne was the first one. And when Fox Bass Alpha came out, I mean, I was living in New York and all of the a lot of the British music that was coming out at that time had a huge influence on me. Like first was Soul to Soul, then with Massive Attack, Blue Lines, Screamadelica was a massive album for me, as was Fox Bass Alpha. I need to do a classic album Sunday. So Saint Etienne, I've already been talking to Jeff about this. [Gilles] How many have you done, by the way?   [Colleen] Hundreds. Hundreds. You know, I started in 2010.   [Gilles] Yeah. [Colleen] And yeah, it was before the listening bar movement. It was before the Vinyl Renaissance.   [Gilles] You know, when you focus on one record and you've done it and you talk to one of the members of the band or whoever it was within the group or the singer or whatever, and you do all the thing and you concentrate and you have the event. And like you had recently at the London British Museum with Jazzy B, you did Eddie Grant, didn't you?   [Colleen] Yeah. So I've actually interviewed both for the British Library, Eddie Grant. And then I've also interviewed Jazzy many times, but also at the British Library, the one about Club Classics.   [Gilles] Yeah, that was good. And so when you do that and you've sort of, do you do you ever go back to that? You know, it's almost like you can't listen to those records again. You're almost over. Which record do you listen to again from all the ones?   [Colleen] Oh, you know, I end up listening to a lot of them because they're all rediscoveries for me. I go, oh, my gosh, I forgot how much I love this album. And also just the act of sitting down and listening to an album in its entirety is really good. Sometimes I do that as a break at the end of the day, as a transition moment from work into, you know, nighttime relaxing, either that or beating my husband at backgammon, you know, so.   [Gilles] Or the two at the same time.   [Colleen] Two at the same time, exactly. But it's a really great thing to do. I mean, I'm just looking right now, Gil Scott-Heron, Pieces of a Man. You sit down and you listen to, I'm just looking at your record collection, or Rock Bottom by Robert Wyatt. These are great classic albums. And just sitting and listening and not doing anything else for 45 minutes is a great way to, like, lower your blood pressure, to get your head maybe out of these negative thought loops, which is something I've had to practice a lot over the last few years. And, you know, it's just and also to kind of recognize this as a whole statement by an artist. It's an entire artistic statement, whether or not it's a concept album. But it's great. I get to rediscover so much music.   [Gilles] So because, of course, my problem as well, with regards to what we do on a day to day being that we have to listen to music, new music, old music, the whole thing. So sometimes to find that moment to put on that classic record doesn't always come easily.   [Colleen] No, it doesn't. Yeah. And because we're listening to music all day. I get that, you know, you have to have other hobbies as well. So but it is once you commit to it, and you'll get drawn in. Yeah, I promise you.   [Gilles] I mean, so this is this great. And that 45 minutes before going to bed. Let's play this. Actually, this is a classic record as well. Not this particular one. This record might well be when we play it. But their first album, 07.   [Colleen] Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Simple things. Simple things. I wanted to do a classic album Sundays with them about this too. I'm already working on that. It was a very important album, actually, for my husband and I to kind of soundtrack to our courtship. You know, these these albums have cultural influence, but they also become personal soundtracks as well. And that album was very and Sia being on that as well. I mean, she had just and then I got her solo album and went down that little kind of, you know, rabbit hole. But I'm really pleased 07 are playing with me. They're they're DJing. They're doing a DJ set for the record release party at NTS loft on the 15th of June. So very excited about that. [Gilles] Good memories of doing a gig actually with Sia at Cafe Mambo. It was when I was on radio one, we did live from Ibiza and we did a session with them. They played live. And I think that night I played at space or something with Carl Cox and I had my very difficult evening live on the road.   [Colleen] Oh, no. It's like I can kind of imagine now. [Gilles] Yeah, you can exactly that and two sides of the musical whatever coming together in front of 3000 Italians on ecstasy. Tricky. So, Colleen, tell me about what you're up to outside of doing Balearic Breakfast and what's happening with you on the radio at the moment. You were doing lots of stuff live on Twitch and stuff.   [Colleen] Yeah, you know, I'm still doing Balearic Breakfast. It's the radio show without a radio station, basically. But it's actually kind of in a weird way. It's kind of also upholding David's principles of DIY. I just I continued streaming every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on my MixCloud Live channel and it gets archived. And the response has been immense. You know, I mean, the thing is, Balearic Breakfast, it's a community. It's not just me now. And this is a request show. Of course, I curate it. I bring my own music to the table. I host it. I kind of shepherd it. But it's every so many people involved. There's a blog that has nothing to do with me that goes out every single week from a guy named Artur in Paris who does that. I have nothing to do with that. He interviews people. It's amazing. It's amazing. I have guest mixes from some of the contributors. Of course, we do lots of interviews, too. So that that's continued. I'm also still doing remixes. I have a remix of Bryony Jarman Pinto coming out in True Thoughts in July. It's just come. I think you will like it, actually. I'm going to send it to you. It's called Moving Forward. I love that song. Yes. I did a kind of a more 80s kind of down tempo groove mix.   [Gilles] Yeah.   [Colleen] And when they asked me to do it, they said we really love your secret night gang mix. So there you go. There you go.   [Gilles] Yeah, that's good. She she she played here last week, actually. She was she was brilliant. [Colleen] Yeah, she's great. Yeah, very, very modest and and totally like just low key, beautiful, wonderful, soulful person. It was wonderful having you around here last week, Bryony. [Gilles] So actually, yeah, you were talking about about your your your your interviews. And of course, you did Eddie Grant.   [Colleen] Yeah.   [Gilles] And I saw I went to the exhibition that day the opening day and I saw him. I had met interviewed him actually Worldwide FM previously and I was introduced to him again. He had no clue who I was. And it was it was it was odd because it had been a few years ago. But anyway, how was he? Because he's a legend, right?   [Colleen] I met him I think over 20 years ago. I think it was 2001 with I may have been Quentin from Strut. Actually, we went out to dinner. And I remember I started I talked to Eddie about I love your coach house rhythm stuff. And he's coach house rhythm section stuff. And he said he turned to his manager and said she knows more about my music than you do, that manager at the time. But I've always wanted to interview him and this opportunity presented itself. So he came over for dinner a couple nights before we did the event.   [Gilles] Yeah. That's a good idea.   [Colleen] And because we had had dinner before he had actually invited us to Barbados. We got on so well when I met him over 20 years ago. And he is I respect him so much in so many ways. Of course, there's the creative artists side. I mean, we've all heard the music. He doesn't sound like anyone else. He really forged a different sound that even hit the top 40 airwaves. But he's also as a person, an incredible, incredible person for many reasons. One, he's a real entrepreneur. He's a business entrepreneur. He has also had the business acumen to own his own music and to license some of his stuff to major labels. He even owns the equals music. He's also really spiritual. He kind of you know, the challenges that I've been going through. He was he said a lot of things that really resonated with me. And he's a family man. He has a great family. And he works you know, his children work with him and they're wonderful. His daughter Pauline is fantastic. His daughter Diane came over for dinner and also came over to our London loft party afterwards. There. I just I really, really adore him and respect him.   [Gilles] Amazing, amazing. And the talk was good. I bet.   [Colleen] Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was it was it could have gone on for hours. He is a storyteller. And he has an incredible memory. He can remember everything. He'll say, I was walking across the garden holding a hot chocolate, like, literally detailed stories. And he does have an autobiography coming out, which would be well worth a read.   [Gilles] But I think it's interesting in the kind of art of interviews, the fact that you spent some time with him before socially, and then because I feel that when I've heard him in the past, even when I interviewed him years and years ago, not prepared like you had, obviously, I felt that he was kind of when they've had such a long career, they tend to fall into those autopilot answers. And so suddenly, you're feeling like, yeah, they're delivering it well. But they've heard I've heard it before somewhere. So to get into the cracks is the idea. And that's what you managed to do.   [Colleen] I did. And also the thing that was nice is he invited some of his old colleagues, we had members of the equals sitting in the front row. [Gilles] Wow.   [Colleen] So that just lent a whole kind of electricity, electricity into the air. And I just it was just phenomenal. It was such a career highlight for me. Did you enjoy the exhibition? I have to see it still because I couldn't see it that day. And I've been away I was in the States for a while. Taking care of my mom. But I am going to go see it on a weekday in the morning, not on a weekend. So yeah, I have an invitation. But I've heard my daughter went the next day. I've heard great things. Everyone that's seen it has really said a lot of great things about 500 years of black British music.   [Gilles] Amazing. The British Museum, which is on now for a little while longer. Colleen, brilliant. What have you got in the summer and the gigs? We're looking forward to we out here of course.   [Colleen] Yeah, we have the love dance and tent here, which we all love. And thank you again for that opportunity. It's such a party. It's the party tent there. Also doing Houghton, which thankfully is on a different weekend this year. Yeah, lots of other festivals. And what I'm doing for Wayne Hemingway, which is really interesting called First Light Low stuff.   [Gilles] Oh, yeah.   [Colleen] That's a good one. So I'll be doing the evening doing a down step. But then I'm playing on the sunrise, the most easterly point of the UK on the on June 23. So pretty close to the solstice. I'm playing in Ibiza this weekend. You know, I have a record release party.   [Gilles] Where'd you play there?   [Colleen] I'm playing a record release party at the Standard on Saturday. And I'm doing Glitterbox. Actually, I'm opening for Moose Tea Main Room. [Gilles] Hello. [Colleen] Yeah, so that should be fun. He's he's another lovely, positive guy. Oh, my gosh. He's a great spirit.   [Gilles] Do you like going to Ibiza? [Colleen] I do. [Gilles] What happens when you come out when you when you know when you when you're picking up your bags and you see all the people coming through?   [Colleen] Yeah, what's your energy level? I'm more into the nature side of the island. And that's just who I am as a person anyway. So on the Sunday, I'll be breaking out and going somewhere with a nice lunch that's far away from all the activity, you know. So yeah, that's brilliant.   [Gilles] Colleen, thank you so much for coming in today. The album is out tomorrow. [Colleen] Tomorrow. [Gilles]   Great timing. Big up to Adam. [Colleen] Oh, thank you. [Gilles] Breakfast volume three. [Colleen] Big up to Jeff Barrett and the team at Heavenly too. [Gilles] You are a beacon of light and energy and the work you're doing is amazing. Keep the spirit and have a lovely summer. [Colleen] Thank you. You too.

DJ_Emma, a member of the Balearic Breakfast family, is a renowned DJ and radio host. In this episode of Boogie Boulevard, she interviews Colleen! About this show. – Boogie Boulevard is DJ Emma 's monthly radio show on 1BTN . In this episode, she interviewed Colleen about her musical journey. Let's dive deep! Listen back to Boogie Boulevard with DJ Emma: PLAYLIST ( 2008 ) Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra – San Diego ( 1987 ) Quintus Project – Night Flight ( 1982 ) Pat Metheny Group – Are you going with me? Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Wake up everybody (Re-recorded version) ( 1975 ) DJ Rogers – Hold on, Be Strong ( 1976 ) Stevie Wonder – As ( 2024 ) Residentes Balearicos – Balearic for President (Puerto Montt City Orchestra Blue Sky Mix) ( 2000 ) Joni Mitchell – Both Sides Now (Orchestral version) ( 2008 ) Primal Scream – Uptown (Weatherall Mix) ( 2023 ) Jacob Gurevitsch – Elevation in Minor (Cosmodelica Remix) ( 1979 ) Brass Construction – Music makes you feel like dancing THE INTERVIEW [DJ_Emma] Hello, hello, welcome back to my June edition of Boogie Boulevard. I hope you're all well and enjoying this lovely sunshine. This show's going to be perfect for a sunny Friday because I've got a very special guest coming in very shortly and it's someone I hold in very high esteem and who's a big inspiration to me so I'm extremely honoured to be welcoming Colleen Cosmo Murphy onto the show for an extended interview. She's also going to be picking out some tunes as well and some of her favourite tracks and also I'm going to be playing a few of the tracks from her latest Balearic Breakfast compilation, Volume 3 . For the next two hours it's going to be quite a lot of chat but also some amazing music so I hope you're going to stick around. I'm kicking things off with one of my favourites from the compilation, this is San Diego and it's by Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra . Before we get started on the interview I just wanted to give you a little intro about Colleen and why I'm such a huge fan. So Colleen describes herself as a music lover, a music curator and a music educator and as well as DJing across the globe you will also find her hosting the London Loft Party, presenting both the classic album Sundays and her Balearic Breakfast show and remixing artists like David Holmes and Roisin Murphy. I'm an avid listener to her Balearic Breakfast radio show and have been for years and I had the pleasure of being on the dance floor in Love Dancing at We Out Here. I'm sure if you've listened to this show before you've heard me talking about this more than once. So I experienced her DJing and it was just on another level entirely, something I haven't experienced before and I have been around a long time. Colleen is a true inspiration to me and so many others. There's not many people out there that have such a vast knowledge of music and more importantly know how to share it with others the way Colleen does. So I'm really honoured to have her as a guest on the show. She's lived a truly fascinating life and I could have chatted to her for so much longer. I began by asking Colleen about her earliest memories of being a child and what inspired her musically.   [Colleen] I grew up in a small town outside of Boston, Massachusetts and you know it's a very small town and most of my family were there. I was the oldest grandchild and my aunts and uncles were still like eight, ten, twelve, fourteen. You couldn't walk down the centre of town without seeing a Murphy. It was a great place to grow up. It was a great place to grow up but by the time I was a teenager I just I had to get out.   [DJ_Emma] Yeah, the way it is isn't it? And what were your first musical memories and influences as a child?   [Colleen] It was mainly what my aunts and uncles were playing. My parents were into music but not hugely into it. It wasn't something that was always on in the house. It was always on in the car but it wasn't really on in the house. But my aunts and uncles were so young and some were teenagers that it was really their record collections or their radios that I was listening to. And the things that I grew up with, I mean I remember hearing Rock On by David Essex which was a real kind of psychedelic experience. I was in my uncle's room and he had the blue lights were on and that song came on the radio and I thought little men were singing it and it was really intense. And then I was listening to The Beatles, Hey Jude in my other uncle's Red Convertible. And then my other aunt, she was really into Bowie and Elton John. And my first record that anyone bought me was Elton John's Greatest Hits (ed. 1974) . I think it was my eighth one. So yeah, lots of kind of classic rock and of course there's always Top 40 on the radio. I really got into the radio. I got my first transistor radio about seven or eight at Christmastime and I just became obsessed. And I remember running upstairs, plugging it in, turning it on and Silver Convention, Fly Robin Fly was the first thing that came on the radio. So that kind of dates exactly what year I actually got it. [DJ_Emma] That's amazing. You can remember that that song came on.   [Colleen] Yes, they're real. I can remember everything. I remember, you know, I just remember the whole feeling and the radio became one of my best friends probably. So it was very, very important to me. And then I got my first turntable when I was 12 and started raiding my aunt's and uncle's record collections and, you know, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Moody Blues, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, kind of all the classic stuff, you know.   [DJ_Emma] Brilliant. Did you have siblings as well?   [Colleen] Yeah, I have a younger sister and I'm really proud to say her daughter, my niece, has just started on her high school radio station as well.   [DJ_Emma] Oh, amazing.   [Colleen] Yeah, it's really cool.   [DJ_Emma] So let's go to your first tune. So your Ultimate Goosebumps track. I know you've struggled to find one. You've got quite a few, haven't you?   [Colleen] I have quite a few. And I decided to go with Are You Going With Me by Pat Metheny because it's just so emotive. It's so lyrical, even though there's no words. There's a bittersweet kind of feeling to it. There's a nostalgic feeling, but there's still kind of these soaring melodies that take you elsewhere. And I remember playing, I've played it many times in my life and every time I've played it, it's been a very emotional moment. The most emotional time I played it was in 1999 or 98 or 99. I was on the radio on WNYU 89.1 FM and I had hosted radio shows there for nearly 15 years. And I was doing my last, I was announcing to my listeners that I was moving and that I was leaving not only New York, but the United States. And, you know, I had a very dedicated fan base. In fact, one of them is still one of my listeners and a contributor to Balearic Breakfast, Bert Francois. People hear his name all the time.  But I played that song and I got so many emails and letters that I found during the pandemic, actually, and re-read how much this radio show meant to people. Because house music, even though a lot of it was coming out of New York, we didn't have a lot of places where it was actually played, especially on the radio. So I did turn a lot of people on to house music. Because it was terrestrial radio as well, you're flipping on the dial. It's not like you're online looking for something. And there were people that had never heard it before. And yeah, it was just a very emotional, beautiful song. I love Pat Metheny's work. Pat Metheny was also a favorite of my mentor and friend David Mancuso. We bonded on that because I had gotten into Pat Metheny in high school. And yeah, I think that's the goosebumps track for today. But tomorrow that could change. I have a list of a bunch of them. You know, I was thinking like, it's also like This Woman's Work. Kate Bush is another one that just, you know, leads. And then I was thinking about like, Wake Up Everybody by Harold Melvin, the Blue Notes. I was thinking about Charles Earland drifting.   [DJ_Emma] So there's so many. Yeah, This Woman's Work. I actually remember requesting it on the Balearic Breakfast about two years ago. I think I did. Yeah, you did play it as well.   [Colleen] Oh, cool.   [DJ_Emma] One significant part of your musical journey was your friendship with David Mancuso and the Loft Parties . And he once told Time Out New York in 2000 about you. He said, "she's very devoted and very pure about the music. She's one of the only people I would trust both with the music, the equipment and the dance floor to fill in for me" . So tell me about your deep connection to David and his music and and how the relationship developed from being his protégé into becoming his close friend.   [Colleen] Yeah, it was probably more the other way around, friend to, or maybe simultaneous, even really. But, you know, I started going to his parties in 1992 on East Third Street, and it was a beautiful space. But it was at a time, and I was just transformed by the music, the vibe, the feeling of safety as a young woman. I could go alone and have a great time. And the fact that it was in somebody's home, it was also in my neck of the woods, the East Village, which is where I spent a lot of my time when I lived in New York. And he and I, I didn't really know him in the beginning.   I just went to the parties. You know, I'd say hi, but I'm not one of those types of people to crowd the DJ booth or anything. And also at that time, I was still I was just beginning to I was DJing already as a radio DJ, which kind of led me to playing some, you know, public venues in the 80s, whether it was Mars (ed. now closed ) or CBGB's Record Canteen . And then in the early 90s, when I started DJing as well, I was playing, you know, local bars and things like that. But I was just so inspired by what he was doing. And I had a radio show called Soul School, and I wanted him to come up on the radio show and play some music. And he said, why don't we go out for a drink so we can talk first? And we just had a really deep conversation, you know, about music and synchronicity. And, you know, I had I think we connected on a spiritual level as well, because I had studied Buddhism. I had lived in Japan in 1989. And I was a radio DJ there and I had studied Zen Buddhism. And I noticed with David, there were a lot of things that I learned in Buddhism that he seemed to be striving for himself as well.   And I could just felt this kind of connection on so many different levels. But then very early on, and I thought about this, it's crazy, because I didn't know what the loft was. I think I think it's very important to say this, this party wasn't really that it was definitely not oversubscribed at the time. Many times there were hardly anybody was hardly anyone showing up. David was really suffering. And this is the 1990s for a lot of different reasons.   And so I didn't really know his actual place in dance music history. It was all learning that and there was no internet and there weren't really you'd have to go to find old magazines on microfiche at the library. I mean, that was the only way to find stuff. So it was more like this is a really good guy. I love what he's doing. I want to help him. So that's why I wanted to get him up on the radio to kind of say to people, hey, the loft is still going on. You need to support David because so many people supported him in the 70s and the early 80s. And then they didn't in the 90s for various reasons. And, you know, I was really trying to get the word out there that, you know, he was still around and still doing it. And then soon after, he asked me to play some records with him, which was something that I had never even considered would happen. Like I when I invited him up my radio show, I didn't think that we'd then be working together at some point. It was just more like, let me help this guy, however I can help him. And yeah, it was when I look back on it, I mean, I only played four records the first time, but then he started playing a bit more with him and then filling in for him. And we were doing fundraisers around my birthday. And I just became very involved with him. I was being part of his music pool. We would listen to records during the week and turn people, turn each other on to stuff. And yeah, he became a friend. And I remember asking him a few years before he passed away. I said "You know, why did you trust me? You know, you didn't know. You didn't really know me very well. I was young. I was maybe 24, 25. And you trusted me with the music, with the people that were there, the dancers, but also the sound system" . I mean, the Koetsu moving quill cartridges he was using were like two thousand dollars each. And I just you know, he taught me how to handle it. And there's no headphones. It is all class A amplifiers and which run really hot. And he trusted me with it. And he said it starts with the vibe long before when it's the turntable. In any case, you know, I came up with the idea for the compilations in 1998 because I had just done a mix CD for Nervous Records in 1998 called New York After Hours, Later Shade of Deep . And I thought, gosh, David, if David did a compilation, that would really raise awareness about his story. And also it would be some good green energy for him, too, because he was, you know, as I said, times were really, really tough. And when I mentioned this to him, he said, "I only want to do it with you" . And I thought, oh, my gosh, I don't have a label. I was moving to another country. I didn't have the confidence to get investment to to start my own label. And that's that's when I spoke with Nuphonic about doing it because I had a relationship with them anyways. And they did a great job. And it really got David's story out in the world. And then, you know, he started going different places and traveling and playing. And he did parties with us here in London. He and I played together in different countries throughout Europe. He was going to Japan and his fortune started to change. The parties were reaching capacity. All the reservations would have gone. And he was getting into a better financial space as well, which was very helpful. And then once I moved here, we started working internationally together. So, you know, I was thinking about it today. [DJ_Emma] Yeah. [Colleen] I worked with David and the loft for over half my life. [DJ_Emma] Wow. [Colleen] And I just a friend of mine said that. And she said, you've been working with him because she was there. You've been working with him for over half your life. I thought, oh, my gosh. And yeah, it's it's a relationship that I'll always treasure. You know, it's he says he felt he was lucky he found me. I feel lucky that I found him. [DJ_Emma] You continue the loft legacy by running the parties in London now.   [Colleen] Yes. And I was and I was part of the loft parties in New York as David had brought me back before he passed away. But there's been a recent article in Resident Advisor , which sort of details an event that happened back in September 2022. Basically, David had chosen a board that he wanted to represent his legacy. And he had asked me to be chairperson and two other women who are in their 70s or his best friends to be on this board. And it was himself and another gentleman. And it was a woman majority board. And he won. One of the reasons he wanted me to chair it was because I was a woman as well. The whole yin yang balance was hugely important to David. In any case, he didn't he didn't legalize that. But the family that who inherited everything after David passed, because David didn't leave a will, they recognized our group and worked with us. We let some others onto the board. And in 2022, they did exactly what that Resident Advisor article said they did. They sent an email to say that some of us would no longer be involved. They took out the majority of funds from the bank account and took all of David's belongings, including his personal belongings, and moved them to another space. We don't know where they are. And, yeah, so the family is in a legal dispute with them at the moment. And luckily, at least Don and I are not in this dispute because we don't own anything. We didn't take anything. But it's been a very harrowing, you know, as you can imagine, very difficult. But, you know, I have I have faith that we'll be able to somehow restore David's vision. And I think the interesting thing is David went through so much of this himself when he was alive. You know, he had when I first met him, he had a building stolen from him.   [DJ_Emma] Oh, wow. Oh, my goodness. Yeah.   [Colleen] Yes. So these types of things, because it's an open kind of space and because there is so much trust in the community, it can almost open itself up to these types of people and situations, I suppose. [DJ_Emma] So I think that's a really good point. Yeah. [Colleen] Yeah. So, you know, I'm actually a little relieved that this story is starting to come out. It's going to probably have a lot more coming out. But I just I just hope that everything that, you know, David's vision is restored. And it's something that I and my fellow board members, Don and Elise, and I know the family are really committed to. So staying positive.   [DJ_Emma] Going back to your loft parties, I mean, how would you describe the difference of the loft party experience to the more standard club experience? And for anyone that hasn't experienced one of these parties, how would you kind of talk about the loft parties? Because they are different, the way the music's played, you know, and there's other other aspects as well.   [Colleen] There's a lot of aspects. I think the first thing is that it's based around community. And when you do and that's something that I've done with Balearic Breakfast as well. It's based around community, whereas a club night, it can be, but it's kind of open to one and all. And we decided to keep our membership private. You know, if you still become a member, you just have to contact one of us who, you know, are running the London loft. But it's keeping tabs on who's there and creating a sense of intimacy. So it's not just, you know, random flyering and postering and club listings where anybody can turn up. So people need to be aware and interested in the ethos, aware of the ethos and interested in it. And because it's based around community, I think that really sets it apart from, you know, other aspects of my career, which is, you know, I DJ as well. And I do love DJing. It's just, it's a different thing to this. Of course, the way we play the music, we use an audiophile sound system. You're hearing music in a completely different way. I think it's more immersive. It's warmer. It's more enveloping. And the volume isn't too loud. You know, we peak at about 100 dB, which isn't that loud. And when you think about clubs like Ministry of Sound, and it's, you have to wear earplugs. So there's a very kind of, it's a safe space in terms of, for hearing as well, because you're trying to create a safe space, not only socially, but also for people's, you know, for their health, really. Also, music isn't mixed. It's just one song to the next. So there is no kind of performance element like there is when you're DJing and you're mixing, which I also love, don't get me wrong. I do look at these as there's some overlap, but they're also distinct. Yeah, because it's just a different way of programming and putting music together. So there's a lot of freedom with that as well, of course. It's a very long set. I mean, sometimes when I filled in for David, it was 12 hours. So this one here is seven. Yeah. So that's really great, you know, because you really feel like you can go places, you know, that you can't normally go in a more, you know, shorter DJ set, like two hours. [DJ_Emma] And people applaud sometimes at the end of the songs, don't they, as well? [Colleen] Yeah, they do. You know, they don't have to, but they do, I guess, because they're feeling it. They're feeling a certain life energy come through the music. And, you know, it's a different way of, you know, you're trying to channel more, you know, and I'm really trying to relax so much into it that I don't even have to think too much about what the next record is going to be. It should just present itself.   [DJ_Emma] Oh, wow. It's like almost spiritual, spiritual thing. [Colleen] Yeah. There's more of that kind of a feeling. Yeah. So there's a lot of different things that make it different, but it's really the energy of the team as well that do it. We have a great group of people who are just so positive and just have a lot of love. And that comes through as well. So it's not just me, it's the entire team. And they're just good vibes people and really committed to David's vision. And, you know, it's so that's really great. So I'm really proud of them. David was very proud of them as well.   [DJ_Emma] So talking about David's vision, do you think we need it more than ever in these current times? Because, you know, do you think a Loft's values stand up in today's social media and obsessed world that we live in? And yeah...   [Colleen] It's difficult. It's certainly not present in a lot of social media and in a lot of today's world. I mean, David tried to create an idealist community. So it's almost like you have a microcosm of a social experiment. And because it was in his own home when he started these parties, he was able to kind of control it, you know, who was coming in, who would kind of people he allowed to be there, you know, who he would trust. And, you know, sometimes people take advantage of these situations, or maybe they don't understand the social evolution aspect of this. I think, you know, it's something I think David and I both believe, I believe we're here to evolve as a species. And part of that is that we evolve as an individual. And, you know, I'm always trying to work on self-improvement. And I know David was too. He was a human, he was not a god and all this kind of deity language surrounds him. And I find quite distasteful. But he was an extraordinary human being. And he really tried to foster, you know, social justice and things like that. And yes, we do. We do need it now more than ever. I mean, you see steps forward and then steps going back and we see this whether it has to do with, you know, racism, sexism, homophobia, and all these other nasty kinds of isms. [DJ_Emma] Yeah. [Colleen] And on social media. Yeah, I mean, some people don't behave themselves and they say terrible things. And it's awful to behold. But I do sometimes wonder if there'll be a reaction. I know we have daughters at a similar age and I do wonder if their generation will have a backlash against it at some point. So I think, you know, we'll see.   [DJ_Emma] I feel like my younger daughter definitely is different to the slightly older one. I think the younger one's generation. So she's 18. You can't put all 18 year olds in the same group. But definitely her and her friends are very different and they still need their phones all the time. But it's kind of different.   [Colleen] It's not constant selfies.   [DJ_Emma] It's not the selfies. It's not the posing for the selfies and taking photos of yourself at every opportunity. Yeah, that's definitely changed.   [Colleen] I just wonder if people get embarrassed when they're doing that. I see them. I'm like, you see everyone's looking. I mean, I think I've done two selfies. I'm terrible. [DJ_Emma] I hate them. [Colleen] I'm a total Gen Xer. I'm like, I can't even do it. And I look terrible in them. And I also feel like a nitwit, you know, when people are looking at me doing it.   [DJ_Emma] I take the worst selfies ever. It's awful. It's not attractive. Usually I use it for a mirror when I'm walking the dogs. I'm like, I wonder how bad I look today. Oh yes, I do. So your second tune that you've chosen is one more tune. So something you play at the end of the night and you've chosen As by Stevie Wonder . So I've gone for this one.   [Colleen] Because everybody loves it. And I am not too proud to say that I will play crowd pleasers because I don't only play crowd-pleasers. My whole philosophy as a musical curator, whether it's DJing or classic album Sundays or radio hosting, is to both have stepping stones and touch points for people where they know certain songs and then to turn them onto something new. So it's almost like you're getting the trust and you're having this great, joyous musical experience when people do know the song and can sing along. And then that kind of sets you up as well to be able to maybe play things that they don't know. I feel an end of the night song in general, not always, but in general, it's great to have something uplifting that people can sing along to and they hold in their hearts when they leave. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I go really spacey and really just out there. Like I think I did the last London Loft Party. I played a Malcolm McLaren remix. It was really out there. But generally, other times you want to leave people really up and quite happy. And this is Stevie Wonder. I once joked I was doing a Stevie Wonder Classic Album Sundays event and I said, you know, I was being a little facetious, but I said, if somebody doesn't like Stevie Wonder, they cannot be my friend.   [DJ_Emma] That's true. Who could not like Stevie Wonder?   [Colleen] And I really, I don't know anyone who doesn't like Stevie Wonder because I just wouldn't be in my world. You know, I just wouldn't come across them. So it's kind of, you know, and it's such a beautiful, positive song as well. It's really uplifting. And musically, it's phenomenal. It's just it's just a great song that just seems to, I think music should bring people together. And that song really does. [DJ_Emma] Yeah, that's really interesting what you say about you give people a crowd pleaser and then, you know, you'll play some other things because your set in Love Dancing, honestly, is probably the best that I've ever seen in my life. All my friends, even my husband, who it takes a lot for him to enjoy himself.   [Colleen] Now that he has a house full of women DJs because your daughter DJs too.   [DJ_Emma] You know, he's very picky when it comes to music and DJing. And he's like, it takes a lot to to please him and get him to really relax and have a good time. But he absolutely loved it as well. And yeah, it was brilliant. That brings me on to the Love Dancing tent, because you obviously curate it for we out here. And curating the line up must be fun.It must be a fun job to curate something and put on different DJs and acts. [Colleen] But I love it. I love it. But it's also a bit difficult too... [DJ_Emma] Because it's a bit of a challenge.   [Colleen] So many people. I mean, I've had you before. Yeah, I mean, I've had you before as well. It's such limited space. And and because I mean, it's great because Trojan Sound System programs the Thursdays this year. Sometimes Scruff and I switch days depending upon what else other things we're doing. He's programming the Friday and he always has a great lineup. And I'm programming the Saturday and then Dingwalls on the Sunday. So all jazz. So I just program one day and, you know, you only have a few songs available. And what I try to do is have younger people and then more, you know, people who've been around as well, been around for a while, like myself, or a heritage act as well. So this year I have Greg Wilson in that heritage spot. And before me, I have Muscle Cars , who are a lovely young duo from from New York City. They have a new album out on VBE. And last year I brought Love Injection from New York. And I noticed that people really like the fact that I was bringing people over from New York as well. That connection seemed really important. And so I wanted to do it again this year. It's like turning people on to somebody that they may not get the opportunity to hear. And then having younger DJs this year, you know, you have younger DJs and a DJ collective, Eve's drop Collective , are joining us on my day this year. Of course, I always try to keep a good balance, but I think we all do on all the days trying to keep a good balance of, you know, gender balance, which has always been something important to me. But I think, you know, it's also having the giving younger people the chance. And it's something because they get a chance to play on a really great sound system, because our sound system is, well, of course, I think it's the best. But also Lemon Lounge is great, too. They're like our, they're our, they're our kind of little brother, little sister tent that we share a generator, which went out twice last year.   [DJ_Emma] Oh, no, no!   [Colleen] That was great, too! I love them.   [DJ_Emma] Because you played the whole 15 minutes of Get Ready.   [Colleen] I did.   [DJ_Emma] Off in the middle of it, didn't it?   [Colleen] It really did! It's like right, maybe like a minute or into it and it went off. And I only had a few minutes left before Ashley and Rob were coming on. And I said to Ash, I'm going to be cutting into your set if I play this. He said, just play it.   [DJ_Emma] It's just brilliant. It added to the whole thing because it sort of went off and we were like, Oh, what's happened? And then it came back on. It's like, woo! It's amazing. Honestly, it's the best night. [Colleen] Play it from the start again. [DJ_Emma] Yeah, that was really fun to be back on the dance floor.   [Colleen] Yeah, I can't wait. And this year I get to hang out the whole time because the last since the pandemic, I had multiple festivals on a weekend and the weekends that it's been held on was kept changing due to venue, the venue as well. But this year is on a different weekend and so I'll be there the entire time hanging out, listening to DJs and seeing bands and, you know, and hanging out a lot in our love dancing tent because I just, I love all the DJs that play there. It's so much fun.   [DJ_Emma] We're there for the whole weekend as well. I can't wait. It's the only festival this year that I'm going to do the whole thing because they are knackering. [Colleen] Are you camping? [DJ_Emma] Yeah, well, we've got, we've got not quite a camper van, but my husband's got like this utility van that we can sort of put a mattress in. So we are kind of doing living vehicle, which is a bit better for when you're a bit older. [Colleen] Definitely! [DJ_Emma] He's got like a makeshift shower in it as well. So, so we can have even freshen up, which is good. [Colleen] That's so cool! Very good.   [DJ_Emma] It's good. Are you camping or are you in a van?   [Colleen] I haven't camped the last year or two. I did the first few years, but the problem for me is I'm not a great sleeper and it's the sound and the light is too, too much. So just staying, staying off site.   [DJ_Emma] Oh, nice. That sounds good.   [Colleen] Being a little bit of a diva, you know!   [DJ_Emma] Well, I think when, you know, when you get a little bit older, you have to have your comfort. So I can't, you know, you definitely have to. [Colleen] And I'm working every day.   [DJ_Emma] Yeah, exactly. [Colleen] You know, I am working. Yeah.   [DJ_Emma] So no, it'd be fun. But yeah, gigs in general, do you still from time to time get gigs that are difficult or are you at the stage where you can say no to an event if you know it's not going to be right for you?   [Colleen] Yeah, definitely. We definitely say no quite a lot in certain situations. And it's not that I'm snobby. It's just I have a better idea of who I am and what's right for me. And so does my husband's my manager. So I'm really lucky. So he vets everything. And he's more protective over me than I am, which is which is great. But sometimes that's due to the sound system as well. Like if the sound system is just not going to work at all or. But generally, to be honest, because I don't have generally. Hum. I'm in nice situations, like if someone's asking me to play, they have a good idea of who I am. I'm not getting offered like big techno sets or anything like that.   [DJ_Emma] Exactly.   [Colleen] So I think it's, you know, I've been around for long enough that, you know, if people want to book me, they and I'm a bit versatile as well. It's not like it's not like just a single sound that I have. I did a Balearic Breakfast set last week for the for the record release party, and I've done a few of those. In fact, I have a Balearic Breakfast set at First Light Festival on the 23rd of June, and it's the most easterly point in the UK. And I'm doing the sunrise session. So it's like the day after the solstice or something.   [DJ_Emma] Oh Wow.   [Colleen] Yeah. So that's exciting. So there's different. I feel quite lucky because there's different styles.Like, you know, I was playing Glitterbox main room last weekend in Ibiza. That's a whole other thing. And it's so fun.I mean, the people are great and it's a really well run club, but it's a different it's a different thing than other things that I do. But I like the fact that I do a lot of different things. It keeps me interested musically.   [DJ_Emma] And you've certainly got a lot of records behind you to pick. Yeah, exactly. How does how does your memory? Can you remember all your records? Because I'm looking behind you and my I know my memory is absolutely horrific. And on my USB, I just I just forget what tracks I have.   [Colleen] Oh, USBs are terrible. I cannot because I don't I have a visual memory. So now the only thing with my record collection, because I've worked in so many record shops, I've worked in four shops over the years. I'll think, oh, do I have that? Let's say, do I have that, hum, Chaka Khan album. And because I've seen all the albums and held them at different, you know, record shops that I've worked at, I have this visual memory that's attached to it. But then I can't remember if it's in my collection or not. So I'm thinking, gosh, maybe I need an intern to kind of like catalog all this. But generally, I do. I do have a pretty good idea. And it is relatively organized as well for my own for my own... [DJ_Emma] Alphabetical.   [Colleen] It's all different. It's just how I can access it. So they'll be like a balearic section now because it's easier for me to go there when I'm doing a set rather than going through, you know, 8000 records. Um, yeah. So you have to kind of do that. Yeah. So but yeah, it's like it's it's it makes me feel like home. These records because, you know, they've been with some of them I've had since I was 12, 13, you know, years old.   [DJ_Emma] I don't want to depress everybody, but the third tune is your funeral song. And I had so many songs.   [Colleen] I had so many songs for this one. But the first one that came to mind was both sides now by Joni Mitchell. And she did it. She it's been on recordings three times. This is the first one that's on her album, Clouds, I believe. And she had just written it. She had just written this song. And in fact, Judy Collins is the one who sang it first and popularized it. Then Joni recorded it herself. And it's it's a song that's so advanced for her years. So she's singing in her higher register because she still had a higher voice. And she's in her 20s singing this song. And it's so deep. It's really, really about life experience. And the time that the version I would want played at my funeral. There's two other versions. One is from the year 2000. So she was just a few years older than me now. She was in her late 50s. And the gravitas that she has when she sings it. I mean, I'm almost crying just thinking about it. It 's so deep. And then she sang it again. She there was a concert. I think it was Newport Folk Festival. They brought her. It was a few years ago. Joni Mitchell and Friends. And they performed that as well. And then she's now in her 70s singing this song. And it's incredible. But the one I feel that is resonating with me is the one that she released in the year 2000. And it's an orchestral version. I think it's maybe been nominated for some kind of award, possibly a Grammy, actually. And it's just phenomenal. And I think, you know, that line, I really don't know life at all. I mean, we are all still trying to figure out why we're here, what our purpose is. We have belief systems that might help us, guide us and get us through. But at the end of the day, the jury's out about what's going to happen. Like, is there life after death? We don't know. And you won't. Yes, you can't live to tell the tale of whether or not it is. So I think it's that that song kind of taps into that emotion. She means seeing life from many different angles.   There was another one, too, that I thought if I could do a second choice, is Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World. Why not? Because life is a gift. Yeah. Life is a gift. And it just is, even with all of its all of the terrible stuff going on that has always gone on, quite honestly. There's always been terrible things going on as part of the human experience. But we also find beauty. And I remember seeing a photo. I believe it was in war-torn Syria, possibly. But it was an older man in a room with his turntable. And things, you know, things are bombed all around him. And he was still trying to find beauty in life through music. And that's just image stayed with me. And, you know, it still is a wonderful world. And we do. You know, it's our job to protect it. But but life is a gift. You know, it really is. And we are whenever things are bad. You try to remember the good things if you can. And obviously, I'm not getting this millions of people on this on this planet right now that have are facing a life and death situation every day. And I'm in a very privileged position to not be facing that. I am saying this with my privilege and I want to acknowledge that. But you do have to be grateful. I suppose if you're in that situation, maybe it's grateful for another day being alive. But yeah, it's it is a it is a wonderful world in many ways, a difficult, challenging world and lots of terrible things. But there's just so many moments of beauty and joy. [DJ_Emma] Let's just go on to the Balearic Breakfast show. So you started that in 2020, didn't you? Was it 2020? Yeah. And it turned out to be a great comfort to so many people during that challenging time during the pandemic. And then, you know, four years later, the Balearic Breakfast community has really grown and friendships have been made. And every Tuesday, your show brings loads of happiness to so many. So as the creator of the show each week, what does the Balearic Breakfast mean to you?   [Colleen] I mean, it is a community that is based around the love of sharing music, that that's definitely what it is more than a radio show to me now. And I think, you know, because it started in a pandemic, made it so much more emotional and gave it a lot more weight and gravity. And it's, you know, so many people struggle with mental health. And so many people got in touch privately to say that this show really helped them. It helped me when I was struggling through different times as well, just being there with the community and, you know, focusing on music and having a support system. Um, I think that's and it's great because, you know, once everything opened up again and I started traveling, I've been able to meet people. I've met people in Australia, New Zealand, people in Hong Kong. There's people all over the world. I was just in New York and I was at a record shop and a guy said, are you Colleen Cosmo Murphy? I said, yes. He said, I'm from Ecuador. I listened to your show and yeah, it's crazy. I think, you know, it's, it's really when, um, Worldwide FM took a pause. I thought I could just end this show, but then I thought, you know, let me take a leaf out of David's book and do it yourself. And it just flew. It kept going. So I think, you know, the fact, I think it's the community is number one. And then the music is, you know, it's all over the place. It's new and it's old. I get turned on to stuff every week and everybody else gets turned on to stuff every week. And plus you hear some favorites as well.   And I think it's just a show that appeals to a lot of different ears because it is so eclectic. Whereas it's not like a house mix show or something like that, which would only appeal to certain people.   [DJ_Emma] And I think it's also, you know, you learn so much from the music because you're so knowledgeable. For me being a listener and also your voice is really calming. You've got a really nice voice to listen to on the radio as well. But it's also, yeah, the way you educate about the music. I learn something new, I hear something new every week. So yeah, I can see how it's grown as big as it has. And it's so popular. And you've released the third Balearic Breakfast compilation recently, very recently. It's just literally a few days ago it was released. How do you go about selecting the tracks for these compilations?   [Colleen] We avoid the major labels like the plague. That's the first rule. Because everybody, because the licenses aren't that much. It's only for vinyl, that's why we don't have digital releases. It's a very simple license and everybody gets the same. So there's none of these kind of major label politics and the costs and you have to buy a bunch of them. So the way I do it is I try to sort of create the arc of a radio show. So it's kind of starting out a bit more mellow and building up. Also, there's difference, making sure there's different sounds represented. I try to get a few things that are older tracks that are hard to find on vinyl. And then some of it is stuff that I've played on the show that never had a vinyl release. Because so many people are able to release their own music through Bandcamp, which is great. But they may not have the funds to press up vinyl because it's very expensive. So I kind of will go through things I've played to see if it's something I loved and it never came out on vinyl. I also want to play it out. So it's also for myself as well. And then Heavenly do all the licensing. Ardnex does the artwork. I love working with Heavenly. Jeff Barrett is a legend. He's been running an independent label for 35 years, at least. And I remember I got Fox Bass Alpha by Saint Etienne when it came out. And it was one of my favorite albums at the time. So I've kind of been a fan of the label since that time. And Jeff and his whole team, Daisy and Danny and Catherine and Georgia, they're just great people. And they've really done such a great job with this. I can't believe it's still going.   [DJ_Emma] And I have to say, you mentioned the artwork. It's just beautiful. And I know sometimes when I'm going vinyl shopping, I will pick out a record. I won't know who it's by, but if it's got a really lovely artwork on it, that sometimes, you know, if there's no work and listen to it, sometimes, you know, you can get a chance to listen to it on some decks in the shop. But if I really like the artwork, I'll buy it. But the artwork from Black Breakfast, I love it. It's really eye-catching and gorgeous.   [Colleen] Yeah, he's a fabulous artist. He's from Indonesia. And you should follow him on Instagram because anytime something comes up, Ardniks is his name. A-R-D-N-E-K-S. Because it's just beautiful to see that on your feed. And he also does stuff for Craven as well.   [DJ_Emma] Yeah, I love it. And I think this third compilation is probably my favourite so far. Yeah, I think I really love your selections. [Colleen] That's so cool... [DJ_Emma] And you've picked one. So your final track that we're going to play is a track you've picked from the third compilation. And you've picked Uptown, the Andrew Weatherall remix by Primal Scream. So this is really rare, is it?   [Colleen] Oh, it's so rare. So I borrowed a copy once to play at one of the loft parties that we do in Italy. I remember hearing David playing it once at one of our loft parties here in London. But I've never had a vinyl copy. And I went on to Discogs and I'm like, wow, it's so expensive. Anyways, once I befriended Jeff, he told me, Jeff was Andrew Etherill's first manager. So he said, I have a copy of everything that Andrew ever did on vinyl. I said, do you have a copy of Uptown? Because I am just desperate for a vinyl copy. And he said, if I have one, I'll give it to you. Because he says, I don't really need to use it. I said, great. And then he looked and said, I don't have a copy. So I started to think like, maybe this could be good. But you know, Primal Scream, major label, this is going to be difficult. Now, I've interviewed Bobby Gillespie four times in my life. The first time was in 1991 for Screamadelica when I was producing syndicated radio shows in New York. And then I interviewed him again a few years later, the entire band. Then I interviewed him for my sixth music show, Sounds of a City. Then I interviewed him in the band again for another event. So I've interviewed him quite a few times. And Jeff is very close with him. And Jeff mentioned that I would like to include this on the compilation. And he said he'd be happy for me to have it on the comp because the major label doesn't know the copyright on that. Andrew Weatherall mix, thankfully. So, yeah, so I was really lucky. And I have to thank both Jeff and Bobby Gillespie and the spirit of Andrew Weatherall as well, because I think it's important to recognize his great contribution to music and especially this kind of a sound. I mean, when Screamadelica came out, it was a really important album for me because it kind of married my rock and indie rock sensibility with my dance music sensibility. And we didn't have the acid house revolution in America. It was a different thing. Ours was, you know, house music. It wasn't a bunch of younger people on ecstasy. It's not that it didn't have that element, but it was, you know, we dance music had been going on. It kind of evolved out of disco. And so you have these communities were already present already. So it's a different thing. But I kind of lived through the acid house movement vicariously through interviewing. I interviewed all these bands like Apex Twin and Orbital and Shaman and Prodigy and like all these bands. I kind of knew what was going on and had my finger on the pulse, so to speak. But getting that Primal Scream song was just that Andrew Weatherall mix was just when he said we got it, I was just jumped for joy. It was amazing. [DJ_Emma] Lastly, you've been in the world of music for a few decades now. And I know from my own experience that music creeps into every aspect of your life. It can be an obsessive thing to be into. And it's sometimes at the expense of family and friends as well, I think. And relationships. How have you managed that? And who got better at it over the years, do you think?   [Colleen] Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting. I've noticed a lot of women who are in music tend to often are with partners who are in music as well. And I think my husband and I have a very good understanding. We work together on some things, but we support each other on the things where we're not working together as well. The life balance when I had a baby was difficult. Actually, at that time, most people forgot about me anyway. So it's not like everyone was knocking on my door to do gigs, quite frankly. You know, this is at a time when, you know, now it's great because when women have babies, whether you're Jamz Supernova or Ash Lauren, they're right back out there. And that's wonderful. But, you know, my agent got rid of me. I had no agent. Nobody was booking me, really. It was very few people. Some people still were. There were some friends that were. But I ended up doing a lot of production at that time. I just kind of got into my own world, which was fine. And then I later started Classic Album Sunday. So I had to generate my own thing. But it was, you know, still difficult. You know, if I went to Japan for 10 days, I'd have to arrange child care. So I'd have to like sometimes I remember once I had to fly to Boston to drop Ariana off with my family and then fly to Japan and then go back to Boston and then back here. And so things like that were very because we have no family in London near us. So that was difficult as well. But, you know, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I mean, your your your path and your journey is what it is. It makes you who you are today. So, yeah, there have been challenges. But, you know, trying to stay on top of taking care of yourself and eating right and all that kind of stuff. I don't burn the candle on both ends. I mean, I'm a hard I'm a hard worker, but I'm not like out partying all the time either.   [DJ_Emma] So I think it's difficult because, I mean, my daughter, obviously, she's in a DJ collective and they've just gone over three years. They've just catapulted into the stratospheres very quickly. And I think, yeah, I think it's quite overwhelming for for her because like she's been thrust into this world and it is a lot of partying, a lot of traveling, a lot. And it takes its toll on her mentally, I think. And she does find it she does find it tricky at times. I think she's definitely a little bit better now and she's enjoying it. But it is definitely had its challenges. And I think, yeah, it's it can be a difficult to manage it in that way.   [Colleen] It is it can be, you know, it's interesting because you spend a lot of time by yourself and maybe she's in a collective. But a lot of times I'm out traveling by myself. Not that I mind. I enjoy my own company. I used to go backpacking by myself for months on end. So it's not a and I love reading and I love all I love exploring and taking walks. And now, actually, that I've been doing this for so long that this communities and a lot of the places where I go, where I know people. So that's that's really quite nice, too. But it is something that has to be managed. I think for myself, because it wasn't like that for me where it was like it's just been like a kind of slow and steady kind of build for my career. So I've been able to accrue wisdom on how to handle it gently, you know, and as opposed to like, you know, you look at some of these superstar DJs like the whole Avicii story. Here's a young man had no support system out there on the road by himself, had some issues, mental health issues. And and then he's playing, you know, he's just has this massive following it and the pressure is on to deliver as well. And yeah, it's such a sad, sad story.   [DJ_Emma] It's so true what you say, where you've done it gradually and it's it's taken, you know, organically grown over the years. It makes a big difference. It's true when you're thrust into it so quickly, it's it can be very difficult, I think, mentally, especially when they're so young, especially if you're young. Yeah, yeah. I'm keeping my eye on her at the moment a little bit.   [Colleen] Good. Well, she's she's lucky to have you because you understand some of the pitfalls because, you know, you think about Avicii's family maybe didn't like off you go. You know what I mean? It's like I'm not saying they did it. I don't know. I'm just saying if you're from a family that has, you know, you have musicians or, you know, people that understand what you do, it my family don't really understand what I do still. I mean, my my my my family, like not not my husband's daughter, but my, you know, other. Yeah, exactly. Like and do you get on the microphone?   [DJ_Emma] Yeah, well, my mom's the same. She's like, oh, you're deejaying again. You know, she's like, shouldn't you stop doing that and get a proper job now? Go back to your teaching. Yeah, so that's the kind of about it now. But just lovely coming up the next few months for you. Have you got I know you've got Houghton got we out here. You've just come back from a.   [Colleen] Eastern Electrics. Yeah. Eastern Electrics first light low stuff festival. I'll be doing some other gigs throughout Europe. I have a remix of Bryony Charmin Pinto coming out on True Thoughts next month. A song called Moving Forward. Great lyrics. Really beautiful. And I just did a remix for Joe Goddard.   In fact, I'm working on new music with Joe Goddard from Hotship. So I'm working with the whole band and a woman named Lou Hayter.   [DJ_Emma] Oh, I know. Yeah, I know who Lou Hayter is.   [Colleen] And we're starting another kind of act. So I've been working on music. Yeah, she has a new album coming out, too. So that's really exciting because I haven't made new music. I've just been doing remixes for a long time.   [DJ_Emma] We haven't touched on that at all, because I know I love your remix on on the Balearic Breakfast compilation that you just released.   [Colleen] Thank you.   [DJ_Emma] That's one of my favorites on there. Actually, I'm going to play it in a minute. Oh, great.   [Colleen] Fantastic.   [DJ_Emma] But yes, I know Lou Hayter. And I've sort of been following her over the years. Because she used to work in Aire. The Young Pony Club.   [Colleen] And she's worked with Aire as well.   [DJ_Emma] One of my really, really good friends used to be her boyfriend quite a few years ago. So that's how I know of her. It's small world.   [Colleen] Cool. Yeah.   [DJ_Emma] Anyway, oh, that's brilliant. Well, thank you so much for chatting today. Oh, thank you, Emma. We can talk all day. And I'm sure, are you ever going to write a book? Because I know DJ Paulette, Smoking Joe. I'm reading Smoking Joe's at the moment. I just think people have been asking.   [Colleen] And yes, eventually I will probably do that. I just have to find the time.   [DJ_Emma] It would be a brilliant book. Yeah. Well, I'll be first to write that one.   [Colleen] Yeah, I'd love to do that.   [DJ_Emma] Oh, the story. Yes, exactly. I definitely look forward to your partying days at the beginning.   [Colleen] Let's remember, we didn't document any of that stuff.   [DJ_Emma] Yeah, that's the trouble.   [Colleen] We weren't taking selfies.   [DJ_Emma] No, thank goodness. Thank God, we were just living life. Thank God we didn't have cameras around that time. That would have got me into a lot of trouble.   [Colleen] I know.   [DJ_Emma] Goodness!   [Colleen] Yeah.   [DJ_Emma] Anyway. [Colleen] Not good. [DJ_Emma] Oh, thank you so much. [Colleen] Well, thank you so much for having me.   [DJ_Emma] And thank you. And yeah, brilliant to chat to you. [Colleen] You too.

Beats Boats n Bloodlines presents Colleen and her daughter Ariana (here in her first radio show ever) for a two-hour musical chinwag! About this show. – Colleen made her first appearance on the Boat pod alongside DJ Marcia Carr in 2023 (check out the great interview here ). She returned as the headlining DJ on Wednesday, 19th July, with a special guest: her daughter Ariana! "Beats Boats n Bloodlines present DJ 'Cosmo' and her daughter Ariana (who we've now poached for our on board DJ network). Look out for DJ Ariana coming soon. Mother n daughter dig out some gems while discussing their influences and musical journey together. This is also up on our youtube channel to watch back. Big sunshine vibes. Enjoy!" This show is one big, happy, surprising musical journey. It also has a beautiful human touch as we discover Ariana's musical tastes, superbly brought to the forefront by our dear Captain. Let's welcome Ariana to the Boat Pod and wish her many lovely musical adventures! "Proud mum alert. I was thrilled to co-host our daughter Ariana's first radio show at The BoAt Pod . It's all over the musical spectrum: MJ COLE  Bahamadia Mike Skinner and The Streets   King Krule   Imogen Heap  Candido, Barry Biggs and more. But the banter is even more fun - learnt a thing or two 😉" Listen back to Beats, Boats n Bloodlines: PLAYLIST ( 2024 ) Audrey Powne – Feed the Fire ( 1975 ) Junior Byles / The Upsetters – Long Way ( 1976 ) Barry Biggs – Work All Day ( 2023 ) Frou Frou  – A new kind of love ( 2024 ) Mount Kimbie (feat. King Krule) – Empty and silent ( 2021 ) Greentea Peng – Jimtastic Blues ( 2006 ) Clyde and Capital A – Serve It Up (Starship Interpretation) ( 2022 ) Emma-Jean Thackray –  Venus (Black Science Orchestra Tough Love Vocal Mix) ( 1983 ) Midnight Star – Freak-A-Zoid ( 1982 ) Django Django (feat. Yuuko Sings) – Don't touch that Dial ( 2002 ) The Streets – Has it come to this ( 2000 ) Bahamadia  – Pep Talk ( 2023 ) Goldie   –  State Of Mind (Searchlight Remix) ( 2000 ) MJ Cole –  Sincere ( 2000 ) Wookie (feat. Lain) –   Battle ( 2023 ) Nicolas Conte – Life Forces ( 1970 ) Candido – Thousand Finger Man ( 2017 ) Charlotte Gainsbourg – Ring-a-Ring O' Roses ( 1964 ) Françoise Hardy – Mon Amie La Rose ( 2024 ) Amy Winehouse – What is it About Men (live) THE MUSICAL CHINWAG [Colleen] Good afternoon and welcome to Bloodlines, a show that brings together parent and child onto the boat to play some tunes together. I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy and I'm here with my daughter Ariana and I'm absolutely thrilled to be hosting her first radio show here with her on the boat pod. We'll be taking you until four o'clock. Ariana, welcome to your first radio show.   [Ariana] Thank you.   [Colleen] How are you doing? You okay?   [Ariana] I'm good. I'm excited. Are you excited?   [Colleen] A little bit nervous, maybe?   [Ariana] A little bit nervous, but not that nervous. I'm trying not to dupe it. I think it's going to be fun.   [Colleen] It will be fun.   [Ariana] We're playing songs we both know very well, so that'll be exciting. [Colleen] Exactly. Now you picked that. In fact, you picked most of the songs that are playing on today's show. I thought the music was so good, I wanted to add very, very, very little. The first thing we heard was Audrey Pown , Feed the Fire , and that's on BBE. Can you tell us why you picked that song? Tell us a little bit about it.   [Ariana] I'm working at BBE at the moment and this is her debut album. She's a multi-talented artist. She actually plays trumpet as well. But this is probably my favorite album besides the Muscle Cars that's come out this year on BBE. And it's definitely my favorite track on the album. There's some other great ones too, but it's a very long album too. But this is the standout track and it's probably done the best as well. I think it's the main single of the album.   [Colleen] Yeah, it's a lovely album and it's her first album as well. And she's done some really cool stuff. She's also worked as a session player with people like Maceo Parker . And also Midnight Oil , a really famous indie band from Australia.   [Ariana] She's young as well.   [Colleen] She's young and she's from Melbourne, isn't she?   [Ariana] Yeah, the whole album is actually about the Melbourne fires. The whole album and the tragedy of it.   [Colleen] What do you do over at BBE? Do you want to tell the people who are listening what you do over there?   [Ariana] I do a few things at the moment. I'm doing the admin, but I'm also doing bar work. But I'm just kind of doing random things. I do a lot of the Instagram PR, YouTube videos, all those kind of things. Creative jobs. Mostly creative right now, which is quite fun. But then on the weekends, I'm at the bar. And you're playing next week. [Colleen] Yeah, I'm playing. Thank you. Thank you for that link, Ariana. You're a r adio pro already. You already know how to promote me. I am playing over at the BBE store on Thursday, the 25th of July. Along with Hands On Family . And Cindy, actually, from Hands On Family.   [Ariana] And Free Entry as well.   [Colleen] And it's Free Entry. And you'll be attending bars, so people need to come by.   [Ariana] Mmmh !!   [Colleen]   Well, our next track that we have lined up is one that I picked. And it's along the Jamaican music lines. And that's because your dad, my husband, is Daddy Ad from Trojan Sound System . And when you were growing up, your first festival, I think you were six or seven months old. It was over at the Big Chill. And I was playing, and your dad was playing with Trojan Sound System. And you recently saw Trojan.  What's one of your favorite gigs that Trojan Sound System did? [Ariana] Probably last year at Boomtown, because all my friends were there. And it was so fun. And it was a really sunny day. We were all out. Loads of people were out there. And it was one of those stages that had all the trees around it. It was in the really cool, trippy Boomtown, you know, the garden festival bit. But that was really fun. And it was a long set. And everyone was in a good mood. And it wasn't too late in the festival, not too early. So it was like everyone had still a bit of energy left.   [Colleen] Okay, well, let's get back to the music. It's a beautiful Friday afternoon here in London. And we are on the canal, on a boat. Ship's ahoy. And our next track is by Junior Byles. It's his 1975 single, Long Way .   [Colleen] Well, I'm definitely not working all day long. And I think a lot of people are taking the day off, because it's a gorgeous day. And I can't consider this work, because I'm here at the BoatPod Studios with my daughter, Ariana. That was Barry Biggs' Work All Day . And Ari, when you first turned me on to that song, I had never heard that song before. It's incredible, incredible.  Tell us how you dug it out.   [Ariana] Gabs showed me that song. My boyfriend showed me that song. And he showed me that maybe like a year ago now. And I remember showing Dad. And he was like, yeah, I know this song, I know this song. But then I had to really show him the song properly.   [Colleen] I know he's playing it in sets now.   [Ariana] Yeah, now he's playing it in sets. He's got it on 12-inch. But it's definitely like a very underrated reggae track. And it's kind of up there with a lot of the good stuff. And I haven't heard that track being played anywhere, really. Which I'm unsure why.   [Colleen] Yeah, well, I think Dad played it in his last gig. So now people are going to pick it up. All because of you and Gabs. How about that? All right, the next tune is the next couple of songs you picked yourself. And I couldn't really figure anything else that would match with it. Because I thought they kind of sounded really good together. So do you want to announce the next song?   [Ariana] This is a completely different vibe, though. This is Frou Frou. I'm pretty sure it's Clown's Casino and Image and Heap. I know it's Image and Heap. But this track is a very ethereal track. I was kind of scared that too many people would know this song. But then again, it's just such a classic. And also, when I discovered it, it was already famous. And I didn't know the song.   [Colleen] What's the name of it?   [Ariana] A New Kind of Love, Frou Frou . [Colleen] This is A New Kind of Love on Bloodlines. [Colleen] Empty and Silent by Mount Kimbie and King Krule . And that was one of my daughter Ariana's choices for today's Bloodlines show here on The Boat Pod . Why did you pick that song?   [Ariana] He's one of my favorite artists of all time. I saw him recently in Mexico City as well. And that was probably one of the best gigs. Mainly the crowd. But the actual band he has right now, the studio musicians are crazy.   [Colleen] This is King Krule, not Mount Kimby.   [Ariana] This is King Krule. And then Mount Kimby as well is also amazing. But he's a whole different thing. [Colleen] So why were the Mexican fans so amazing?   [Ariana] They didn't push. They didn't push. And they knew all the words. They were so respectful. But also just so dedicated. And it was a whole different vibe. Even the UK concerts have become so pushy and so less communal. Camping festivals are a whole different thing. But King Krule, he's such a good artist. He grew up in Bermondsey. When he was 14, he started making beats. And he even applied to play at Glastonbury when he was 14 in a competition. And he won it. [Colleen] Really?   [Ariana] Yeah.   [Colleen] Wow. He's a great lyricist as well.   [Ariana] Very great. He's more of a poet, I think. But he's definitely very influential for current artists right now in our generation.   [Colleen] Now speaking of your generation, which festivals are you trying to hit up this year?   [Ariana] Definitely going to be out here. Definitely for all days. Potentially Boomtown again.   [Colleen] If you get on the guest list?   [Ariana] If I get on the guest list. Festivals are so expensive now. Festivals are so expensive. You could go on like a two-week holiday for the same price.   [Colleen] I know.   [Ariana] It's crazy. It is ridiculous.   [Colleen] But the artists do need to get paid.   [Ariana] They do.   [Colleen] And also a lot of people are out of work for many years because of the pandemic. So things are different. Now this next artist that we're going to play is one that you did see at We Out Here. And that's Greentea Peng .   [Ariana] She played in 2021. And I was in the front row. And I remember we could like jump over the fence to go see her at the end of it. So me and my best friend, we jumped over the fence, went to go see her. And we could smell where she was. We couldn't see her. But we could smell this like scent of roses. I'm not even kidding. And we followed the scent and eventually found her trailer.   [Colleen] Because you couldn't smell the green tea.   [Ariana] No, she smelled like roses. Eventually got there. And she was so sweet. But she thought it was a bad gig. But we loved it. It was such a great gig. She's definitely one of these artists that are very versatile. Especially for my friendship group and my generation too. And my group in general. But she's so versatile. Very soulful. But she's definitely shaped a lot of us as teenagers in terms of what we're into. And the kind of vibe we're going for. And she definitely fits that.   [Colleen] Very inspirational. So what's the song we're playing? [Ariana] Jimtastic Blues . [Colleen] The Black Science Orchestra remix of Emma-Jean Thackray ' s Venus . And I just love that mix. And Black Science Orchestra is Rob Mello, Ashley Beedle, and Darren Morris. And I remember when they were working on that track. Because your dad manages them. So I got to hear it as an award. But you still loved it. Because you're the one that picked this record. Why?   [Ariana] My dad showed me. And then I didn't like it at first. Because I thought that it wasn't cool enough. Because my dad was showing me it. And then I started. I listened to it by myself. And my good friend Christabel, Rob's daughter, we played it together. And then we were like, this is actually a really good track.   [Colleen] It's a really good track. I mean, she's amazing too.   [Ariana] She's amazing. She plays quite often as well. She was playing at We Out Here a few years ago. But she might be on the... Is she playing this year?   [Colleen] I don't know.   [Ariana] I think I saw her name.   [Colleen] I hope she has a new album coming out. Because that was from her 2021 album, Yellow . So you would think that there's a new one on the horizon. I certainly hope so. Ahead of that, we had Clyde and Capital A , Serve It Up . And I used to play... That record originally came out in 2003. And there was this hip-house mix that I used to play. And when I became pregnant with you, I had this residency at AKA in central London. I didn't tell anyone I was pregnant in the beginning. And I used to play that song all the time. But I was thinking of this song the other day. And then I just found that other mix, which came out a couple of years later. But by 2006, I had my hands full with you. So, I had no idea it came out. But I really, really love it. And Capital A was also on Silk 130's album, When the Funk Hits the Fans . So, some Philadelphia musicians there for you. Now, this next one is one of my choices. And it's something that really brings me back to the underage disco that I used to sneak out to. Sorry, mom. She's probably listening. It was called The Gazebo. It was on the very lush location of Route 9 in Framingham. Just down the road from where I worked at Strawberries Records and Tapes , the record shop. In any case, this is kind of like early electro-funk. But it was a band that also put out a bunch of R&B and soul records. And this was their fourth album. They're originally from Kentucky. They're called Midnight Star . But they signed to the Solar label in late 1970s at the height of disco. And this was their big breakthrough album. And this one I just love. It sounded very futuristic at the time. It may not as much now. But I think you'll still like it. It's Midnight Star with Freakazoid . [Colleen] So many of us know that song. Couldn't live in London without hearing it in 2002 or Manchester. The Streets , Has it come to this from the Original Pirate Material , The Streets' debut album. And I remember when that came out. Because your dad was one of the owners of Jockey Slut. And they put Mike Skinner on the front cover. And such a great tune. Why did you pick this one, Ariana?   [Ariana] It's one of my favorite songs ever. It always has interchangeable memories, though. It's such a nostalgic song for me. But the memories remind me of always happy or sad. And they interchange very often. But it's just a very prominent song of my mid-teens.   [Colleen] And it's such an earworm. My gosh. That hook.   [Ariana] It's just the beat.   [Colleen] The beat's great. The hook's great. It's so good. As well as the song before, Django Django featuring Yuuko Sings . And Django Django is an art rock band from London. Yuuko Sings is a Japanese rapper . And I was turned on to this song a year ago by one of my listeners. And I ended up playing it all the time in my sets. And it's just such a great tune.   [Ariana] Everyone loves this song.   [Colleen] Everyone loves this song. It's so rhythmic. It has a real 1980s kind of electro vibe. Which is why I play the Midnight Star. I even played it this week in the Netherlands. When I was doing a set between 3 and 6 on Tuesday morning. I know, Wednesday morning. I play Wednesday morning from 3 to 6 in the morning. I think that's a first. So why did you pick Django Django ? Because you love that song.   [Ariana] Because I heard it at your set.   [Colleen] You did? Where did you hear me play it? Everywhere.   [Ariana] No. There was this one time. You remember. It was with Gabs.   [Colleen] Oh, maybe.   [Ariana] Central London.   [Colleen] Central London somewhere.   [Ariana] Somewhere in Central London. But I've shown everyone since. And everyone always loves it.   [Colleen] It's such a tune. Such a tune. All right. This next one is another Philadelphia rapper, Bahamadia . And can you tell us why you picked this one?   [Ariana] My friend showed me this song. But I wasn't really used to the sound from her. But it all made sense. It remains one of the best tracks off her album, BB Queen. But it is a whole different sound to what she normally plays. She's also playing it this year. Everyone's playing it this year. But this is one of the best ones on the album.   [Colleen] What's it called? [Ariana] Pep Talk. [Colleen]  You're listening to Bloodlines on the Boat Pod with Colleen Cosmo Murphy and Ariana.   [Colleen] One of the originators of UK Garage, Wookie , featuring Lain with Battle , which was a hit for him back in 2000 when it was released as a third single from his only album. And it so reminds me of when I moved to London. And I was living in Tottenham in 2000 and listening to all the pirate radio stations, including one called Y2K, which sounds very corrupt FM right now. But, oh, my gosh, it was just so great to hear that sound. It sounded so fresh coming from New York City. And the reason why I picked that is because you, Ariana, picked the song before, which was MJ Cole 's Sincere , which was another big record for me. But you talk about that one.   [Ariana] I think it was during lockdown I found that song. But it's just bad. It reminds me of, like, just being drunk in the field when I was 14. It does, though.   [Colleen] The truth comes out. Maybe we should have been...   [Ariana] It does. And K-Side is even worse. It's, like, really outdated. [Colleen] It sounds very corrupt FM as well. [Ariana] No, but this track was always, like, one of my favorites. I used to bring my massive speaker to these shows and, like, I would always play that song every time. Oh, in Hackney Marshes? Yeah.   [Colleen] Yeah, very, very nice. Ahead of that, we also had a great song by Goldie , State of Mind . And the original version came out on his 1995 LP, Timeless, which is a timeless classic album . It's one of the ones that really put drum and bass onto the musical map as a really serious, serious art form. And I was working at Downstracts when that came out, a record shop in New York City. And we sold heaps of them, even in the U.S., where drum and bass wasn't as big. But that's a different remix by an Irish duo named Searchlight. And I played that as my last song on the beach at First Light Festival in Lowestoft recently. And people are a bit surprised I was playing a bit of drum and bass, but I used to. I like to keep people on their toes, Arianna. I like to keep them on their toes. You're listening to Bloodlines with myself, Colleen Cosmo Murphy, and my daughter, Arianna, here on the boat pod. We're going for another half an hour until 4 o'clock. And this next little section revolves around the loft and David Mancuso, a very dear friend of mine, the late David Mancuso, who started his loft parties in 1970, and he's one of my mentors. And he saw Arianna really grow up for, I guess, the first eight years of your life when he was still coming over to our house about four times a year to listen to records and have dinner. And he just loved being in a family home and just absolutely adored watching you grow up. And you picked a loft classic that we're going to play in another song, but I wanted to play something a little more recent, something new that I will play at our London loft party. And this is a great one by Nicola Conte. Nicola Conte is a composer, arranger, I think guitarist, producer from Bari, Italy, where the Schema Records scene is also in Bari, Italy as well. And he kind of melded acid jazz along with bossa nova and Latin jazz. And recently he was signed to Far Out, which do a lot of Brazilian reissues, but also newer Brazilian music, even though he's Italian. In any case, this song is called Life Forces , and it's remixed by my old boss over at Dance Tracks, Joe Claussel, Joaquin Claussel, and the song is called Life Forces.   [Colleen] The late Cuban percussionist Candido , who moved to New York City in 1946 and ended up playing with some big bands like those of Stan Kenton, Machito, also Dizzy Gillespie. But then he kind of was able to switch gears during the disco era. And that song he did originally release in 1970, but he kind of disco-fied it a little bit. It's very, very, very deep. In 1979, when he was signed to the Bronx record label Sal Sol, which was kind of a combination of salsa and also soul music. And it's a complete loft classic, and it's very deep and very, very subtle, and it always surprises me how much you love that song, Ariana.   [Ariana] It's just so dramatic.   [Colleen] Yeah.   [Ariana] It's a very dramatic song. It also reminds me of The Loft. It's a very good car ride song as well, because it takes up a lot of the journey. It does.   [Colleen] Are we there yet? Nine minutes.   [Ariana] Yeah, it reminds me of The Loft. It also reminds me of Could Haven Ever Be Like This, those long, passionate, very detailed songs, very intricate.   [Colleen] And very ethereal as well.   [Ariana] Yeah, very ethereal. But yeah, it just reminds me of The Loft and being a kid, and that's just kind of one of those ones that sums it up a lot for me. [Colleen] Oh, good. Wow, fantastic. Well, we're going to switch gears and kind of go a bit more down-tempo now as we wrap up the show. This is Colleen and Ariana on Bloodlines, taking you for another ten minutes or so. We're going to squeeze in a few more tunes. This next one is by Charlotte Gansbourg , and can you introduce it, Ariana? This is one of your choices.   [Ariana] This is quite an eerie song. Most of her tracks are very haunting. I think she's quite good at that, like Deadly Valentine, and this is Ring-a-Ring O' Roses. But this is, yeah, one of those emo-eerie songs that I found when I was in my emo phase. But this is Ring-a-Ring O' Roses.   [Colleen] on Bloodlines. [Colleen] Mon Amie La Rose by Françoise Hardy , who the late French icon, singer, also actress, fashion icon, and a French cultural icon who sadly passed away last month. A beautiful French chanteuse, a lot like what Charlotte Gainsbourg is right now, and you, of course, picked that one, Ariana, the Ring-a-Ring O' Roses, a beautiful song. Well, this is Colleen Cosmo Murphy and my daughter, Ariana. We're getting ready to wrap up this episode of Bloodlines here at the Boat Pod, and it's been so much fun. It's Ariana's first time on the radio, and we're going to finish with one of your favorite singers, one of your favorite musicians of all time.   [Ariana] I think she is my favorite singer of all time.   [Colleen] Well, why don't you tell us a little bit about it?   [Ariana] The next track I'm going to play is Amy Winehouse , What Is It About Men , live at the North Sea Festival. But this track is so special to me because I'm not sure. Have you watched Amy, the documentary ?   [Colleen] Yes, I have. Yeah, it's amazing.   [Ariana] And this live version features in the documentary, but I watched it again recently, and I always cry at the same bits, but I've watched it about six times now. But they play this track, the live version, in the documentary, and it's probably one of our best performances of all time.   [Colleen] Wow.   [Ariana] It really is so spiritual, but also there's a massive reggae influence in the live version. And it's only been 13 years since she passed away in three days' time, so this is also a big thing, four days' time. But yeah, this is What Is It About Men, live at the North Sea Festival. [Colleen] And Amy Winehouse rests in paradise. Thank you all for joining us. Thanks to The Boat Pod for having us, and Ariana, I just have to say it's been such an honor hosting your first radio show with you. Thank you so much.   [Ariana] It's been so fun.   [Colleen] And thank you all for listening.

