On 5th May 2024, while travelling through Spain, Colleen stopped at the Curtis Audio cafe, cocktail bar & record store for a special show. About this show. – We're so excited to share a new episode of Curtis Radio curated by legendary DJ and producer Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy. Her exciting and successful musical journey spans 4 decades, from her adolescence working in record stores and radio stations in her hometown, to her connection and friendship with the 'godfather of Disco music' David Mancuso and his seminal parties. From the Loft, to current projects Balearic Breakfast, Classic Album Sundays, Love Dancin' Sound System, among many others, her resume is too long and rich to list here. We can simply say that for a humble Barcelona audio bar that cares about quality sound and music, having Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy select 10 songs she likes to be featured on our radio show is an important event and an honor. We share that with our audience. Colleen doesn't just play records. She tells the stories behind the music. In her own words… “I am a music lover, music curator and music educator. It's about trying to transcend everyday life through music. When people say that Balearic Breakfast helped them get through the pandemic, I think it's because music has a healing quality. When people are on the dancefloor, I want them to forget about their daily lives. And the same goes for Classic Album Sundays, when people are completely immersed listening to an album, it takes them to another place. Those experiences have been very important to me. The search is endless and that is what motivates me. I never set out to do any of this intentionally; It just happened because of my passion. One thing led to another which fed another which fed another. I will never stop discovering music. “You always have to be looking forward, expanding your horizons.” So let's do just that, sit back, relax, turn up the volume and fully expand our musical horizons with these 10 beautiful songs lovingly curated by Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy. Press play and enjoy. Listen back to the 43rd episode of the Curtis Radio Show: TRACKLIST (2023) The Circling Sun – Spirits (Part 2) (2011) Jonathan Wilson – Desert Raven (2023) Jacob Gurevitsch – Elevation in MInor (Cosmodelica Remix) (2022) Derya Yildrim & Grup Simsek – Bal (1976) Pacific Express – Sky Ride 2 (1973) Madeline Bell – That's what it's all about (2023) Parbleu – Elios (2021) Flamingo Pier – Cosmic Sunset (2021) Sun Palace – Rude Movments (François K Sats Dub Extended) (1984) Robert Sandrini – Occhi Su Di Me CURTIS RADIO PRESENTATION Let's celebrate. Here, from the Curtis Radio sound system. Your monthly space where we propose music from the best selectors, interviews with quality content, Music with soul. No robots or artificial intelligence here. Through a selection of ten themes, today we are accompanied by a defender of the art of listening. Colleen brings together everything you can dream of in a musical prescriber. Writer, radio host, collector, DJ and producer. Basically, we could define her as a central figure in the contemporary musical scene, with a life dedicated to sharing and spreading. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At 14, she was already in charge of her own radio show, marking the beginning of a career that would lead her to be one of the most respected voices in the waves. In 1986, she moved to New York to study sound and radio at the School of Cinema. During her stay, she would become the first female director of one of the most important university radio stations in the United States. There, she would be a pioneer in the diffusion of the emerging house music style, attracting the genre's main figures. The conduction of radio shows, along with her experience working in the main record store in Massachusetts, made her a part of an eclectic musical fanbase that would promote her beginnings as a DJ. The turning point in her career would come when she attended the legendary David Mancuso parties at The Loft back in the 1990s. For those of you who are not familiar with David Mancuso, he is something like the "godfather of disco music". Mancuso's influence led her to appreciate music from a completely new perspective and to adopt a unique philosophy, the dance floor, as a community experience. Soon, a friendship would be forged where Mancuso would entrust her with the task of being the hostess of his mythical parties. In the 2000s, she founded the record label Beaches Brew, releasing a variety of recordings that covered genres from dub to rock. Collecting vinyls, putting records on, telling stories and producing, which would lead her to collaborate with artists like the Irish singer Roisin Murphy, others like Chaka Khan or Stevie Wonder himself, leaving her mark with innovative and eclectic remixes. Her influence transcends and goes beyond, creating the classic album Sundays concept in the Royal Albert Hall, a movement that proclaims the art of listening to albums in full with the audience. To this day, Colleen continues to express herself through her show Balearic Breakfast, which began on Gilles Peterson's radio as a musical lighthouse and transcended to a series of vinyl compilations. Colleen Murphy merges the desire to entertain with the need to heal and educate through music, inspiring with new sounds and perspectives. Today, through Diez Temas, she educates us again with a very special selection for this new episode of Corte y Radio. Thank you for being