Ross Allen interviewed Colleen on NTS1 during his "Soup to Nuts" show on NTS Radio, ahead of the "Balearic Brunch" series starting Sunday, 5th November 2023. Colleen Joined Ross Allen on NTS1 for a two-hour-long interview ( transcribed here ), returning on her life-long relationship with Music. An English DJ who presents a weekly radio show on NTS , an online radio station based in Hackney, London, Ross Allen worked as A&R for the record labels Filter (Dorado), Blue (Island), and Domino. He founded his labels, Casual Records, in 2003 and Foundation Music, in 2020. Of course, these two know each other very well, which allowed for a heartwarming, relaxed and deep-diving musical interview! Listen back to Ross' interview with Colleen: PLAYLIST ( 1967 ) Moody Blues – Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon) ( 1975 ) Silver Convention – Fly Robin Fly ( 1977 ) Jonathan Richman – Roadrunner ( 1982 ) Lene Lovich – Blue Hotel ( 1983 ) New Order – Age Of Consent ( 1983 ) Midnight Star – Freak-A-Zoid ( 1975 ) Brian Eno – I'll come running (To tie your shoes) ( 1992 ) Mr. Fingers – What About This Love? ( 1987 ) Lola – Wax The Van (Jon's Dub) ( 2000 ) Romanthony – Bring U Up (Floating Groove Vocal) ( 2003 ) Moloko (Eric Kupper, François K. mix) – Forever More (Vocal Mix) (2022) Lady Blackbird – Lost And Looking (Cosmodelica Remix) (1968) Van Morrison – Astral weeks THOUGHTS & LINKS I very often think about what drives each one of us to certain people... Sensitive as I am, I am very often driven by a Feeling, something intangible, something you can't explain with words, and it very often transcends the person itself. This is what happened to me with Colleen. Of course, you might think this blog is an "only praise" place. It is, but there are many reasons behind that reality, and the most important one is Music. But I won't go further in another "subjective" point of view; I will do better than that. Following the interview, I'll tell you a story supplemented with information that will, as always, enhance your listening experience. Are you ready? Let's go then... The show's opener retains an ocean of information about Colleen. It greatly represents how careful she is about starting a set, a show, or an interview; it's all about setting a tone, an ambience, a rhythm, a feeling, putting Music on the only pedestal it truly deserves: attention and utmost respect. There you have it, you already know that you're going to spend two great hours! Fun fact: If you listen carefully throughout the show, you'll hear that each time Ross puts his Mic on, the sound of the music slightly goes down ^^ Talking about her love for music, I just came to think about one of Colleen's previous interviews she did on Ant Bangos X zine where she said: "I'm attracted to 'music people' and vice versa. I'm not into the ego thing or playing the superstar Dj role and I think that appeals to the people that engage with what I do." I just love so much how Ross conducts this interview, he's so gentle, so laid-back, and so close; we feel he's loving this moment very much, and he transmits his palpable happiness to the listener! As Colleen shares memories of her young years discovering music, including the Moddy Blues aforesaid album, I couldn't help but think how important it is to share music with children from a young age, and there are some albums which are greater than others to share with your kids, "Days of Future Passed" to me is absolutely one of them because as Colleen reminds us, it is a concept album and it has a story that a child can listen to, understand and keep in his imaginative life. We could also think about other records like "Quadrophenia" , "Tommy" , "The Autumn Stone" , "Yellow Submarine" , "Ogdens Nut Gone Flake" and of course "The White Album" (wait a little bit longer to share "The Wall") . All of these will draw the child into a Musical wonderland from which he will never go back! Of course, don't forget to share with your children some classical music, Beethoven's 9th Symphony is an absolute mind-opener!! This is how my parents raised me; oh dear, see the result? A blogger (laughs)! Also, Colleen sharing her memory of her first turntable, made me think that we all have our own cherished memories with music, listening to it, discovering it! Fun Fact: If you listen closely, you'll hear when Ross hits the play button of the 1210s! All of these small sounds really bring us closer to our musical friends (bringing up another extract of Colleen's interview with Ant Bangos X Zine where she said, speaking about "Balearic Breakfast" "As I'm broadcasting from home, it has made it all more 'real'. Sometimes you can hear the plumber working on the shower or my daughter in the room above the record library. It has enabled me to throw down the guard and allow myself to be who I really am" . There you go! Listening back to "Fly Robin Fly" , I just remembered that vinyl compilations really helped me get into the disco era; if you love disco, then you must take the time to listen to the " Super Disco d'or " two-volume LPS. By the way, did you already pay attention to how wide the soundstage is on that track?! Also, if you're a regular listener of Balearic Breakfast, you'll have noticed that Colleen played Mr Finger's "What about this Love" in another version, namely this one, which is, furthermore, present on her " Balearic Breakfast Vol. 2 " compilation (read more about Colleen's passion for Mr Finger's 1992 album "Introduction" here and head over here for another great interview of hers she did for Dust & grooves (an absolute must-read by any means!)). A real Kaleidoscope, this interview with Ross made me think about another interview I read online and that I included in this blog where Colleen shared her love for radio and how it all led her to host Balearic Breakfast! Speaking about the loft, you always feel how humble Colleen has remained for all of these years. This, of course, with the fact that she is a heavy worker, absolutely motivates me to be more and more precise in the way I write the articles here, and, in itself, explains the existence of this blog. Another thing is that, whenever I listen to her, it seems there is always a lesson to learn... Colleen shared with us how much pressure she felt when David invited her to play some records at the loft because he only had two Koetsus back then, and if something happened, then that was it. True story: I bought a Koetsu a few years ago and when setting it up, my father was watching over my shoulder. And I kept saying to myself all the time, "That's a 5-dollar baby; keep cool" . Suddenly, I touched the diamond with my finger, and my father screamed in horror. I immediately answered him, "Oh God! You're frightening me more than me ruining this cartridge. For god sake if you can't handle this, leave me alone, argh! (laughs)!" There you go, another lesson as to how to be "Balearic": elude pressure. We'll dive deeper into that subject soon on the blog, though; laughs! By the way, did you notice that the Family section of the blog starts with an interview David Mancuso gave to Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, where he shares how important requests were to him? I chose to do that to enhance the fact that, to me, it is obvious that Colleen has a musical "Balearic" background even though it might not be the "publicly acknowledged" one. The last part of the interview shows how much "Balearic" it is, sharing memories about the hip-hop years and about François Kevorkian's importance in Colleen's life (with whom she had an interview during a memorable Classic Album Sundays evening), not forgetting about Roisin Murphy and other great people that crossed Colleen's life! Colleen Interviewed by Ross Allen [Ross Allen] Well, good morning and welcome along. You are in the Meltdown Zone. Ross Allen at the controls.   It's another special day today. We have another guest for a Foundation Music Special, Colleen Cosmo Murphy. Welcome along.       Hello, how are you?   Not bad, not bad. You've got such a good radio voice.   [Colleen] Oh, thank you.   You should do a show on NTS.   You know, I think I might just do that.   A few weeks.   Yeah, I'm starting actually. I think it's the 5th of November. I'm starting on 12 to 1 hosting a Balearic brunch on Sundays, a monthly Sunday.   [Ross Allen] That is something that we wanted to talk about. I mean, your sort of list of, I mean, you know, radio presenter, DJ all around the planet. The person, you know, continuing on David Mancuso's loft parties and taking that vibe even with the cartridges that we have.     Yeah, well, these cartridges aren't as high end as the loft ones. I can tell you that. But, you know, they're still great.   [Ross Allen] No, no, no, no, no. I like it. And Compiler recently from the radio show, your Balearic Breakfast compilations, Volume 2 now.   Yeah, I'm working on Volume 3.   [Colleen] Nice, nice, nice.   [Ross Allen] And you've done some great remixes. A brilliant one for me, which I have to thank you for.   [Colleen] I have to thank you too, because that one did very, very well. And I really enjoyed it. And it was such a fun remix too, because I love Lady Blackbird.   [Ross Allen] Yes, that was a killer. But more recently, Mild Life, Roisin Murphy, Jacob Gerevitz, which we played on the show and loved. It's kind of slightly more ambient excursion.   Yeah, more Balearic.   Yes, yes, yes, yes. Izzo, Fitzroy, David Holmes one, which just came out the other week. And I'm sure there's a lot more aligned.   [Colleen] Yeah, Shapeshifter is coming out on Defected next month as well. So more of a, you know, dancefloor filler. Hopefully. It's been working so far.   [Ross Allen] If it's working for you, that's the thing.   [Colleen] Yeah, exactly.   [Ross Allen] And then, you know, as you were talking about your love and the first track you played, the Moody Blues, and your love of the album, and one of the projects that you started quite a while back now was your album Appreciation Society, playing it on very high-end gear sound systems, the classic album Sundays. You're quite busy, aren't you?   [Colleen] I'm a busy gal. I sort of like music. You know, it's just been the thread that's kind of held my life together, I guess. It's been my longest love affair. It's still going !   [Ross Allen] Yeah, no, no, no, no, no. I think it's the one that doesn't end.   Yeah. Yeah.   [Colleen] Yeah. Hopefully.   [Ross Allen] I know the feeling. But no, I mean, I've known you a long time. It's lovely to have you in to talk to you about your journey through music.   I always love these shows because we just get to sort of, you know, wherever people are at in their careers, it's always fascinating, I think. I suppose just because the way it just affects me, do you know what I mean? And just even you pulling tunes out and going, oh, this reminds me of this.   And it's like, I'm always like that with records, do you know what I mean? I love the stories and the context. And I think we've had so many different guests in and even if people play the same track, no one's played the Moody Blues.   [Colleen] I can pretty much guarantee that.   [Ross Allen] No one's played the Moody Blues. But it's the context of it all. And I love it. And I love how music with people that love it and obviously the people that we get in do, how it affects their life, steers their life, moulds their life, those magical moments when it just kind of connects. So yeah, so we're going to go right back and come as forward as you can in the two hours that we've got. I know you've got a nice bag of records and some digital bits.   But tell me about the Moody Blues.   [Colleen] Well, The Days of Future Past was my first favourite album. And I know it's not very cool. It definitely wasn't very cool for a 12 year old girl to be loving this album too.   [Ross Allen] I think at 12 years old, that's quite cool, isn't it?   [Colleen] I think it is cool. It's a concept album.   [Ross Allen] You were obviously going back because you weren't 12 in 1967.   [Colleen] No, I wasn't 12. I wasn't even born. So I was born the following year.   And yeah, what happened was, is my dad brought home a turntable for me. It was a hand-me-down GE trimline, which was probably from the 1960s. And it had the drop-down turntable platter and the speakers that came out.   And I needed some records. And my uncle Dennis lived a few doors down. I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts and there were Murphys everywhere, the entire clan.   And he had a bunch of records and I borrowed that record because I knew Nights in White Satin. I had heard it on the radio and I loved that song. And I absolutely love the cover.   And for those that don't know, Days of Future Past is a concept album that kind of charts, it chronicles a day, ending with Nights in White Satin, of course. And there's little snippets in between. It's all held together by little vignettes from the London Philharmonic Orchestra.   So it gave me a real appreciation of the album format because I would sit and listen to the entire thing. And even though I had borrowed it because of Nights in White Satin, other songs became my favourite, like The Afternoon that we just heard.     [Ross Allen] Yes, yes, yes. And, you know, so, you know, in the context of you as a 12-year-old girl at school, were you sort of slightly differentiated from others? Or were you always, you know, this album, one of a load of other pop records that you were into at the time?   [Colleen] I was pretty different. I mean, I listened to everything. I knew Top 40 inside and out until I basically left Massachusetts because I worked in record shops too.   But I knew Top 40, I knew classic rock. It was actually, you know, I should probably queue up another record. But what happened was, is I was into the radio first.   And I got my first transistor radio when I was about 12. And I remember becoming really, really obsessed with it. And thinking, oh my gosh, you know.   [Ross Allen] Was it like a particular show or station? Or ?   [Colleen] The thing that was really good about Boston is that we had so many different types of radio stations because we had the most colleges in any other city in the States. And of course, college radio is huge. So we had all different kinds of music feeding in from that.   Plus, Boston's kind of a progressive liberal city. So we had really kind of more alternative radio stations, even the commercial stations. And my favorite commercial station, there were two.   There was WBCN, which was the one I listened to always in the morning. And they started in about 1968, really lefty, you know, one of the first album oriented rock stations. And had some great shows.   And then there's also Kiss 108, which had more kind of like the funk and all that kind of stuff. But then I also listened to like WCOZ and WAF that had harder rock. I listened to the Dr. Demento show at night. I was just really obsessed.   [Ross Allen] Dr. Demento, yeah.   [Colleen] The Dr. Demento show is a syndicated show in the 1970s. And he just played these kind of weird, funny novelty records. Okay. And it was quite fun.   It was on Sunday nights on WCOZ. And you know, and sit and listen to that. And another show, which I'll probably talk about in a few, was Oedipus' Nocturnal Emissions on WBCN, which was really great.   But yeah, I remember when I got my first transistor radio when I was seven years old, and I remember running upstairs and putting on, and I put it on and the song that came on was Silver Convention, Fly Robin Fly. [Ross Allen] Oh, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice. Good tune.   [Ross Allen] Fannigate.   Colleen Such a great song. And I guess it was kind of, you know, harbinger of the disco craze. It was to follow. And of course, I was one of those kids that was dancing around the living room with my friend Emily Jackson, dancing to Saturday Night Fever as well, because that was a huge part of my childhood, you know, as well as most, most kids in the 1970s. Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever, Grease.   [Ross Allen] Yes, yes, yes, yes. It's funny. I watched it.   I just got back from LA. I just watched the documentary on the Bee Gees. And the way that whole thing came together was quite amazing.   [Colleen] It's amazing, actually. I mean, there's such great songwriters, and they started in the 1960s, and we're doing more Beatles kind of things. And there's a song, I think it's called When the Morning Comes, I played recently on Balleric Breakfast, that Barry Gibb wrote, that so many people loved and covered, including Nina Simone.   So I mean, if Nina Simone is covering one of your songs, you know, you've made it as far as I'm concerned.   [Ross Allen] No, I thought it was obviously there was, you know, it was interesting. There was the whole thing with the Bee Gees. And then there was the Kaminsky Park thing.   And they sort of suffered, they were at their peak, and they suffered off the backlash.   [Colleen] They did, but black musicians suffered more.   [Ross Allen] For Sure !   [Colleen] And that's the thing that was really terrible. I remember interviewing Nile Rodgers once, and he said when that happened, they just lost their work overnight.   And he was, and that's why he became a producer in the 80s. Because they just, had to disband eventually. But I think the black musicians in America really suffered from that.   [Ross Allen] No, totally. I mean, the documentary was about the Bee Gees. So it talked about that.   And I think Jesse Saunders was on there as well. And talking about the whole race side of it. You know what I mean? Homophobic side.   [Colleen] Homophobic side. Sort of misogynist as well, sadly. But back to the Bee Gees though, More Than a Woman, one of the best songs. I was playing it recently three different times, blasting it. Their work on Saturday Night Fever is phenomenal. It really is.     [Ross Allen] There was a guy from RSO Records, and he was just saying that, you know, when they were talking about doing the film, and they had, they put together this compilation side of it, you know, with Fiffa Beethoven and whatever.   [Colleen] Walter Murphy.   [Ross Allen] Tramps and all. And, you know, they sent a tape in, and it had the five tracks in, and he would literally just flip through each one and went, Oh my God, there's that whap, bang, bang, whap, bang, bang.   [Colleen] Great songwriters, great singers, great songwriters.   [Ross Allen] Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Yeah, no, so I, yeah, the significance of those things and the seeping in of disco and everything, I can see that and felt it myself. Although it's funny, at the time, you don't really kind of clock these things.   But with hindsight, you're like, oh, yeah, I was kind of getting drawn into the sort of the world that I suppose that we've inhabited for a long time, these threads gradually come together.   [Colleen] Absolutely.   [Ross Allen] So, so, you know, you're at school, you're into the music. When did you start working in the record shop?   [Colleen] I started working in the record shop when I was 16. So before that, I, you know, I was making mixtapes and things. And then I started on the radio.   [Ross Allen] So just one button?   [Colleen] No, I just, I just had, I just had the, yeah, just the one button. And I started on the radio when I was 14. We had a 10 watt radio station.   So that's kind of where it all really started for me before I even got into the record store at the age of 16.   Ross Right, okay. And was that at school?   That was at school. It was a radio station that another uncle of mine had set up, helped set up when he was a student. I know I had like so many Murphys, it was crazy.   And they were all quite young. My dad was the eldest of six. So my aunt was like eight when I was born.   And the next uncle was 10. And so they would be, you know, we had the same teachers and everything. And yeah, so he was, my uncle Brian was one of the people who set it up in the early 1970s, which really benefited me because I started in high school in 1982.   And I was one of the people that had one of the weird shows because it was mainly classic rock, top 40. I think there was one Christian rock show. And then there was like mine.   And I did a different type of a show every single year. But this next song is one of those songs that I loved playing. Because it also reminds me of Massachusetts.   And, you know, we were driving around in cars blasting the radio.   [Ross Allen] So it was a good place to listen to music, the cars.   [Colleen] It's one of my favorite places. And acoustically, it's terrible. But you know, it doesn't matter.   Because it's all about the vibe. And I love even sometimes when I'm doing a remix, I think about, you know, if I'm listening, if I'm, if it's a work in progress, I put it on in the car. Because it just gives me a whole new perspective.   But yeah, I mean, you know, when you're in as a teenager, you know, you don't have your own home. So all the kids go into cars, we drive around, or we sit in the car, you know, it's like just to be away from the parents. And this this next artist actually grew up in the town next to mine, Jonathan Richman.   And he was a huge Velvet Underground fan. In fact, Velvet Underground played in Boston, more than New York City, which a lot of people don't know. Yeah, and Jonathan Richman was a kid and was hanging out with him and being really irritating, I'm sure because he's quite funny.   I don't know if he means to be but he is. Jerry Harrison, funny, peculiar. Yeah, very childlike.   He has some really funny songs about the vomitable snowman in the market, you know, like things like that. But this record is one of my favourite radio records and one of my favourite records to drive to. And it really just, it brings me back to Massachusetts.   And it's just it just means so much to me. I love that song.   [Ross Allen] It was interesting. We were chatting off mic and you know, that's how the whole thing you said about how much you love the 80s UK pop thing. And I suppose that's when was that?   Is that like sort of early?   [Colleen] Early 80s, I believe. Yeah, exactly.   [Ross Allen] And I was, you know, it always makes you know, I sort of thought about those two sort of British invasions of America, you know, the one in the 60s, which is well documented. And then the 80s one, I just, you know, it's that sort of embracing of the synth.   [Colleen] And dance music as well, I think. And it's, you know, it's interesting because there was so much great British pop music coming out. I mean, you had all the Trevor Horn stuff, which was he was one of the sounds of the 80s as far as I'm concerned.   There was so many great, great tunes.   Ross Vince Clark and Depeche Mode.   Colleen Then you had all the Vince Clark, Depeche Mode stuff.   But yeah, I got Blue Hotel and Lena Lovitch in general is was kind of a turning point for me musically because I grew up listening to music on the radio. My family listened to more classic rock kind of stuff. It wasn't they weren't going out there and finding different sounds.   And I was in the drama club as well in high school and in middle school as well. And there was an older guy who was very cool. And he said, here, we're sitting in the bleachers or whatever in the auditorium.   And he said, here, listen to this. And he put a Sony Walkman on my ears. And I heard Lena Lovitch.   And I didn't know about the B-52s. I didn't know about Lena Lovitch. I didn't know about Elvis Costello.   I didn't know about any of these bands. And that was the thing. Yeah, that's that was the album that got me going into a whole different direction musically.   So it was really, really important. And then after that, I was just getting into a lot of you know, I said before I was listening to this radio show called Nocturnal Emissions by Oedipus, who was the program director of WBCN and who I ended up later working with in the 90s, which is quite cool.   Ross What was he like ?   Colleen He had a really interesting show.   Yeah, his show was all like, it's where I first heard Brian Eno. It's where I first heard New Order. It's where I first heard so many different bands.   [Ross Allen] Yeah.   [Colleen] And it was just very, it was, I guess we didn't have a name for it. Then there was no such thing as alternative music. It would have been post-punk or whatever.   But it's really what started to get me, you know, I remember hearing Babies on Fire by Brian Eno for the first time and going, oh my gosh, what's this? You know, I can remember the moments and I used to tape the show. And, you know, there was no way to find out about music.   I didn't, we didn't have Melody Maker, NME. We had Rolling Stone. You know, we didn't even have Spin at that time.   And so it was basically taping radio shows and then talking to other people and then going, I started really buying records before I started working in a record shop. I started seriously collecting when I was about 15. So going into Boston and, you know, buying, going into the big city and buying a bunch of records.   [Ross Allen] How far out of Boston were you?   [Colleen] You know, it was, it was about, oh, I know her. I know her. It's so funny.   She's walking by in Dresden. I, I went about 40 minutes on the, on the T. And you know, not that far, really.   [Ross Allen] So you're sort of in the suburbs of Boston?   [Colleen] In the suburbs.   [Ross Allen] And was there quite a sort of musical culture within Boston?   [Colleen] No. In Boston, definitely. Boston was a very big rock town, more so.   I mean, it did have a dance scene in which I did participate and go to a few different places, like in Roxbury, during the whole freestyle movement. And Roxbury had a lot of Latinos, a lot of people from Puerto Rico. And then that, that sound was very big.   You know, Louis Vega started in the Bronx with that sound around the same time. But so, but yeah, and there were a few dance clubs.   [Ross Allen] John Luongo is from Boston, isn’t he ?   [Colleen] John Luongo is, Arthur Baker is as well.   [Ross Allen] Arthur told me when he came in and did one. He was so, but he sounded like kind of similar to you. You know, he didn't, he didn't sort of, I mean, he, you know, he made his first disco records in, in Boston.   