here with us. Colleen Cosmo Murphy, friends. COLLEEN PRESENTATION Greetings, this is Colleen Cosmo Murphy and right now I am in Andalucía. Actually, I'm in Zahora and I've had a lovely holiday, just about to return home and back to reality, but just love this part of Spain so much. We've been coming here for over 20 years now and I'm feeling pretty Balearic, even though we're on the wrong coast. Of course, we're on the West Coast. Those are Spanish birds that you can hear in the background. I'm delighted to be here on Corte y Radio with 10 selections that give an idea of the overall arc of my weekly Balearic Breakfast radio show, which started on Worldwide FM and I now host on Mixcloud. I'm on Mixcloud Live every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon British summertime. You can join in the live chat. And, yeah, it's a great community of people. The show's been going on for just over three years now. I guess coming up on four years. It was started during the pandemic. And luckily and quite gratefully, I also have a Balearic Breakfast compilation series on Heavenly Recordings. And volume three is coming out very soon. I believe it's at the end of May or early June. And I'm also doing a special record release party in Ibiza on the 8th of June at The Standard, if you want to come along and join me. Today's selection, as I said, represents the arc of Balearic Breakfast. And there's some New Zealand spiritual jazz, some contemporary California singer-songwriter material just kind of hearkening back to the Laurel Canyon days, but more modern. There's a remix of mine, a Cosmodélica remix of mine, of Jacob Gurevich, who is a Danish guitarist who really specializes in Spanish-style guitar. It's a song called Elevation in Minor that I remixed for him. And that can be found on the upcoming compilation, Balearic Breakfast, volume three. You can still hear the Spanish birds here. There's also some Turkish folk dance music, some 70s South African jazz rock, some classic American soul, some Neapolitan jazz funk. I just love what's coming out of Napoli at the moment. Some New Zealand live cosmic disco. Yes, a couple of New Zealand tracks because we went to New Zealand for the first time this year and had a great time. I also have a tribute to two of my mentors, Francois K. Francois Kvorkian, that is. He did a great remix of a song that was played a lot by David Mancuso, David Mancuso of The Loft in New York. They're both supporters, friends, mentors, and just people who I admire and have had very intense relationships with in a very positive way. And I also leave with one little song that's a little bit of a surprise, so I hope you enjoy. Thanks to Curtis Radio for having me here, and thanks to all of you for listening.

Matt Wolfe is one of the core listeners of Colleen's Balearic Breakfast show. I am so pleased to welcome someone that became a friend! Let's meet Matt! 1) Dear Matt, I am truly humbled to have you on the blog, as you are one of the show's "core listeners"! Going back, way back to Balearic Breakfast's first shows, did you feel that "irresistible attraction" to the show? What impact did the show have on your life back then? Hi Artur! 🌅 Thank you so much for your support, your kind patience and for having me! 🫶🏻✌🏻 I was so happy this show came along… Colleen's amazing soundtrack and beautiful selections got me back in touch with my musical roots again. That's really a priceless gift! 2) I have been thinking about it lately, but don't you think that the tragic event of "The Disco Demolition Night" wasn't, in a sense, a good thing as it permitted a new musical approach in the 80s, ultimately leading to "Nu-Disco" with tracks like Findlay Brown's Stallion's Suite thus assuring Disco's Legacy? It was a very sad and shocking event, indeed! Of course, I was too young to remember anything from it. But I believe what happened then has led us to where we are now and the huge Disco resurrection that has taken place over the last four centuries… I believe Disco is bigger than ever with the new generation and with events such as Glitter Box nights. Disco is firmly back on the map. I think Nu-Disco definitely has a firm place on the map, too! 3) Talking about music, tell me more about your 80's! Please share with us some of your beloved songs from that era! For me, everything started back in 86/87. I started to feel the love and energy of the electronic/synth-sounding pop songs like Donna Summer's Dinner with Gershwin and Petshop Boys' Domino Dancin and Heart. These songs led me to dance Music and, of course, house music! 4) As a DJ, how do you approach music when blending tracks together? What is your goal when sharing music with people? I like to play the full song and blend in towards the end… I like people to hear the full 12-inch of the mix as I believe you can fully appreciate it this way! 5) With the vinyl resurgence in recent years, we saw a lot of new editions coming out, and lately, sadly, prices have gone up. How do you buy records, and most importantly, being a DJ, how do you listen to music? Lockdown made me reconnect with my vinyl collection again…. I started purchasing more records, and this led me to do a few live sessions on Instagram! As far as buying goes, Discogs can be expensive, but I love a good charity shop hunt, too. I’m now very selective about what I purchase and only buy what I truly need. I also use a few sites to download songs (Traxsource, beat port, etc.) and love a bit of DAB radio, where I listen to Jazz FM quite a bit! Thank you so much, Matt! See you soon, Artur! ✨✨

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

An electronic project based in the North West of England UK, Shunt Voltage is nothing short of a musical electrifying band! I met one of its members for a great interview! 1) Hello Jamie! How is the current going lately? (laughs!) Thank you so much for joining me on the Balearic Breakfast blog! Colleen featured Shunt Voltage's music several times during Balearic Breakfast, and we all dig it a lot! By the way, are you into electronics? (laughs!) Hi Artur, the current is flowing very well thanks, and thank you for inviting us on. Yes! it’s actually Damian who knows all about circuit boards and capacitors etc. It's great for us because he’s really good with the gear we use. 2) On Facebook I read that quote from your latest musical effort: "Thanks to Andrew Weatherall for bringing us together". How did you guys actually meet, and what led you to create music under the "Shunt Voltage" moniker? I had worked with Damian for many years on previous projects that he had been involved with, and so we just decided to start our own project. Initially, there were another two guys involved and SV started life a little more organic sounding. When they left, it kind of forced us to approach things differently and we became more electronic-based. We had a rehearsal room (the Bunker) where our mates, who we’d known for years and with whom we used to hang out, played music and did photography/art and so Karl started to look after the projections when we played live. We wanted a name that kind of reflected what we were doing and so, with Damian's knowledge of electronics, he suggested a few names and we both instantly agreed: 'Shunt Voltage' sounded right… I think he then explained to me what it meant which wasn’t quite as exciting, but it still sounded right! The Andrew Weatherall nod is a reference to the sonic ecosystem that in a roundabout way enabled us to hook up with Duncan Gray and John Paynter/Ben Lewis for the remixes on our 12" release. The same musical ecosystem was also a catalyst for a previous release 'Scapeism' on Duncan Gray's Tici Taci label which was remixed by Sons Of Slough (Duncan Gray & Ian Weatherall). 3) That's quite impressive indeed! And it leads us to the song played by Colleen on the 173rd episode of Balearic Breakfast, 'To What Degree (A Space Age Freak Out)' which, in its essence, is quite close to some tracks played at the Loft (I'm thinking about "Torch Song's "Prepare to Energize" here), with that bumping spacey feeling to it. How was that tune born and how did you guys collaborate with ASAFO on that one? The SV version came about like most of our tracks, just experimenting with ideas and jamming things out. We like using vocals but not too much, we try to avoid being too song like (i.e verse chorus and so on). I think minimal lyrics and repetition are good enough hook lines in themselves. Our manager, Paul (Beautiful Burnouts), was the catalyst behind the remixes. He’s put on a number of gigs that John Paynter and SV have appeared on the same bill, and so we’ve got to know John and become friends. We submitted a couple of tracks and a remix for John's “Shelter Me” projects, so it made complete sense to ask him alongside Ben Lewis to do a mix, they did a great job with it, and gave it a bit more of a club vibe. We were also really pleased with the Duncan Gray remix of 'Cowboys', which was a bit more industrial electro-funk style! So all in all we're proud of our first vinyl release! 4) I went down memory lane and listened back to the 120th Balearic Breakfast episode where another track of yours was featured, "Generator", another very electrical name indeed, laughs! It's also a very interesting track because it has some beautiful stereo effects, quite frighteningly realistic, I must say, and also a beautiful soundstage, which helps the listener lose himself in the Sound. How do you work on a track? Do you start with a rhythm or a beat, or do you go another way around while creating? Yes, we have a few running electric themes. Our first release on Bandcamp was titled "Electro Circus”, but this was actually a nod and a wink to the infamous 70’s punk night in Manchester the Electric Circus, where many great bands played like Buzzcocks, Talking Heads and Fall etc. Back to the question… Generator started life very differently to how it ended up. It was based around a Can-type groove on bass guitar and drums mixed with some industrial-type sounds, it was an unusual blend of ideas which is what we still try to do now. Eventually, things were replaced by sequencers and drum machines. However we retained the industrial aspect of it to keep the original spirit of the song and, finally, to finish off, the vocal idea was developed. We generally process all our vocals one way or another to make them a bit more interesting. 5) You're quite busy lately, as I saw you also had a few dates this year leading you to the Social in London! Congratulations! With all of that going on, what's next for Shunt Voltage? Any chance an album could be in the making? We self-released our first vinyl 12’ this year. Hopefully, if we sell all the copies we can fund another release at some point later this year. We also have a single called “Resistor” (keeping the theme going, ha!) being digitally released through Paisley Dark alongside remixes from Adult DVD, Mindbender, Cosmikuro and A Space Age Freak Out. Other than that I guess our future plans are to carry on doing everything we’ve been doing, more gigs and more music. Thank you Jamie! Thanks Artur!