But then I think it was almost like, right, it's just a quick leap to New York City. Yeah, exactly. He took his records there.   And obviously, that was a sort of epicenter.   [Colleen] Well, that's what we kind of all did. You know, I remember I was, you know, I went to university in New York, and I could have gone to Boston, you know, and, but yeah, it was just time to kind of get to get to a bigger place, really, because Boston is a small town, although I love it. It's a great city, and a great walking city.   A lot of Europeans like it.   Ross Yeah, no, I've been there fleetingly. It's been very nice. So, you know, you're going to play a New Order record. Is this from that radio show? Or is this from the record shop?   [Colleen] Both actually. I mean, when I heard this song, I'm sure I heard on Oedipus' show first. It is probably a song that defines teenagehood for me and is one of my favorite songs, I think of all time.   And I think, I don't know, I'm hoping it doesn't define teenagehood because it's called Age of Consent. But in any case, I think the thing that's so great about New Order, I mean, this is, you know, one of their early albums, Power, Corruption, and Lies, and they weren't going as far into dance music territory as they did. But you can start to hear the difference between Joy Division and New Order.   It's just so compelling. And it's just a song that I absolutely love and just brings me back to that moment in time and all of these great British bands, especially bands from Manchester.   [Ross Allen] If you just tuned in, it's the Meltdown, a foundation music special with Colleen Cosmo Murphy. The worlds are colliding at this point.   [Colleen] Yeah, the worlds are definitely colliding. And you know, I was like, listening to things like New Order. And you know, that and also a lot of that New Wave stuff was going into downseat territory, like the first Ministry album, a bunch of stuff.   And there were great imports on 12 inch coming out coming over to the US.   [Ross Allen] I always love that, that, you know, like, there's, you know, imports for us in the UK, where things like this, and going to Groove Records. And I love the when you talk to Americans, they're like, you know, British records going to the States is always kind of, it just makes me sort of...   [Colleen] Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I worked in two different record shops when I was in high school.   And one was called Strawberries, which was more mainstream, but massive.   Ross And did you have imports there?   Colleen We had more imports at Newberry Comics.   Okay. And Newberry Comics started in Newberry Street in Boston. Amy Mound from Till Tuesday worked there.   That was very impressive to me. But they opened one up out in Framingham, near where I'm from. And I that's where we got all the great imports because they had comic, but they started with comic books, but they had more alternative, you know, different types of records, whereas Strawberries was a bit more mainstream.   Ross Yeah, okay.   Colleen Yeah. So with this record, I remember when it came out, and I was really getting into that kind of freestyle, electro sound.   I was going to this underage disco called the Gazebo. Yeah, which was next to the Chateau de Ville in Framingham on Route 9. It was really glamorous. And also you know…   [Ross Allen] you know, the image in your head.   [Colleen] Yeah, I can see it right now. It's actually not too far from the record shop. But it's before I started working at the record shop.   And my first concert I remember is, when I was about 15, I went to the Providence Funk Festival at the Providence Civic Center. That sounds good. It was really good.   It was Headliners, Gap Band, and then supported by Oneway, Barkays, and Grandmaster Millie Mo.   Roiss Sick   Colleen And that was really cool. But it was a really interesting time.   [Ross Allen] So your first gig.   [Colleen] That was my first gig. My first live gig. Yeah.   But then, you know, when I started working in a record shop, because my tastes were so diverse, I was going out a lot. And I remember there was one week I would go to the All Ages Hardcore Show at Matinee on a Sunday at the Channel, and I would see Black Flag, you know, when Henry Rollins looked like Jesus before he started bodybuilding. And then I'd go see Stevie Ray Vaughan, see some blues at the Boston Opera House.   Then I'd went to the Worcester Center and I'd see Prince Purple Rain tour. So I was seeing a lot of B-52s and loads of British bands and New Order, of course. There was a riot at the show, and it's actually in Peter Hook's book.   [Ross Allen] Really?   [Colleen] And yeah, because New Order don't do encores. And the Bostonians were not impressed and started ripping seats out of the Opera House. But I guess it got really dicey because in Peter Hook's book, he said some people even followed them to the van and had bottles and stuff.   I'm like, oh, my gosh. I just left. But I left nicely.   But I had a great memory. I saw The Smiths meet his murder tour there. And at the end, a bunch of us jumped on stage and danced.   And I was dancing next to Jenny Marr. And I was just like, wow, I couldn't believe it. And it was, yeah, so there's a lot of great live shows.   And also, you know, little clubs, there's more of a live music town, but some clubs as well.   [Ross Allen] So you're fully, and at that time, were you thinking, this is what I want to do? Or were you just sort of like just loving it and not really thinking about anything else?   [Colleen] You know, yeah, I mean, I did think I could just work in a record shop the rest of my life. That was an option. But I actually did very well in school.   I did very well as a student. And I ended up not even knowingly, I became number eight in my class of 200. And everyone's like, you need to go to you should go to university.   And no one in my family had gone. And so I ended up applying to a few schools, all that had great radio stations. I knew what I wanted to do.   I wanted to, you know, be in radio. And I only applied to schools that had great radio stations. And one of them was NYU, which had one of the biggest college radio stations in the country, WNYU.   And you can imagine because it's so dense population, they had a, you know, they had 100,000 listeners per show. That's huge going from a 10 watt radio station in high school to like, no one's really listening. Or are they?   A few people. But, you know, so that was quite, that was the reason I went to New York.   [Ross Allen] What did you study when you went to?   [Colleen] Radio and sound. I went to NYU film school, but I specialized in radio and sound. So I was like doing editing on tape and producing.   [Ross Allen] So it was a course based around the radio station?   [Colleen] Yeah, it was on the same floor. We had this great floor and had two radio stations. We had the amazing facilities.   You know, AM and FM radio stations. We had a big newsroom. Tabitha Soren, who later went to MTV News, was my newscaster on one of my shows.   A lot of people, a lot of talent went to different places. It was a great, great training ground. And we had a great listening audience.   And I did a bunch of different radio shows there.   [Ross Allen] In terms of music shows, interview shows, or, you know, magazine shows or whatever?   [Colleen] All of those actually. Yeah, one was like the Evening Drive, New Afternoon Show, which was one of the anchor shows, which was, you know, all new kind of, now I hate to say the word alternative, but it's before it was college rock music. It was a variety of stuff though, because there's so many different things coming out, whether it was the wax track stuff from Chicago would also go on that show to, you know, all different Nick Cave to the butthole surfers to whatever.   And I did a psychedelic 60s show as well. And I called Plastic Tales from the Marshmallow Dimension . I kid you not.   And I did a show. I was quite relieved when I heard that John Peel had a show called the Perfume Garden. And then I did a show called Headphone Theater, which was all radio drama that I produced together into a big thing.   And, you know, this was quite a lot of stuff. And then later in the 90s, that's when I got into dance music heavily. And I did it.   We'll talk about that.   [Ross Allen] Well, you've got a Brian Eno record.   [Colleen] Yeah. I mean, I told you before that the first Brian Eno song I heard was Babies on Fire and that got me digging. So I'd go into Nuggets in Boston or Planet Records and I just buy any Brian Eno album.   And this album I love because it has a cross between his ambient stuff and his pop stuff. And it's a song, this album I listened to a lot in my college dorm room, actually. And I just think this song is so beautiful.   It's almost like a love, it is a love song. And it's called I'll Come Running by Brian Eno from Another Green World.   Beautiful.   It's such a soothing album where the production is and it's so deep, but it's so musical. And I think this is like an early introduction to house music for me. You know, my friend Adam Goldstone had been bringing me to some of the 80s clubs, you know, Adam.   And, you know, I would go to tracks and see a Dave play. But this was an album that every single song, Mr. Finger's introduction, I just fell in love with. I had a couple of Robert Owens songs, mainly Larry Hurd singing.   But it has like pop, jazz, house. And it's so finely crafted. And the keyboard sounds and just the beautiful chord structures and I can go on and on and on. But this is the one that just really did it for me.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, it's such a killer tune. So obviously, I mean, you're in New York, you're into music in general.   And are you gradually getting dragged into sort of the nightlife or, you know, like drifting into it and sort of finding out about the sort of this black underground world?   [Colleen] Absolutely. And some of it was British too, to be fair. I mean, I lived in Japan in 1989 for four months.   I was a radio DJ there. And one of the albums we played all the time was was Soul to Soul Club Classics Volume One. And so I was getting into that.   Massive Attack, of course, had Blue Lines. So I was really into that. I was also producing a syndicated radio show called Music View, which went out to 200 college stations.   So I was interviewing a load of British artists like Primal Scream, Screamadelica was one of my biggest albums because it kind of melded that indie sound that I loved. Yeah. And college rock sound that I loved.   And that Southern, you know, Rolling Stones kind of Exxon Main Street-esque kind of sound to with dance music. And then I started interviewing people like AFX Twin and Orbital and all these different people and then all the indie bands like The Verve and all that. But that was another part of my life in the early 90s.   So I was doing all that. And then I was going out at night and Adam was bringing me to, you know, I went to the shelter. I went to Save the Robots.   I was going to all different places. And then, you know, and then Adam brought me to David Mancuso's party, The Loft, for the first time. Yeah.   [Ross Allen] And how was that? Was that was that, you know, markedly different to those other places?   [Colleen] It was markedly different. And it just resonated with me more musically because it was more all embracing. And, you know, David, I later found out David and I shared a favorite album, which I brought with me.   I haven't played yet, which is Astral Weeks by Van Morrison. And David was a hippie. He was 24 years older than me.   So he was actually older than my dad, but he was in his late 40s by the time I met him. And I just we just, you know, I would go to his party all the time and I would just stay, sometimes I'd stay there all night, you know, from midnight to noon the next day. In the morning, he'd be playing like The Orb.   We all loved The Orb. And he'd be playing Jimi Hendrix. Or the whole album, Adventures in the Ultra World, Ultra World, Ultra Orb.   Adventures in any case. Yeah, exactly. That was so good.   And then Jimi Hendrix. So there was a lot, there was a hippie sensibility, you know, that a girl whose first favorite album was Moody Blues, Days of Future Past, that I could tap right into. And I was turned on to so many different songs and styles.   And, you know, I was producing these syndicated radio shows in the day, you know, interviewing all these bands. Oasis, I'd be interviewing Noel Gallagher, I'd be doing that in the daytime. And then in the evening, I'd be going over to Dance Tracks where my friends were working.   And I'd be kind of just helping out organize records and Joe Claussel would be saying, do you have this? Do you have this? Do you have this?   And they were paying me in records.   [Ross Allen] In the new stuff or sort of schooling you in the classics and the whole New York culture.   [Colleen] Yeah, all the classics. And it was cool because at that time, disco wasn't popular. So there were all these kind of charity shops, thrift stores, as we call them there.   And even bodegas in the Lower East Side. I'd go in the back, there'd be a bunch of records. I would find stuff like, you know, White Label of Macho City by Steve Miller Band for a dollar.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, yeah, yeah.   [Colleen] You know, I find all these Larry LeVan mixes. I never went to the Paradise Garage because it closed in 87.   [Ross Allen] Did you just go to World? Did you see him there? I know Adam used to go there.   [Colleen] I went to the World. Yeah, I was actually in a Beastie Boys video shot at the World.   Ross Oh, really?   Colleen Yeah, 1986.   Ross What one was that?   Colleen No Sleep Till Brooklyn.   Oh, really? Yeah, I'm in the crowd with my friend who's a real punk, a Long Island skate punk. Another story for another time.   Something for the memoirs. But yeah, and I used to love the World.   Ross So you got to see Larry LeVan DJ at World?   Cplleen No, no, no. I never heard him DJ. Adam took me to The Choice in 1990.   I was living on 9th Street between B&C and the East Village. And The Choice was actually at David's house, David Mancuso's house. But he wasn't doing the loft yet.   He was just renting his venue out. And I'm not quite sure who played at The Choice that night because there were three different DJs. It could have been it could have been Joey Yanos.   It could have been Frankie Knuckles or could have been Larry LeVan. I don't know. Sadly, Adam was no longer with us.   I can't ask him. But as far as I'm aware, I never heard Larry LeVan play. And you know what, I don't even listen to the recordings.   I tried before. They never really sound like the moment. I don't listen to recordings of myself DJing or anyone.   Even David's people would record his sets, you know, just, you know, on microphones and stuff. And it's just never the same thing. But I was really becoming obsessed with his mixes, his remixes.   Ross The Larry Levan ones   Coleen And yeah, just so great and dubbed out. And he knew what worked on a dance floor. You know, it was, you know, had the cerebral side, but also the visceral side of what was, you know, what was going to make you dance?   What had the funk?   [Ross Allen] Yeah, I was gonna say there's definitely, you know, especially when it all slowed down, you know, Tanya Gardner's and those kind of, you know, you know, it's just, yeah, I love that period where, you know, it's almost, I sometimes think it's similar to what's going on today in so much as, you know, if house is disco, you can see, you know, with these fusions that are going on now of like hip hop and house coming together, whether it's Channel Trey or Nez or even on that Beyonce album, this sort of blackening of what has been slightly bleached out from its original inception. And I think that that was what I know, you know, what I love about the whole Paradise Garage thing. Again, I was never there.   I did see him play at Ministry. But it's just that thing of just, it just got funky. It was just so funky.   And there was this sort of the uptempo sort of high energy kind of disco thing going on. And this just got sort of down and dirty. And even if it was still, you know, it's my one of my, the record you're about to play is the tempo that I love the most.   Yeah, that sort of 110, 115, like chuggy, funky kind of thing. And I mean, you know, when house music came out, we also thought it was really fast. Because we were listening to sort of, you know, I don't know, I don't know why.   [Colleen] You're listening to hip hop.   [Ross Allen] But at the same time, I don't know if we did think it was it was, it felt fast, because I think it was so minimal. Oftentimes, you know what I mean? It was so raw.   That I think that sparseness meant that it was just all about the four to the floor a lot of the time. And that is what made it feel quite fast. And definitely, in comparison to what was going on in London with the hip hop, the rare groove, the go go, all those kinds of things.   House music did sort of stand out for a while, until sort of 88. And a lot of places as slightly up tempo, and a bit sort of like, Oh, we're gonna get into this or not, you know, so I think so. But yeah, this this tempo that you've and you know, you've you've bought in one of my all time favourite records, the record that when my ex said, what about calling her Lola?   I was like, Yeah, that's the name of that one of my records, Wax the Vans.   [Colleen] It was the name of Bob Blank's wife.   [Ross Allen] Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Tell us why you picked this?   [Colleen] Well, you know, I befriended David. I mean, basically what happened was I had a radio, I was so inspired by dance music. I started two new radio shows, one that was called Soul School on Friday nights.   And one was it was Club 89, which was a live house mix show. And they were both on WNYU. And I asked Dave, I was playing a lot of loft and Paradise Garage classics on Soul School.   And I thought I'd love to have David come up and play some records. And so I asked a mutual friend, he could ask him, you know, for me, even though he knew who I was, I, I've never been the one to like bum rush the floor, except for, you know, when the Smiths play. But in any case, I don't bother people when they're working and playing in or in the zone, you know, I would just kind of hang out.   I'm a bit shy in that way anyways. So David said, Yeah, I'd love to hang out with her. He knew who I was.   And so he went out for drinks. And we started talking about the synchronicity of music. And he came out, he, we, that was the beginning of our friendship.   And that we came up to the radio show, we played records, he didn't want to talk, he was too shy. And I never, it never even crossed my mind that the next thing would happen. It never entered my head as even a possibility.   He said, why don't you come and play some records with me at The Loft? And I was like, what? And you know, it's not just the crowd who are so discerning.   It's also the equipment. And, you know, there's no headphone jack, you're using an ML1 preamp with two phono channels. So there's no way to even cue a record.   [Ross Allen] Okay.   [Colleen] And you also are using cartridges, which I was telling you about before, you think these are high end. The Koetsus were, well, sadly, the son, Sugano Jr. just passed away recently, so no longer in production. But some of the best cartridges in the world and moving coil cartridges made, handcrafted in Japan.   And David was really suffering at that time financially. I mean, he didn't have any money. The Loft wasn't really in full swing.   He was having a hard time getting people to come out over to Alphabet City. It just seemed too far away and too dangerous for some people. And I was terrified of the cartridges because I had only heard, yeah, those cartridges cost $2,000 each and he only has two and doesn't have a backup.   And if one gets whacked, that's it. So the pressure was on, you know, and there was no like sound check. I just use like, okay, here we go.   Come on. This is how you do it. And I was like, okay.   [Ross Allen] So was that your first DJ gig?   [Colleen] No, my first DJ gig actually, I actually played at Mars in the 80s and CBGB's Record Canteen through the radio station. And then I had other gigs, like I was asked to play at the African Street Festival in Brooklyn by some listeners. And there I am, like the white girl, you know, playing in the African Street Festival in Brooklyn.   Really funny. But yeah, I just, this was kind of probably the most significant, but it wasn't a gig, it was a party. So it's just, you just did it.   And the record, the first record I wanted to play was an Arthur Russell record. I didn't know David had known Arthur. I didn't know much about David.   There's no internet then. So this is like 1991, 92, 93, I think is the first time I played.   [Ross Allen] But did you know the sort of like the significance of him and the effect he had on sort of New York kind of dance culture?   [Colleen] Yeah, I have heard about it. A bunch of people I knew were friends with Larry Levan, had been friends with Larry Levan. In fact, David hosted Larry Levan's memorial. It was a three day memorial, which was amazing.   And David and Larry had a relationship, a friendship. And Larry still called, from what I understand, called the loft home. More than the Paradise Garage.   [Ross Allen] Oh, really?   [Colleen] So yeah, so that was home. And you know, David had let Larry play records. So it was quite an honor to then be asked.   And that, of course, led on to much others, much other stuff after that. But this, this was the first record. And it was funny because it's an inside cut.   So I had to do it by eye, you know, no headphones, and it worked.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, that's what I was gonna ask about that sort of no headphones thing. How does that work? You just cue it up and then...   [Colleen] I used to have great eyesight. I don't anymore. So I have to wear glasses.   But yeah, it's all by eye. Because you can't back cue a koetsu and there's no headphones anyways. So I had to know all of my records before I went.   So I was studying and listening to stuff. I only played four records. So you know, I over paired as usual.   But this record, I remember when I played it, he turned to me and says, very good, Colleen.   [Ross Allen] I was just saying, I'm Miss Lola. But I know everyone plays this. I mean, but I just I remember buying that when it first came out.   And I, yeah, I mean, this is great. But the other side, it's I just loved her nutty voice. And it's also a thing, which I sort of love is that, I don't know, is she a Latino?   Colleen I don't know. Possibly.   Ross It's that whole thing with a lot of like, sort of New York records where you get those singers.   And they're not black. But they got that soul. But they're, they just got that intonation, which I think is that sort of, you know, whether they're Puerto Rican or whatever.   [Colleen] You think at least in the cult jam.   [Ross Allen] Yeah. And then there's another record, which I can't think of at the moment, which I absolutely adore. In India, of course.   Get on up and do it again.   [Colleen] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.   [Ross Allen] Whoever that girl is. Get on up and do it again. That sort of voice.   Colleen Suzie Q.   Ross That's it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That sort of voice I love. And I mean, this was I knew nothing about Arthur Russell when this came out. I was just like, oh, my God, what is going on?   [Colleen] I know you start putting the pieces together with this stuff. Like, that's him as well.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But it was just that thing, I think at the time with these records, they're just, you know, I mean, and then in a way, that's what I love about dance music. And I'm still, I still hear it now where, you know, wherever they may be from.   I was listening to some African thing this morning, I don't know what it was, DJ Zenobia. And it was just like, what is that? And that is what I love about this music, you know, just that sort of, as well as its danceability and its funkiness.   And, you know, once it gets into a bit of a sort of straight pattern, I'm a bit like, oh, you know, I know it now, you know, I always found that after, you know, it was always kind of interesting for me, like New York and Seoul, when they did the Nervous track, was just like, oh, my God, what is that?   [Colleen] Incredible. Big record, The Loft as well.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, but just the breaks and just that whole kind of thing. And then I just, I mean, and I did like the album they made. But what happened after it, and this would be interesting to talk to you about actually, is I just, I thought that the house music from New York City all of a sudden took influence from New York and Seoul and the live elements.   And all of a sudden, it became a bit boring.   [Colleen] I mean, sometimes it can be a bit samey. And I think that's the truth, though, with all of the different forms of dance music or any music, you know, it does eventually get watered down. There's something works, people jump on it, and then it gets watered down.   And we can say this with any form of music.   [Ross Allen] For sure, for sure. I suppose a city that I'd always loved and, you know, I mean, there's, you know, we had Ellie Escobar on and all the stuff he's doing at the moment, you know, he's, you know, there's never writing any particular genre, but in general, if I go through Tracksource now, I really struggle to get a, you know, like a record that I'm like, you know, I mean, I will do it. I've sat there and gone through 200 tracks on Tracksource and gone, oh, there's four for me.   But it's sort of interesting, because at this time, you know, it was just, I mean, you know, like other records on even on that label, like Russ Brown, Find a Way.   [Colleen] Such a good one. That's a great one, too.   [Ross Allen] So many good things. And obviously, it's sort of, that was the sort of, you know, house music or dance music, whatever you want to call it was sort of coming together and formulating into this kind of much more...   Colleen Post-disco as well.   Ross Yeah, homogenized kind of thing. And yeah, but yeah, no, anyway, to the point that record I love.   [Colleen] Yeah, well, the next record I'm going to play was another... I have to say I'm very proud of that one.   [Ross Allen] I love the intro.   [Colleen] Hello, here I am. Hello.   [Ross Allen] Did you wave?   [Colleen] I did. I waved everyone. I was probably like, I hope this works.   I was probably, knees were probably shaking. But this next record as well is also another artist who is very much in his own sphere and quite idiosyncratic. And it's Romanthony.   And I was playing a lot of his records. I had this radio show, Club 89. And of course, Roman had his own record label, Blackmail Records.   And he'd come in from New Jersey and he'd sell directly to Dance Tracks. I mean, he also was distributed through Downtown 161. But sometimes he'd bring in some white labels and come straight to Dance Tracks.   And we became friends. He was a Virgo like me. And I just loved, I mean, I was a big Prince fan.   And to me, he was kind of like the house music version of Prince, like in the way that Blaze is the house music version of Earth, Wind & Fire, you know? But I have to say Roman was quite lo-fi. But he did, I had so much respect for him because he did it all himself.   You know, I mean, some of the records that I have, you can see they're like Xerox labels that he's put on that are coming off, you know? And we became friends and he came up to my radio show. I think I have that show up on my Mixcloud.   It was a really fun show. He was DJing. And, you know, he'd come in from New Jersey and sometimes he'd crash on my couch because I was living on Canal Street in Chinatown at the time, if you didn't want to go all the way back to New Jersey.   And we just became friends. And this song in particular, I was looking for the original acoustic version of The Wanderer, which I cannot find. I don't know what happened to it because that was one of my favorite songs of his.   But this one is one that I just absolutely love. It's kind of lo-fi gospel meets Prince. So should we have a listen to it?   It's Rome Anthony, Bring You Up.   [Ross Allen] Definitely got the funk.   [Colleen] Definitely has the funk. Lo-fi funk, but he has the funk.   [Ross Allen] No, I love it though. I love it. I mean, I suppose that's sort of talking about those early house records.   And it's that rawness that you love about it. You know, it's just integral to it.   [Colleen] Absolutely. I mean, I love beautifully arranged stuff like Fingers, like Larry Murray, but on the other side, having something that's really raw and just to the point and focused. And it's just that kind of kernel of a song in a sense.   But just really, really works on the dance floor.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, well, I mean, yeah, that definitely is a party starter, if not sort of a rocker. And, you know, I remember when those records first came over here, it was a bit like, oh, my God, what's that? That's what I just said to you.   You know, it's that thing of a bit like when Moody Man came out. It was sort of like, you know, you had that raw, loose. Groove bass.   Kind of slightly underplayed, you know, but it's just got the energy, you know, it's got the funk.   [Colleen] Absolutely.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, yeah, yeah.   [Colleen] So, yeah, so that was one of the big records that I would play out in New York because then I started, you know, playing quite a bit. The Club 89, my show kind of blew up. It was one of the few house shows and we didn't have a lot of house on the radio there.   So it's like me, Disciple, Jeannie Hopper. Oh, yeah, I remember Jeannie Hopper. Tony Humphreys, of course, being the famous one.   And really, that was kind of it. I mean, people discovered house music on my show because, you know, being on an FM station as opposed to an online one, you'd be driving in your car at home and you'd be flipping around between 88 and 92 where all the cool stations were. And, you know, in America, house music wasn't as big as it was here, obviously.   [Ross Allen] By that point, New York had been saturated with hip hop.   [Colleen] Oh, yeah. I mean, hip hop was commercial music. In fact, I mean, even though when I first started DJing, I played a bit of hip hop.   And actually, one of my early radio shows in the early 80s did, you know, it was called Punk Funk and Junk. I kid you not.   [Ross Allen] Sounds good.   [Colleen] Yeah, and so I was playing electro and like, you know, early run DMC and IRT and all that stuff. But by this time, I loved hip hop, but I didn't need to play it because other people played it better than me. And it wasn't the style where I was.   And plus, I heard it all the time. You know, I heard it all the time anyways. I used to listen to Red Alert and people like that.   And I loved those songs. I actually interviewed a lot of those artists like Gangstar and Pete Rock and CL Smooth, my syndicated show. But I would get very irritated when I was out, you know, as a working DJ and people asking for hip hop because it was commercial.   It was commercial to us, even though I loved it. I just wasn't a hip hop DJ. And I'm like, you know, house music.   House music was the underground thing there, you know. But yeah, I was, I was.   [Ross Allen] It's an interesting differentiation, I think, because obviously, I mean, you know, hip hop took the world over, you know. But, you know, over here, there was that sort of, there was, you know, there was quite a divide of, you know, it was sort of, there were people that loved house and that sort of, you know, which, and it became a bit more sort of, you know, Eurocentric, I guess. Do you know what I mean?   You know, and then sort of, you know, a lot of black underground clubs here would be playing hip hop. And it's a very different thing. It would always freak me out when I'd go to New York or even when I go to LA now.   And it's just in the air.   [Colleen] Yeah, it's everywhere.   [Ross Allen] And here, it was still, you know, it was either on particular radio stations, particular shows, and in particular clubs. And, you know, I mean, I didn't really watch MTV and things like that necessarily so much. So, I don't know.   Do you know what I mean? But it was, you know, it is that thing, I think, when you're in New York, you know, it is the pop sound.   [Colleen] Yeah. Although I did experience, you know, I love Public Enemy and Chuck D. And I did go on the Stop the Violence show.   I think it was 1989 at the Apollo in Harlem. And that was so...   [Ross Allen] Was that when they did the record?   [Colleen] Yeah. So, yeah, so it was, I think it was 1989. I believe it was.   And it was me and a friend of mine. I think we're two of the only white people in the whole place, which was great, you know. And I loved it.   It was so amazing. And so that didn't feel as pop. It definitely felt more underground.   And it just had so much gravitas. I mean, I hear Public Enemy and you just jump out of your seat. The production, the lyrics, I mean, they were just one of my favourites.   [Ross Allen] Well, I suppose those years you're talking about are the years when it transitioned. Do you know what I mean? From being that underground sound to being, you know, to taking over.   I read that Dan Charnas book, I don't know if you've read it, it's like The Business of Hip Hop. He wrote the one about Jay Dilla, but his previous book is incredible. It's all about the business of hip hop and how hip hop evolved as a business.   And, you know, I was always fascinated by how the fact it was this, you know, house and hip hop and go-go, all these little regional underground scenes. But then hip hop just, it basically, the radio stations just flipped. Boom, boom, boom.   And they went from rock stations, the format became the thing. And, you know, that period from sort of, you know, I don't know, I suppose, 88 to sort of 94, you know, with all those massive records coming out, whether it's The Chronic or Snoop Dogg or whatever, you know, the West Coast thing kind of kicked in. And, yeah, it was quite fascinating because I was always over here looking at it and thinking, yeah, you know, I mean, I sort of get it in a way, you know, hip hop was always sort of, or house music was sort of black gay underground music, you know, in its initial inception.   And maybe that's what sort of stopped it connecting. But, you know, it was, you know, the medium that translated it over was the radio stations. And in his book, he deals with the whole fact that it just, that it flips.   And it is the pop music, you know, of the streets, if you like.   [Colleen] Absolutely. And that's great, you know. But yeah, as a DJ, I was, it wasn't my thing, you know.   And when I first started DJing, like everyone, I played everything from Downs Hall to whatever. But as you get more focused and you become more of, you're built, you're focusing your talent more, I guess, in your sound.   [Ross Allen] Well, there was that New York thing I always loved was the fact that you'd have, you know, Red Alert and then Tony Humphries.   Colleen Yeah.   Ross And then you had all those records like Blood Vibes by Masters at Work.   And, you know, there was that brilliant hip hop in that golden age you talk about. And, you know, you know that a load, you know, go to those clubs and early on, it would be hip hop. And raga.   Colleen Yeah.   Ross And then it would just, and then it would gradually crank up. And you had people like Bobby Condors doing his things.   And then gradually it was, you know, the late night music was the house music and then the classics.   [Colleen] Those are like the working gigs. So like at Nell's and stuff like that, Giant Step was like that. Giant Step was great.   And I used, you know, any working DJ in New York, you play it from 10 to 4. So you did six hour sets at least a couple of times a week. And you did have to kind of move it around.   But then I started to get known for a sound, which was great. And that's when Francois, you know, asked me to play at Body and Soul. [Ross Allen]   And how'd you get to meet Francois? Was that just through dance tracks?   [Colleen] Well, yeah, he was quite an intimidating character because he has such a dry sense of humor. And plus, you know, I knew his records from the 80s. You know what I mean?   I was a fan of his mixes for Yaz. And so I knew him and I knew, you know, he had obviously done Violator as well with Depeche Mode. So that's kind of all the music that I like as well.   So he would come in. I knew Wave and he, I never really chatted with him that much. But a friend of mine, Glenn Gunner from Street Corner Symphony.   And I remember Glenn. He was over and he was crashing on my couch. And around, I guess, the mid 90s, I was still working at dance tracks.   And we were going to go to Body and Soul. And before we leave, I get a call on the landline. Of course, I happened to be there.   And it's Francois. And we never really had our own conversation. And he said, hi, word has it you have a very good disco collection.   I said, yeah, yeah, I guess I do. He said, well, I was wondering if you'd come and open up today at Body and Soul, because I think Joe had a delayed flight and Danny Krivitt, I think maybe had broken an ankle or something like that. And I couldn't believe it.   And that and I went and I brought a lot of some weird stuff to, you know, like Jezebel Spirit, you know, and David Byrne and things like that, that kind of crossed over. And that was the beginning of my friendship with Francois, which is a very, very important friendship and mentorship as well. Because he's really helped me.   You know, when I moved over to the UK, he was the one that introduced me to an agent and I got my manager. He still helps me to this day. I mean, he's someone I really look up to in so many ways.   As a friend, because he's there for me. He's the one that told me when David died, it was Francois. And he's just kind of like a big brother or an uncle, since my uncles are so young.   But he's done so much for me. And then also his productions like this one I'm about to play kind of reminds me of the time, you know, when I moved over to the UK in 1999 and it was, you know, starting all over again, you know, and Francois being such a big help. And he was also doing so many great remixes around that time.   [Ross Allen] No, I've got nothing but I think he's, you know, just drawing the line between those early days and now. He's still doing it, you know, and I find in fact, I used to love his show on Worldwide. You know, I found so many great records off of that and just all the stuff he's busy doing.   It's just, he's brilliant.   [Colleen] Yeah, he's a true inspiration.   [Ross Allen] The Meltdown, Foundation Music Special, Colleen. Cosmodelica, Murphy, Cosmo, Coz.   [Colleen] Coz is the name people call me. Yeah, you can call me Coz.   [Ross Allen] Can anyone call you Coz?   [Colleen] Not anyone.   [Ross Allen] Thank you, I appreciate it, I appreciate it. You can call me Ross.   [Colleen] Okay, I'll call you Ross. Ross and Coz.   [Ross Allen] But no, I've been loving our little journey through and this book, this one, we were just chatting off mic. Both fans of early Francois Kevorkian at Wave Records, the label that he set up sometime in the late 90s, I think. Mid 90s.   Yeah, mid 90s. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it all seems like a blur.   But definitely got that sound. And one of the engineer, a guy that we both love, was a guy called Rob Reeds. And he's got that techy sort of, kind of like a European sort of sound, but nice.   [Colleen] Beautifully produced. Beautifully produced music. You know, I just love it.   And not a lot going on. And it's not too many. I've been guilty of that in my own productions in the early days.   Put everything in. You want everything in there. More bass.   Throw in loads of stuff. And then I just started paring down, paring down, paring down, paring down, and really listening to Francois. And also the EQing as well.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, no, no, no, no, no. They're sonically there.   [Colleen] Yeah. Yeah.   [Ross Allen] Love them, love them, love them.   [Colleen] Yeah. But you were talking about productions and stuff, and I was quite lucky. Dance Tracks opened quite a few doors.   And also being on the radio, I guess, did. And Tommy Musta, do you remember Suburban Records? Yeah, yeah, yeah.   So Tommy was one of my customers, or our customers, I should say. He and I always got on well, Virgo. And he said to me, he came into the shop one day, he said, I want to put out your first record.   And I had just started songwriting, like just actually writing lyrics. And arrangements and things. And so I did my first production with him in 1998 with Alison Crockett, who was in King Brit's band Silk 130.   [Ross Allen] Oh, that's right. Yeah, I was thinking, where do I know that name from?   [Colleen] Exactly. Yes, great singer.   Ross So what did that come out under?   Colleen It came out in Suburban. Cosmo Presents She, featuring Alison Crockett, was my first record. And the next one I did was completely polar, not polar opposite, but this is kind of the story of my production career.   No two records sound alike. The next thing I did was with Danny Wang, called Light Fantastic for Playhouse in Germany.   [Ross Allen] Oh, okay, okay, okay.   [Colleen] And then we started my own label with Nicky Lucas called Bitches Brew. We started doing some of our own productions. And then I teamed up with Ashley Beadle.   We did Darkstar Productions. And then there was a Cosmodelica Productions. And the first one I think I did was-   Ross Was all that when you was in New York?   Colleen No, I only did one song, two songs when I was in New York. So one with Danny, one with Tommy Musto. And then I moved here in 99.   I think I started Bitches Brew in 2000.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, okay.   [Colleen] And so that was kind of an outlet for a lot of stuff. And then the first remix I was asked to do just for myself was for Desmond Decker for Trojans Back Catalog. And then I started doing- Ashley's been a big supporter and he's like a soulmate.   We had our own production team, Darkstar together and DJ together and did a compilation together.   [Ross Allen] All the best people have tapped into your vibe.   Colleen  Oh, thank you.   Ross You know what I mean? You know, it's like, you know, Mancuso, Francois, Beedle.   [Colleen] Yeah, no, I've been really lucky. You know, and they're all good people.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, yeah, yeah.   [Colleen] You know, they're people I admire musically, professionally, but they're also good people. And that's really, really important to me.   [Ross Allen] It's nice when the two go together. And I think they often do. I think a lot of times people are like, oh, you know, music business is full of idiots or whatever.   But I do think that all of the people you talk about, they're genuine. Do you know what I mean? Obviously, there's a music business, money, hustle, whatever, which attracts a certain type.   I think that's less because there's so little money in the music business.   [Colleen] Exactly. It's like, good luck.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, exactly. I think, you know, but yeah, you know, yeah. Especially Beedle, I have so much love for him.   [Colleen] Yeah. I mean, he's one of the founding fathers of house music in the UK, if you think of it that way. I mean, he really is, you know, with Express 2 and everything.   But he's just done a phenomenal body of work and all great. I mean, that's the thing. And he just has a great year, a wonderful year.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, most definitely, most definitely. But yeah, you moved into production.   [Colleen] I moved to production and then I stopped production for a while. I had done, I think the last thing I had done, I don't remember the year it came out, but it may have been around, I can't remember, but it was Fat Freddy's Drop, Mother Mother, the Cosmodelica remix.   It was my favorite remix. I finally thought, now I have a remix I can play. Because I never played my own stuff before.   I never did. I never thought it was good enough. As I keep saying, I'm a Virgo, you know, perfectionist to the max.   And, you know, it's all, you know, you're learning and you're figuring things out. And yeah, I'm still proud of that work, but I'm not like, it wasn't something I'd play out. And Fat Freddy's Drop, Mother Mother was something, I heard it right from the start, when I heard the song and exactly what I was going to do.   It took me no time to do it, played it, loved it. And then I stopped remixing for a long time.   [Ross Allen] Why was that?   [Colleen] A couple of reasons. One, Classic Album Sundays took off, which we'll talk about. But, so I had less time.   Two, I wasn't inspired. So I didn't, there was, it's just, there was nothing there that was inspiring me to do it. I knew I had already made an album.   Yeah, no, just, yeah, coming, yeah, exactly. I mean, I had done an album with Gary Lucas as Wild Rumpus, right after my, our daughter was born. My and Adam's daughter was born, Ariana, in 2004.   And I did focus quite a bit on production. I did a load of remixes, loads of them, with Cosmodelica ones, went to Dark Star with Ashley. And then I did the Fat Freddy's Drop, but it was like the same time as Classic Album Sundays.   And I just put everything into Classic Album Sundays for a while. You know, it just got that kind of moving and going. But it was thanks to a few, like Roisin and Jeff Barrett at Heavenly, and you, that kind of got me back on there.   I got back, you know, producing, remixing records, I should say.   [Ross Allen] I mean, you absolutely smashed that Lady Blackbird one, and I thought it was brilliant.   [Colleen] Thank you. Well, should we have a listen to that one then?   [Ross Allen] Yes, I think so.   [Colleen] Do you want to say anything else about it? Because I was, when I first heard her voice, it was during the pandemic and it was Ashley's remix, Beware the Stranger. And I thought, oh my gosh, this is my favourite contemporary voice right now.   And it's her voice. So bluesy, gritty, effortless.   [Ross Allen] There's not a lot of voices like that around at the moment, are there? You know, I've just got back from being in LA and making her second record. So I've been deep in the world of Lady Blackbird.   And it's, yeah, it's great to see her in the studio. She's sort of effortless, just wanders in so unassuming, and bah, the power, do you know what I mean? And it's, yeah, it was funny.   We had a really good conversation, actually. We were, I bought a, we were talking about gospel and we were talking about Jasmine Sullivan. And she was talking about a load of gospel singers I didn't really know.   And she started playing me stuff. And she was just like, oh, you know, like, they're so much better singers than me. And I was like, yeah, you know, I know technically.   I mean, I don't know. I couldn't, I couldn't hear it. Do you know what I mean?   They were like, they sort of, you know, I don't know if you know the way Jasmine Sullivan sings, they're that R&B to the nth level, you know, and they flex and they've got all of this sort of like the, the intonation and the tricks.   [Colleen] And the gymnastics.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, but character wise, it just felt a bit formulaic. It was really, it was a really fascinating conversation of her, so, you know, on that tip. And I was just like, well, no, no, you're missing the point.   You've got this timeless kind of character that throws you back to sort of like, you know, a Nina Simone or a Billie Holiday or those kind of voices. Do you know what I mean? And obviously the place we put her, or she is, you know, it's just, yeah, it just shines.   And, you know, I thought you picking Lost and Looking was, I mean, that's one of my favourite tunes on the album.   [Colleen] It's funny, because I think you mentioned you wanted me to do a different song. I'm like, no, that's what I want to do.   [Ross Allen] No, no, no, I wasn't going to argue. I was just like, yeah, just, you know, I think that's the thing, you know, when it comes to remixes, obviously, you know, I mean, the way we did that whole sort of campaign of remixes and whatnot, it was just to get her voice out. It wasn't like aimed that we're going to get her in the charts.   We're so far off of it.   Colleen Oh, you wouldn't get her in the charts with one of my remixes, so don't worry about that.   Ross But, you know, it didn't really, you know, it didn't matter what track was remixed as long as it worked.   And I think you picked a brilliant one and you killed it. It was wicked.   [Colleen] Oh, thanks.   [Ross Allen] Definitely got the funk.   [Colleen] Yeah, you said with that Rome Anthony connection, I never even thought of it. That's quite an accolade. So thank you.   Ross No, no, no, no, no. Just as soon as that bass line came in, I haven't listened to this for a little while, actually. But yeah, I love it. But it was just that groove. And then the sort of Prince-like guitar. And then you get your little, it's wicked, killer mix.   [Colleen] Oh, thank you. Thank you for the opportunity on that. I mean, I just loved it.   And it did seem that people really seem to love it, which was great. Yeah, no, no, it went down brilliantly.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, so the remixing thing is, it seems like you're doing more and more now. You're back on it.   [Colleen] It's, I'm really back on it. I mean, it is more and more and more and more and more. And, you know, it's all good because they're all different.   Yeah, that's what keeps me interested. I don't have a cookie cutter imprint.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, that ambient one that you sent me, that was, we played that on the show. And that got an amazing reaction.   [Colleen] Thank you. Yeah, that was more of like a Balearic Breakfast kind of song. Jacob Gurevich.   He's on Music for Dreams. He's a Danish guitarist, but he's inspired by Spanish guitar playing. And I actually rearranged the song.   I usually try to rearrange stuff. He even did another part for me because I wanted a key change. Sent it back to him.   He did the part. So I kind of lifted the song up a bit. But yeah, I mean, I just finished a remix.   Yes, two days ago for a German woman who, I don't want to say these, the things that I'm working on now, because you never know if they don't come out. It might be bad, but I think it should come out. But next month is Shapeshifters on Defected.   Right now, David Holmes, which is a very different mix. It's very indie kind of dance stuff. And something I'd play more on on my Balearic Breakfast show.   [Ross Allen] I want to talk to you about the sort of the Balearic-y thing.   [Colleen] I know, like how did this yank and it's in a Balearic show?   [Ross Allen] But I mean, in a way, you know, it's a catch-all.   [Colleen] That's the thing.   [Ross Allen] I mean, you know, I mean, when you think of it, you know, I don't know, like the music that Larry Levan was playing, that New York sensibility, that loft sensibility, what Alfredo was playing, what Jose Padilla was playing, you know, who's the guy in Italy? Baldelli, you know, all these people were just mixing whatever had the best groove to make dance music. You know, they're formulating their own versions of dance music.   And that really, that's the Balearic thing.   [Colleen] It is. And, you know, I kind of feel a little bit bad. I mean, the show is done really well.   It started on Worldwide FM in the midst of the pandemic. And I had taken over a Tuesday morning from Giles, Giles Peterson, because he had gone away. And he said, have my Tuesday slot over the summer.   I didn't go anywhere for a year and a half. I didn't even get, you know. So I did a show called Summer's Vacation.   But when he came back in September, he said, just keep the slot. But I had to change the name. But by this time I was streaming live as well.   And I had this kind of community that had been building. We had a captive audience for radio back in the pandemic. And so I was working, you know, streaming live from home as well.   And people would join up on a Tuesday morning. And I put the word out to the community. And it was my friend Lee Z who came back and said, how about Balearic Breakfast?   And I thought it was cool because it just gave the idea, as you said, there's no musical boundaries. I mean, there's a certain sensibility. It's about, you know, there's a certain sensibility, I think, but not about genre.   And also we were all stuck in our homes. And like, I think all of us would have loved to have been in the Balearic Islands in our minds. So it kind of worked.   But I do feel, you know, I was not part of that scene at all. You know, and so I do try to pay props to the people that were there and are there still, you know. You know, it's funny that this show really just kind of took off.   [Ross Allen] Yeah, the way it did.   Ross It's good quality stuff. And like you say, you know, definitely in the pandemic, there was a, you know, it was a terrible time, but it was a good time to be broadcasting. You know, I was doing mine from up in Suffolk here and thoroughly enjoyed, you know, and I think it set a, you know, in a way, I can see why the Balearic thing came about, because, you know, you had to be quite considered with what you played. Do you know what I mean? You know, like I struggled to find hip hop records I could play during the pandemic because, you know, I mean, there's some obviously, but that Balearic-y sensibility, that sort of chilled, laid back kind of thing was a sort of tranquil sort of mood that suited the times. Do you know what I mean? You know, it's like, you know.   [Colleen] More pensive. The show is, I still do it every Tuesday on my MixCloud Live. Still streaming though, you know, and starting here is Balearic Brunch once a month, the first Sunday of each month from 12 to 1.   So plugging that. But yeah, it starts off usually quite pensive, reflective, and then by the end of the show, we're usually dancing.   [Ross Allen] So, yeah.   [Colleen] So it's a nice little trajectory, you know, musical journey.   [Ross Allen] Your DJ sensibility. I mean, that's kind of how I do my one. It's just like, it's like nice ease in and then build up.   I think, you know, I'd quite happily be a warm-up DJ for the rest of my life. You know, it's quite nice.   Colleen It's the best time to play or at five in the morning.   Ross Yeah, you go on the other way. Exactly, the way coming down.   [Colleen] Exactly.   [Ross Allen] Well, look, thank you so much for coming in. We're rapidly running out of time.   [Colleen] Yeah, yeah.   [Ross Allen] We can talk, well, we can talk briefly about your Classic Album Sundays, which was apart from you coming over and doing The Loft and bringing that here. Classic Album Sundays was something that you sort of...   [Colleen] I started, yeah, in 2010. So it was before the vinyl renaissance, it was before listening bars. And, you know, I started hosting it not far from here at my friend's pub upstairs.   At the Hanbury Arms, a monthly Sunday, we're bringing in our own sound system, valve amplifiers, Clip Shoren's Coetzee moving cartridge, crazy. And, you know, featuring an entire album. So telling the story, playing music that was related to it.   And then everyone phones off, play the album uninterrupted on vinyl, and then have like a talk afterwards. And it kind of blew up really quickly because BBC Breakfast covered it. And then, you know, there's like listening bar, the whole listening bar culture kind of took off a couple of years after that as well.   But it was something that was really important to me. I've kind of brought together a lot of different strands of my own career. Journalism, which we didn't really get to talk about.   Interviewing people, which I, you know, did a lot of band interviews, as I mentioned. So there's a journalistic side. There's also the audio side that I had learned from David.   And...   [Ross Allen] There's a hi-fi reproduction of the music. In that great environment.   [Colleen] And great environment, great pressing, and just being immersed and being able to hear details you've never heard before. So I thought I could share this. Not everyone can run out and buy a cartridge that costs a few grand.   Not that I'm always in a position to do that either. But I've had a lot of favors, I can say that. But this album is one of my favorite albums of all time.   And it was very important to me. Classic album Sundays. One of David Mancuso's favorite albums too.   Another one we bonded on. And it was recorded the month that I was born. August 1968.   And it was by Van Morrison, Astral Weeks. And he was actually living in Cambridge, Massachusetts when he recorded this album. So there's always this kind of thing that I always think about too.   Like, he was just 40 minutes away on this amazing album. And I love this album so much. I've done documentaries on it.   I have a doc I did for Six Music on this album. I've analyzed it in so many ways, but still just listening to the whole thing. It's like, it's life and it's death and it's everything to me.   And I know I'm even gonna start tearing up thinking about it. But it's one I would play when my daughter was a little baby and I was giving her a bath. And it's the album that I played on repeat the day that I found out that David had passed away.   And it just means so much to me. And it's like, there's something so free. And he didn't tell the musicians exactly what to do.   There's great jazz musicians on this album. The lyrics are phenomenal. You never get to the bottom of it.   It can always mean something new. And it's just a constant album in my top 10. And yeah, I just had to play something from it.   [Ross Allen] Perfect, perfect. Well, let's play this. And then this will be, you know, this is our last tune. So I just wanted to say thank you so much for coming in.   I knew it was gonna be great and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you. And yeah, I mean, you know, people obviously can find you online, Instagram and all those kinds of things.   [Colleen] Colleen Cosmo Murphy.   [Ross Allen] There you go, there you go. Thank you so much. We will end with this and I'll see you very soon.   Colleen I hope so. Take care.   Ross Lovely, thanks.

I met Flamingo Pier's Luke Walker (the band's DJ) to chat about their musical journey, as their new Tour is starting in just a few days! 1) I am so thrilled to welcome you onto the Balearic Breakfast blog, Flamingo Pier! Thank you so much! How are you guys doing?! We saw you at Colleens' Balearic Breakfast launch Party (she played Cosmic Sunset from your LP)! How was the party?! Kia ora! Pleasure to be here! Some of our crew are still based in London so were able to make it along to Colleen’s party. All the Flamingo Pier collective met and lived in London but the band are now based in our hometown Auckland, New Zealand.  It was so lovely to hear Colleen playing Cosmic Sunset! We passed on the vinyl when she played our Waiheke festival earlier this year. The album came out on Soundway Records in 2021. 2) Speaking about it, your album was created during the pandemic. To make such a happy musical place in such dark times must have been quite an 'out of mind' experience. Was it a cathartic experience? How did things happen back then? Just before the pandemic, we had moved back to New Zealand. Because NZ is an island, it managed to stay covid free for 18 months whilst the world was battling, so we were still able to throw parties and get together to make music. We couldn’t host any internationals, so it was a great time for local artists to shine. We try to stay positive and hopeful no matter the situation, and our music reflects that.  3) Balearic Breakfast is a show where we dig deep into music from the past and the present! It's so refreshing to hear that musicianship is still going strong in these "consumerist" days and that real musicians take time to meet together to craft sounds that empower those who listen to them. You played with so many great musicians on that album ! Your approach to music really emphasises your intellectual approach; you're all about "amplifying joy." How did the collaborative aspect of the album take place? All the artists we collaborated with are from our hometown, Auckland, and incredibly talented! Julien Dyne, on drums, also releases music on Soundway Records solo and with his band Circling Sun. Nathan Haines, a friend of Colleen’s and our most well-known jazz artist. Jess Penson, aka Kédu, is a super talented young singer and music maker with a voice like honey. Jack Thirtle is a jazz-trained young trumpet player who is now a key member of the live band. They’re all friends of ours and have played their own shows at our Waiheke festival and club nights so it was a natural progression to collaborators! 4) You will tour the US and Europe in July 2024 (a world tour launch party took place in Auckland on July 13th)! Congratulations! Can you tell us more about the show you prepared and what we can expect to see and hear? We’ve got our new Supro EP coming out on Soundway Records to coincide with the tour so we’ll be playing tracks from that plus the best of the rest of our catalogue. The first single Mazunte is out on July 19 and full EP August 9. We’re a five-piece band with live vocals, synths, bass, guitar, trumpet and percussion and like to keep it high energy and dancefloor focused. We’re super excited to jump in a van and traverse the U.S together for our first proper tour of the country ! Then we head to Europe for some key shows in Berlin (returning to Heidegluehen, one of the best clubs in the world), London and Greece. 5) When one take the time to discover your musical influences, your approach to music and the way you interact with your audience, there's a strong feeling of happiness of course but also, I would say "unity". Everything you do flows in one joyous and cohesive musical and human moment. Wouldn't that be a nice vision of what it is to "be Balearic" and something that 'Flamingo Pier' stands for? Absolutely. We’ve always been about bringing people together to connect joyfully on the dancefloor, whether through our music or the parties we throw. The eclectic side of the Balearic sound and aesthetic is a big influence for us – from mellow sounds to full-blown 2 a.m. dancefloor energy. We celebrate 10 years doing our thing in 2024 and hope we’re still getting together in 2034! Thanks for having us! It was a pleasure, Flamingo Pier!

On June 23rd 2024, Colleen played a beautiful set at the "First Light Festival". I had to share it here as it perfectly highlights Colleen's sensitive way of mixing... About this mix. – Between two "Balearic Breakfast" episodes, Colleen plays festivals during the summertime. On June 23rd 2024, she was featured during the "2024 First Light Festival" (more info on their Facebook page and their Website ). When sharing the picture she took during the festival, Colleen wrote: "A lovely snapshot of the last week’s summer solstice weekend at @firstlightlowestoft - turns out I not only love sunset sets but also sunrise sets! Must be the lark in me. I’ll post it up soon :)" Lowestoft is the most easterly point in the UK, and Colleen was asked by Hemingway Design to play a DJ set on the beach to welcome the sun on the summer solstice weekend at the city’s annual renowned festival. I wanted to share this mix on the blog because it is absolutely Balearic, of course, with music flowing freely and visiting many corners of the genre's spectrum, but also because it nicely demonstrates Colleen's musical ways... When listening to the opening track, I immediately thought about The Moody Blues 1967 studio album ' Days of Future Passed ' ... and I had a great laugh when I heard Colleen actually played "Dawn: Dawn is a Feeling" right after the opening track! All in all, this is a beautiful set. In fact, it is a "Soul Awakening Mix", where every song is like an opening, a fresh start, "a heliocentric selection of music that heralds in a new dawn" . Interesting idea, don't you think? I'm leaving you here on this reflecting note... Enjoy... Listen Back to Colleen's Set at the 2024 First Light Festival: PLAYLIST ( 2022 ) Sault – Air ( 1967 ) The Moody Blues  – Dawn: Dawn is a Feeling ( 2002 ) Chris Coco (feat. Nick Cave) –  Sunday Morning ( 1998 ) John Martyn –  Sunshine's Better (Talvin Singh Remix) ( 1978 ) Light River Band –  Light of Day ( 1973 ) The Isley Brothers –  Summer Breeze ( 2022 ) John Carroll Kirby (feat. Laraaji)  –  Dawn of New Day ( 1972 ) Ronnie McNeir  –  In Summertime ( 2024 ) Marcos Valle & Leon Ware - Feels So Good ( 1978 ) Leo's Sunshipp  –  Give Me the Sunshine ( 1975 ) Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes – Wake up everybody ( 1977 ) Bill Withers & Studio Rio  –  Lovely Day ( 1991 ) Chris Rea  –  Looking for the Summer ( 2021 ) Cantoma  –  To the Sea (Hear & Now Remix) ( 1971 ) Nina Simone – Here comes the sun THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE As I said, when I heard Sault's "Air" , it immediately struck a chord and made me think about the 1967 album by the Moody Blues. Even though, volume-wise, The Moody Blues ' "Dawn is a Feeling" is slightly too loud, on the rhythmic side of things, the timing is absolutely perfect. Also, both tracks share almost an identical sound (the orchestra), although The Moody Blues' recording has a broader soundstage and is less anchored. But that intention I suspected hapenned, and it made me laugh so much, reinforcing my attachment to Colleen just a tiny little bit more! She's all about the Intention, about the Feeling of the moment, you can easily picture the beach on the left side and people partying, with these huge Statues lurking somewhere in the Background... The next track nicely prolongs what just happened musically. Keeping the same tonality, Colleen chooses to play Chris Coco's (feat. Nick Cave) "Sunday Morning". The sound quality of the set is off the hook; there's a lot of realism throughout the set, although we know that Mixcloud compresses some of the high frequencies. From this very moment, I couldn't let go of the Idea that every track was like a new beginning, like a flower forever blossoming, a sun forever starting its new journey... And this is precisely what happens with John Martyn 's  Sunshine's Better (Talvin Singh Remix) ; it's another excellent example of Colleen's perfect musical choices; she keeps the flow rhythmically and opens up the sonic spectrum, the bass here being more present and the tonality more open to new winds, less restricted if we can put it that way. The marching goes on, and on, and on, as the sun appears in the sky, oh you shy star, where are you heading to today? Will you tell us? The answer will find you; it's all in the music as Light River Band's "Light of Day" slowly starts (hear the sound of the keyboards on the left side, oh so realistic, seems like a Fender Rhodes piano to me, btw)... There's a rhythmic change here as The Isley Brothers ' Summer Breeze starts, indicating another part of the set, it seems... This second part of the set confirms its absolute freedom and its ever-renewing movement with John Carroll Kirby 's (feat. Laraaji) "Dawn of New Day" followed by Ronnie McNeir 's In Summertime and Marcos Valle & Leon Ware 's Feels So Good . Take the time to notice either the perfect rhythm keeping or the small rhythmic changes, enhancing the mix's "forever new starts" feeling! Colleen never loses one beat here, always keeping us on the verge of discovery... Now, as Leo's Sunshipp 's  Give Me the Sunshine starts, we're going to do something here... Close your eyes, come on, close them, and let your head go up and down, following the music's groove; a light head-banging to enter the music's realm is something I absolutely adore to do, it brings freedom and a sense of absolute well-being, allowing you to concentrate on the music, its groove and letting your mind plunge into is waves... Try it now, close your eyes and let your head go up and down following the groove... You can also make variations, up, down and then left to right grooving in small motion waves... Who's feeling better now? ^^ There you go. Just as you entered music's realm, Colleen changes the pace, but it's not harsh. Did you notice that you're still banging your head as Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' "Wake up, everybody" started? We're in heaven, right? ^^ And we'll stay right there because as Bill Withers (accompanied by Studio Rio) sings, it's a Lovely Day (another song dealing with new starts, btw), a promising summer day... Such a strong message shared here by the incredible Chris Rea with Looking for the Summer , also showcasing what is a "Balearic DJ", one who plays songs with an intention, a meaning, a groove... taking you to places you didn't knew you liked or you needed, and here, right at the end of this very track, happens the absolute Wow Moment of this very mix, with Colleen perfectly mixing Chris Rea with Cantoma 's "To the Sea (Hear & Now Remix)" and ending this incredible sunrise set with Nina Simone's cover of the Beatles 1969 Classic "Here comes the sun" ... "One of the Finest sets I've heard from her' (Rick Van Veen)

The night is falling, and the sea rages in its perpetual agony... Somewhere in the distance, a light pulsates... I almost forgot I had a meeting tonight... A meeting at The Lighthouse... 1. Hello Olivier! It's heartwarming to have you here with us on the Balearic Breakfast blog! I wanted to discuss the Lighthouse so badly with you! I must admit that I took the time to listen back to the third track of your EP, "The Lighthouse" , just after requesting it, and the guitar blew me away: hearing these «spiralling down notes» was a hypnotic experience! The whole EP is greatly mixed and beautifully mastered. Can you share with us what it takes to get to that level of sonic perfection? What gear do you use in your studio? Thank you so much, Artur... That's a pretty high compliment! Well, I tried to do whatever was necessary to create an immersive experience for the listener, transporting him to a lighthouse in the vast open sea. Truly, my first gear was... time! I dedicated as much time as possible to guide the listener on this journey, fueled by my deep passion for lighthouses and nature. Regarding the equipment, I tried to keep things simple: I utilized a pretty good Spanish guitar, a bass guitar, Rhodes microphones, a Zoom recorder for field recording sessions, and various analogue consoles. I also drew upon my years of experience collaborating with sound engineers and studying exceptional musical productions, such as those by Alan Parsons. I effectively worked thoroughly on the acoustic guitar's sound (which differs according to the tracks...). I searched for a different sound, not necessarily as gentle and delicate as it typically is. I wanted the guitar's sound to align with the immersive, tragic, and mysterious narrative... In short, I made the best out of what I had at hand. I'm thrilled to know that my intentions reached the listener so greatly, and it makes me wonder how You felt while listening to the EP, Artur... You know... The first thing I saw was the advertisement you did on Instagram. I mean, not many musicians nowadays incorporate "sound effects" into music, right? Pink Floyd did that back in the day with great results, and Roger Waters too on his solo Album "The Pros and Cons of Hitch Hiking". When done wisely, the sounds enhance the music's message. I always did that, for instance, in my own mixes like " Swan Song " or " Shit Going Through ". It's effectively all about immersion; music tells a story, and the additive sounds help anchor the whole experience, allowing the mind to create "pictures". I found myself whole in your concept; it resonated 100% with how I like to make music live. When listening to your EP at night, of course..., I immediately "saw" the Lighthouse. I felt its walls, the cold, the unbearable and painful loneliness, time ticking away, ghostly invisible figures, and I knew a part of my Soul, Michael, went there; I felt her, and she sent me that letter , you know... Strangely enough, I also felt that "light evolution" in the third track. It wasn't as dark as the two other ones, and that's why I requested it. Knowing Colleen's appetite for great-sounding tunes, this last track had everything I felt the show was about: the Balearic touch, the strangeness and the evolutive structure, going from darkness to light. It really made me think about our Dear David Mancuso for obvious reasons... The whole "Lighthouse" experience was something I needed to share, and here we are... 2. Speaking about sound effects, and given the insane amount of work you put into the editing process (working with nature's sound and other sounds to enhance your musical message), when do you know a sound can be added to your mix? Is it a feeling, or do you have a story in mind while composing? An insane amount of work... You're right! (laughs!) I literally put my whole life on hold for about a year to complete the first part of the project! As for the sounds, they are both a feeling (as I’m so moved and touched by every nuance, every detail of these layers of sounds, offering them to your ears) and a story: as you said perfectly, music does not tell anything explicitly by itself, and, since there are no words spoken, sounds immerse and guide you in your eerie experience. At the same time, you’re still free to imagine what you want. So, I use them to make you feel contemplative and introspective and to make you understand what happens. I design them accordingly to align with the music, as they do in concrete music, or as Damian Volpe did for the film The Lighthouse. But my tracks are also a hymn to nature, which was not the film's point. I must add that the musical aim is central: the roaring sea plays the bass, birds and all the strange creatures play in the midrange, the high wind in the treble… I enjoy doing that! All these sounds become music, not just an atmosphere; they align with the lantern's ostinato... Nature is rough and requires much listening to be set to music and thus revealed... I really worked my soul for this experience to be Unexpected, and I was surprised by the results when I listened back to the EP: the whole movements of the tracks became independent of my own will; they speak for themselves, they are not me, it’s the Lighthouse... who is talking to you... https://www.mentensel.com/ 3. Speaking about lighthouses, you seem passionate about them as you are part of the French SNPB ! How did the whole idea come to your mind? I’m fascinated by lighthouses. I can say I love them! They challenge nature and the people who keep them: on the high seas, they stand alone in dangerous places where nobody should be. Moreover, lighthouses are so important in the cultural domain... There are so many dramatic tales about them ! This is why I am honoured to share SNPB's advocacy for preserving the cultural legacy and the future of these incredible buildings, which are now automated and completely unmanned, leading to their widespread abandonment . You know, lighthouses are places of unique solitude, connecting with nature's elements, evoking a range of emotions including fear, tenderness, despair, and love. After experiencing a stay in a lighthouse, it's hard to view the world the same way; it alters everything, and I'm still exploring that change. I opted for an esoteric approach, a peculiar musical narrative, to convey that transformative power to the listener... 4. It's all so captivating, Olivier... Can you share your musical journey with us? Do other musicians work with you on the Lighthouse project? I’m so glad you talk about it, Artur! (laughs!) It's an incredible journey! A journey searching for what lies behind...  I composed the first part of the music in a lighthouse in Scotland... And, in a lighthouse... You’re alone! So I don’t have any other musicians with me; I do everything by myself. I must confess that my beloved brother Guillaume, who is a musician, and a music lover, advises me at every step of the process, though. I would not have done all of this without him... For instance, during a summer night recording session on the island of Ouessant, I was deeply focused on the organ part of the third track... And, at one point, I Found Something... I was so excited that I called my brother at 2 a.m. to share my discovery with him. Thanks to his assistance, I regained composure and executed the piece accurately before dawn. It was the best moment to do that as I was in a good mood to build this scary but also sweet passage... 5. That's crazy; I find myself so much in what you share here, Olivier (laughs!). I also spent hours on 5 minutes of a mix because I knew I had found something tremendously perfect! Actually, you are still working on the album as we speak! As discussed earlier, the three first songs share a common “musical base” that opens up in the last track towards its end. Do you feel the rest of the album will be as worried as it's beginning, or can the clouds lift up? Thank you once again, Artur... That’s so well said. Well, the clouds… They will disperse a bit later... The Lighthouse project aims somewhat to awaken people from a kind of numbness we can all experience sometimes… I'm open to everyone's suggestions as far as the Lighthouse story goes, even if I have my own ideas... How about the island having a beautiful cave, which would be a safe haven, for instance, or a dance floor at the top of the lighthouse... in the end? I will take everybody in... You first dear Artur! What is certain, though, is that dawn will come... Only the constant sound of the lighthouse's lantern, an ostinato in D, and your very self will remain... deeply moved, maybe lost, for sure, by this incredible night... Thank you so Much, Olivier... Watch out for the Lighthouse... Artur...

Constadino Folias' mix was featured in the 175th episode of Balearic Breakfast. The Balearic Breakfast enjoyed his work so much! I met him for a heartwarming interview... 1) Dear Constadino, thank you so much for joining us on the Balearic Breakfast blog! Can you tell us more about your musical journey? How did you start your DJing career, what led you to this musical path and who were your guiding mentors, if you had some? Thank you for inviting me to the blog, Artur! It all started in 1981, at a very young age, when my first connection with music was through my father, who used to play music cassettes all the time in the car while he was driving with me on board. I still remember tracks like Earth Wind & Fire's “Let's Groove," Rick James's “Super Freak,” and Quincy Jones's “Ai No Corrida” being on heavy rotation, among others. In the early 90's, as a teenager, I took part in several parties when electronic dance music started to rise in the city of Athens. My music knowledge has its roots in those parties and the music magazines I was reading at that time, such as Muzik, Mixmag, DJ, Wax, Straight No Chaser, The Source, Jockey Slut, Blues & Soul, JazzTimes, and Wax Poetics, to name but a few. From 1995 until 2002, I had a job in the best record store in Athens (Metropolis), which helped me expand my musical horizons. I love music, any kind of music, just as long as it's grooving (track from The O'jays), whether it's Soul-Jazz-Funk-Disco-Reggae-House-Balearic etc. I can't say that I have a professional career as a DJ, nor do I have a mentor, but for sure, there are many music artists and DJs who have given me music inspiration through the years, and they still do. I can describe myself as a music lover, music selector and vinyl collector. Sometimes I do play music as DJ here in Athens, but I wouldn't say that this happens often as I don't make a living from it. 2) As you know, I love it when a DJ takes me on a mental journey where I can see pictures in my head while my soul sets itself free. I felt that quite strongly when your mix was aired during Balearic Breakfast's 175th episode . Your transitions were so smooth, perfectly respecting the mix's somewhat 'nightish' soul, and the whole thing kept on evolving as time went by. How did you work on that mix?        I was very excited about doing a mix for Colleen's “Balearic Breakfast," which I must say is my favourite show at the moment. I always prepare my mixes for the radio. Everything depends on the show and the music style it represents. So, for this mix, I picked up some modern, mostly, “Balearic” gems that I believed would match and mixed them together as smoothly as I could to achieve the best possible result for the listeners. I recorded the mix about three times. Each time, I added or put out some tracks, trying to find the perfect flow and harmony in music. According to the comments from you and the Balearic Breakfast family members during the broadcast, I think the mission was successful, and I'm really happy about it! 🙂 3) There is a sense of unity, at least to me, in the "Balearic" musical domain. For instance, you can have tracks that are both worried and cheerful, while others may blend elements of salsa with progressive rock. When you think about it, Disco itself had some absolute "Balearic" bangers! Does it make sense to you?         Anyone who really knows the meaning of the term described as “Balearic” will totally agree with you, and so do I!  4) How do you listen to music? Do you believe that listening at night brings something more to the experience?          For me, the ultimate listening experience is when I play my vinyl on the stereo. Nothing can compare to the "warm" analogue sound that comes out from the speakers. As an alternative, I listen to music via digital music platforms such as Bandcamp, Mixcloud, Spotify, and YouTube. Definitely, music sounds better at nighttime. One primary reason is that there is generally less ambient noise, and you can focus entirely on the music. Our bodies are naturally programmed to rest and relax at night, making it easier to feel and process emotions. Listening to music at night can create a sense of intimacy and privacy that enhances the listening experience! 5) On the human side, what is the most important thing to you in life?         In the fast-paced world we live in, it is easy to lose sight of the important things in life that truly matter. A famous quote from Mrs George Sand says, "There is only one happiness in life: to love and to be loved" , and I agree 100% with that! Thank you so much for being here with us, Constadino! Thank you for everything, Artur..... it was a pleasure!! 🙂 Take care & stay blessed! Constadinos music links: MIXCLOUD https://www.mixcloud.com/DjConstadino SPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/user/11182954077?si=08f2393b6c1149a4 HEARTHIS.AT https://hearthis.at/constadino/ SOUNDCLOUD https://soundcloud.com/djconstadino

When Colleen played Gus F's remix of Jimmy Somerville's classic song "Smalltown Boy", I instantly felt I had to meet him for an interview. Little did I know what I would find there! 1) Hello, Gus, and thank you so much for joining us here on the Balearic Breakfast blog! Colleen played your remix of Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy" during the 180th Balearic Breakfast episode dedicated to Pride Month. The song resonates on many levels for a lot of people around the world. How did you work on it? Could you tell me what you wanted to convey? As a producer, Is it hard to touch a "classic"? Hello Artur! My pleasure! I started an event called Secret Sunset during the Covid lockdown as an outlet to continue playing music whilst clubs and other venues were shut. I would find beautiful locations around the island of Jersey, where I live, and broadcast a live stream. However, Facebook would frequently cut a stream due to copyright issues as the algorithms would detect recognisable music. I had dabbled in music production before, but not seriously. I bought a new synth and ended up producing music just for those events so I could bypass the Facebook police! One of the tunes I loved as a child (without understanding its significance – just the iconic top line of the melody and of course, Jimmy’s vocal) was Smalltown Boy. Whilst there have been many versions over the years, I wanted to give it the Secret Sunset treatment and give people watching from home a kind of nostalgic experience, whether for Ibiza sunsets they missed during lockdown or for the actual original Smalltown Boy that might spark memories. I had no idea it would mean so much to so many people – I uploaded a version to YouTube, and it exploded. So many views and nice comments with no marketing whatsoever. I’m obviously fully aware of the meaning of the song within LGBTQ+ communities, it’s such an incredibly sad story, and one that so many people can identify with, so I was keen to try and maintain the melancholy of the song and obviously the iconic vocal from Jimmy Somerville, nostalgic and dreamy. 2) I read on your socials that you got Jimmy's support! That must have been quite a moment for you! Congratulations from the bottom of our hearts; we know how much such a moment is precious! How did that all happen?! Tell us the story please! Believe it or not, some unknown person shared it with Jimmy’s team and he approved of it; I had nothing to do with that part of it… Next thing I knew the YouTube video I had made with my bootleg (unauthorised/unofficial) version was shared on Jimmy’s official channels and it blew up! I figured if Jimmy liked it, there was a possibility I could maybe get an official release, so I set about learning how to do this. At the time, I don’t think I had any signed music yet, no label or anything; I had to learn how the music business works in terms of licensing, publishing rights, recording rights, etc. It took me almost two years, due in part to my naivety, but I kept working away and after an email a week (not even joking… I sent a LOT of emails!) I finally got full permission. Funnily enough, the usual difficulty is not with publishing, but with the master recording from which the vocal sample came; however that part was easier as I was in direct contact with Jimmy’s team. When you’re a nobody in the music business, it’s difficult to get anybody to respond to emails! It was worth the wait 😊     3) Then, you kept on flying on the wings of your dream and got the track released, the 1000 CDs being sold out during the pre-order campaign! Wow, just wow! What was the hardest part of the whole adventure, in your opinion? Was it crafting a track that would enhance the original version while respecting its legacy, or were they the publishing steps? I think my version surprised Jimmy’s team with its popularity when it was released on streaming platforms . When the 40th anniversary releases were being planned, they asked me for permission to include my version on the limited edition 1,000 CDs, that are coming out later this month. Of course, I said yes… I was delighted to be asked! This was a big validation moment for me and one I’ll always be proud of. Quite honestly, the effort to get the official release was a LOT more time-consuming than making the remix in the first place (which actually came together really quickly! Sometimes things just fall into place!). 4) Music is the centre of your life; you're someone reaching high with a smile, and we here, on the Balearic Breakfast blog, love that! You're the first person who DJed the full London marathon! Wow, once again! Can you tell us how that happened and how you prepared yourself for that incredible journey?! (It's easier to reach incredible goals with music right?! ^^)   When one of my son’s best friends was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (an aggressive form of cancer) over a year ago, I felt absolutely powerless and helpless to do anything about it. Cancer is a horrible disease at any time (my father passed away 11 years ago from pancreatic cancer), but it’s even worse when it’s a child. It’s completely indiscriminate; another friend was recently lucky to survive an 11-hour surgery, resulting in the removal of her pelvic tumour, colon, part of her liver, spleen, and a total hysterectomy and ileostomy. Although I felt helpless, I wanted to do something about it anyway. After a slight glitch myself (I was hospitalised twice last year) I regained my full health decided to raise as much money as I could for Cancer Research UK, the world’s leading cancer research organisation. With my music reach, I just figured I’d have a chance at raising more than simply asking friends & family for donations, especially during difficult economic times. So I decided to try & run the London Marathon whilst DJing. It was a story of trial and error… There were a lot of failures along the way! Blood, sweat and tears… Literally all three… Quite honestly, I’ve had better ideas as I struggled around the course, and no surprise to me that I was the first person to do it, as nobody else is crazy enough to try it… 🤣 But I got there in the end, and it was an overall success. All my fellow runners were supportive, but it was the crowd that got me round; the noise was amazing as they heard me approaching (I had a subwoofer and two speakers on my back, as well as the speakers on the Numark Mixstream Pro Go I was using – thanks to Numark for all their support!). Not sure if I’ll do anything like that again, as it took me a long time to recover physically and emotionally. I’m not sure if I’m there yet 😅   5) You seem to be very busy, active, and musically prolific! What's next on your agenda?   I love electronic music, I absolutely devour it and can’t get enough of it. But I’m also keen to produce an album whose shelf life isn’t as ridiculously short as a lot of music is today. Popular one month, then consigned to the archives. More music is being produced today than ever before, and Artificial Intelligence coming around the corner will not slow this down… But I still think there is room for an original album of music that can be listened to from start to finish, and one that won’t sound out-of-date in a year or two. So that’s my aim, to focus on creating something I can be proud of and that will hopefully be appreciated for more than a few short weeks 😊 Thank you so much Gus! You're welcome Artur!

I met Puerto Montt City Orchestra's Tim Salter for an interview about the band's new track, "Balearic For President", and how both of them approach their musical journey. 1) Hello Tim! Thank you so much for joining me on the Balearic Breakfast blog! Your brand new track is out now on Higher Love Recordings and was played by Colleen on the 177th episode of Balearic Breakfast. Can you tell us more about your journey in music and how the Puerto Montt City Orchestra came to life? Hi Artur! So, Puerto Montt City Orchestra is me, Tim Salter, and Angus Murray. We became friends when our children went to the same primary school in Kent, England. Over time, we realized that we shared a similar taste in music, so we decided to transform our love of all things Balearic into music production. Angus has released music in the past on UK house label Luxury Service as Downtown Loop, whilst I have been in a number of different bands over the years. We were thrilled that Higher Love wanted to release our first track – Our Patagonian Friends – and we’ve not stopped since (We’re not the most prolific producers, but we do have a steady output!). We are also very fortunate that we have some very talented friends that we collaborate with – Ellis on guitar, Dave on bass, and on "Balearic For President", John on saxophone. 2) Why did you guys choose to remix Residentes Balearicos' "Balearic for President"? What did you like, on the sonic side, in that track? "Balearic for President" came out as one of the tracks on the "Higher Love 2" compilation back in 2022.  I think the track resonated with us because of the way the synth chords worked so well with the more acoustic elements. For us it sounded so summery and really evoked that early evening feeling when on holiday. We contacted the Residentes Balearicos to see if they were up for us doing a remix and were over the moon when they agreed and sent over the parts. 3) You did not one but went as far as to propose three different versions! That's impressive! I feel these are more than "remixes" since you really enhance the initial track, a point nicely explained on the Bandcamp page and during Colleen's show. How do you approach the "remix"/ "rework" side of things? What are you after? When we start working with an original with a plan to remix, we look for the parts of the song that we feel we can build something around, and we go from there. On "Balearic For President", the first mix we came up with was the Blue Sky mix, which was built around the beautiful vocal harmony from the original. We love a track with a spoken-word element, so with the track name "Balearic For President", the idea quickly came to us to find an interview with the President of Ibiza! We are always trying to include a 'live' element, which is why we replaced the synth bassline with a bass guitar version and then added the guitar. We have been massive fans of "Schmoov!" for years, so we were super excited when John (Buckby) agreed to write and play a sax line. We built the White Sands mix around what he sent us. The final version we did was the Orange Sun mix, which was based on our hope that if we did a beatless version, people might decide to open mixes with it! We also wanted a version that really highlighted the beautiful parts played by Ellis and John. 4) Colleen shared the way she likes to work on the remixes she does. Do you think that having even a vague idea of the direction you want to take a given track is a preliminary requirement, or do you give yourself time to let the track sink in and then try something out "on the fly"? I’d say a bit of both. One of us will have a strong idea as to what to do with the track from the beginning, but then with time, the track will go through so many iterations and directions, that often it won’t be immediately recognisable from the original idea, but each step in the process is so valuable to us, as without the previous one, however minor a change or idea it may be to build upon it, it wouldn’t lead to the next step, and we wouldn’t end up at that final destination. 5) What are your future plans? Are there any new remixes or other musical goodies coming our way? We have quite a few tracks on the go at the moment. We have a reimagining of a track called "Hay Fever", which is coming out in August. This is one that is close to my heart as it’s a song by 14 Iced Bears – an indie band from the late 1980s that I actually nearly joined as a drummer when I was 15 – but my parents wouldn’t let me as I was still at school! Anyway, we’re super pleased with how this has turned out, and we actually got Rob from the band to sing a new vocal for us. We are also very chuffed that Jesse Fahnestock (10:40 / Jezebell) has agreed to do a remix. We’re also working with Maya Blandy on another tune and hopefully, then have an album coming out next year on Higher Love. So, lots going on and exciting times! Thank you very much Tim! My pleasure!

Sharing our mutual Music Stories is a joy to me. I love discovering your worlds and your musical adventures! Let's listen to Kieran's musical Journey! 1) Hello Kieran! I'm so thrilled to have you here on the Balearic Breakfast blog! Your mix was featured during the 160th episode of Balearic Breakfast. How did you work on it? Was it planned, or did you do it on the fly? Thanks for asking me, Artur! Yes, it was planned. I would never plan a live set, but for me, it makes sense to prepare a radio show or mix that I might upload. I'm intrigued by the music played in Ibiza during the early 80s before house and indie dance hit the island and had such a huge impact on the Balearic sound. There's a bit of mystique around that time for me, perhaps because it is less documented, so initially, I thought I'd do a mix that tried to capture that era and sound. In my head, I imagine the DJs in Ibiza at that time might have been playing a more global sound with a lot of records from Africa and mainland Europe. Balearic classics that represent that time would be things like 'Hoomba Hoomba' by Jasper Van't Hof's Pili Pili, 'Obsession' by Guy Cuevas or 'Yé Ké Yé Ké' by Mory Kante. I started putting records aside that I thought fit into that category, but I abandoned the idea as it became a bit restrictive. There were a few of those that did make the final mix, though, such as Manu Dibango, Antoinette Konan, Nana Tuffour and Esa. For the rest of the mix, I just picked tracks that I love and that I felt sat logically together. One record that I was really keen to include was 'War' by Neyssatou, which is a cover version of Bob Marley's classic sung in Arabic. It's such an incredibly powerful track. It was on the Dub No Frontiers compilation album that I felt should have got much more attention than it did. Other than that, the only real requirement was that all the music I included would be things I might have requested on the show. 2) Musically speaking, what are your biggest musical influences both as DJs and as Artists? I'm not sure about influences as I wouldn't call myself a DJ, and I'm definitely no musician, sadly, but I love sharing music – whether that's requesting tracks for Colleen's show or playing Music at a party. Still, calling myself a DJ would do a disservice to those who put a huge amount of time into their craft and treat it as a profession. That said, there are DJs whose mixes and radio shows I make a point of listening to because they consistently introduce me to new (and old) music. Some that come to mind would be Colleen (obviously!), Mafalda, John Gomez, Cosmo Sofi, Dr Rob, Abigail Ward, Barbie Bertisch & Paul Raffaele's Love Injection, and Steve Barker's On The Wire. The only things I could pinpoint as providing specific influential moments would be seeing David Mancuso at a party in Glasgow back in the early 2000s (I'll come to that influence later) and listening to François Kevorkian's Essential Mix album that came out around the same time. Back then, I was DJ'ing in the Sub Club and playing mostly straight-up house music sets. Those two things completely altered my view on how you can select music and mix tempos and genres. I still listen to the FK mix when I need a little reminder of that. Again, I wouldn't say there are artists I would call influences, but there are musicians and producers whose music I'm always drawn to and who feature regularly in what I listen to and play out. Off the top of my head, I would say, Ron Trent, Lloyd ‘Bullwackie’ Barnes, Mizell Brothers, Paul 'Groucho' Smykle, Yvonne Turner, Matthew Halsall and Inflo. To me, these are all producers who have their own sound signature, I guess. If I was more musical, I might be able to explain this better! 3) As a member of the CAS events with Colleen, you shared your passion for Music with us. What are your five favourite albums from your childhood to where you're at now? An impossible question to answer, but I'll give it a go… Massive Attack 'Blue Lines' – Perfect from start to finish. Probably the record I've listened to most in my life. As a teenager listening to this, it was a doorway to so much other music through its samples and covers. Marvin Gaye 'What's Going On' – An obvious one but just so good. The transition from 'God Is Love' into 'Mercy Mercy Me' is one of my favourite musical moments ever. Melts me every time. Joni Mitchell' Hejira' – Each song is like a novel, and the musicianship is flawless. This album was given to me by a teacher who had a really positive impact on my life, so it means a lot to me on that level, too. The opening track 'Coyote' was actually my first Balearic Breakfast request. Lee Morgan' Search For the New Land' – My favourite Blue Note. Post-bop with a hint of the spiritual jazz sound that was to come soon. Stunning. Dadawah' Peace And Love' – Deep, hypnotic, psychedelic reggae. This is one to listen to on really good headphones. Attending the CAS events has really given me a new appreciation of making time and head space to closely listen to an album uninterrupted. I've discovered so many great albums that weren't really on my radar before being a CAS member, things like 'Ingénue' by K.D. Lang and 'If I Could Only Remember My Name' by David Crosby. 4) You launched the "Coorie Doon" parties in Glasgow in February 2023. What is the most challenging part of starting such a project? Can you tell us your story around it and your future plans? Coorie Doon is a party inspired by the spirit of David Mancuso's Loft, and other parties that carry that same ethos forward such as Colleen's London Loft. In terms of the story behind it, I always hoped someone would start a Loft-inspired party in Glasgow. I had a dream of doing it myself but didn't imagine for a minute that would happen. Out of the blue, I got a message from a fellow Loft obsessive, Finlay Kerr, who had seen that I had DJ'ed at the launch party for Colleen's first Balearic Breakfast compilation, and he asked if I'd ever thought of doing a party in Glasgow. We met for a drink with his friend Cameron Smith and we just connected instantly over a love of music and decided to give it a try. Our first step was reaching out to Colleen for advice. She warned me of the huge commitment it would require to do it properly but gave us loads of support right from the start and connected us with Iain Mackie and Andrew Pirie. Iain runs Danley Distribution and A-Live Sound, and Andrew is a hi-fi expert at Loud & Clear, one of the UK's leading high-end audio shops. They were both associates of David Mancuso and were involved with some of the parties he hosted in Glasgow in the early 2000s, and for many years they've helped Colleen with the sound at the London Loft. As luck would have it, they live in Scotland and have been incredibly generous with their expertise and time. So, that connection from Colleen was essential in getting us off the ground. After the sound system, the other big challenge was finding a venue. We didn't want to use an existing club, and we really wanted a space that felt like it could be someone's home. It also needed to have good room acoustics. I attended some talks and arts events at a venue called Civic House on the edge of the city centre. It's an old print factory that has recently been given a huge retrofit, and the organisation behind it has a great community spirit and a socially conscious approach to how they work. As well as being a cultural events venue, there is a canteen on the ground floor and this beautiful upstairs loft space that is used for co-working that I thought would be great for a party. It has wooden flooring, a vaulted ceiling and an amazing view over the city. I remember sending Andrew Pirie a picture of it, and he was like, "That's the one". I was doubtful they'd let us use it, but I got in touch with them, and luckily for us, our message was picked up by Grace Winteringham, who was leading projects for the venue at the time. Grace got what we were trying to do straight away and really went out of her way to support us and make it happen. There's a sense of responsibility that comes with saying your party is inspired by the Loft. Obviously, achieving the best possible quality of sound is crucial, but there's also the principle of making the space feel like a party in someone's home. We've tried to make the experience more personal by getting to know people who come along and build a sense of community. Food is served at the start of the night, and we invite people to bring their kids for the first few hours. We decorate the space in quite a simple way to create a more homely atmosphere – plants, lamps, wall hangings, drapes, plenty of seating, incense, and balloons. All these details are really important in properly respecting the philosophy of what David Mancuso set out through his parties. Some principles are more difficult to achieve, though, such as removing commercial transactions – the venue has a paid bar, for instance – but we try to offset this by being completely volunteer-led and making the party non-profit. So any money made goes into improvements or is donated to charity. The response has been incredible. We're coming up to our fifth party in a few weeks, which will be our first birthday. We've got a really lovely, diverse crowd of musically open-minded dancers, and we've built up an amazing community of volunteers who give up their time to help decorate the space, carry heavy speakers up and down stairs and welcome guests at the door. The crew have become a pretty close-knit group, and a few of them will be taking over musical hosting for the next party. In terms of future plans, we have thought about running cultural events alongside the party – talks, workshops, album listening events – but for the moment, we're happy to keep going and make small improvements like upgrades to the equipment and giving some more thought into how we decorate the space. 5) According to you, what does it take in our modern society to "Be Balearic"? Do you think it's just philosophical, or can we act a certain way to follow Colleen's recommendation? For me, it's just about being open and tolerant and showing love and kindness. That might sound sentimental to some people, but if having kids has taught me anything, it's about how important these things are. I think 'Balearic' in terms of both philosophy and Music relates a lot to the idea of 'life energy' that Colleen has spoken of a lot, and that was important to David Mancuso. It's a positive, life-giving force. Maybe I think that because we associate the 'Balearic' spirit so closely to the sun.