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 177th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on May 28th 2024. About this episode. – For obvious reasons, and I let you find them (laughs!), I could have entitled this very post "The Double Trouble Sessions"! But since I'm here to facilitate your navigation through the musical ocean that is Balearic Breakfast, I'll respect the naming system I set up on the blog! After playing at the Good Room in Brooklyn last week, meeting her friends Paul Raffaele and Barbie Bertisch for another incredible musical experience (their first commune Cosmodelica party was held some 10 years ago "in the Bad Room", time flies! – and, should I add, Paul and Barbie are awaiting a Baby, so heartfelt congratulation to them!!), Colleen returned home and streamed this 176th episode of our beloved show, sharing great news about the Balearic Musical scene with the release of another splendid compilation! Listen back to the 177th episode of Balearic Breakfast: "This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now archived on my Mixcloud for your listening back pleasure and please give me a follow while you’re over there – trying to smash that 10K ceiling! On this show I’m joined by cratediggers @djkelvinandrews and @balearicmike who each contribute an exclusive one hour mix which will have you heading to Discogs. They also chat about their new compilation Down to the Sea and Back – Volume Tres: The Continuing Journey of the Balearic Beat which is coming out this Friday on @musicfordreams" PLAYLIST Balearic Mike Mix: (2010) The San Sebastian Strings – Gypsy Camp (Danny Mekanik Edit) (2013) Josete Ordonez – Objetos Perdidos (Dagobert Böhm's Las Estrellas Y El Interminable Sonido Del Mar Remix) (1971) Amancio D'Silva – What Maria Sees (2021) Mario Rui Silva – Dembita (2022) Greg Foat – Tropical Love (1975) Thijs Van Leer – Street Rondo (1970) Airto – The Tunnel (1978) Robert Williams – I Believe You’re The One (2020) Lady Blackbird – Collage (Greg Foat Remix) (2023) Steve Cobby – Everything Is Moved By Time (1996) Sade – Somalia (DJ Duke remix of “Pearls”) (2013) Heikki Sarmanto & Jeanine Otis – Magic Song (Ashley Beedle's Heavy Disco Joint) (2019) Larry Manteca – Hanuman Kelvin Andrews Mix: (2023) Habitat Ensemble – Rounded Edges (2016) Steaua De Mare – Babadag (Khidja Remix) (2021) Marten Yorgantz – Ammenain Serdov (De Tout Coeur) (Fundido Edit) (2024) Alex Kassian – E2E4 (Mad Professor Qantas Crazy Remix Beats 2024) (2021) The Slits – So Tough (Party Nails Don’t Be So Serious Dub Version) (2021) Sal Asrula – Poor Boy (Dub Mix) (2022) Wham – Where Did Your Heart Go? (CJ Giovanni Edit) (2023) Creep Show – Bungalow (2016) Atom TM – Magic Sofa (2020) Anak Anak Abu – Korkap Mestap (1983) Car Crash Set – Fall From Grace THE INTERVIEW [Colleen] Good morning, Balearicans. I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy, hosting your weekly Balearic Breakfast on my MixCloud Live until high noon. And greetings to all over there on the chat groups. Always great to see you. Today, we have a special takeover by a dynamic duo of esteemed crate diggers and purveyors of that obscure, elusive, hard-to-pin sound that we like to call Balearic. They've been rightly described as chroniclers of a scene assembling lost gems and unheard marvels into Balearic mythology. Today, I'm with Kelvin Andrews and Balearic Mike in advance of their new down-to-the-sea-and-back volume Tres, the continuing journey of the Balearic Beat compilation, and it's coming out on Music for Dreams. And I'm overjoyed that they've both given us an exclusive mix because they're fabulous DJs. Hello, Kelvin. Hello, Mike. [Balearic Mike] Hi. [Kelvin Andrews] Hi, Colleen. [Colleen] How are you doing? [Kelvin Andrews] Fine. [Colleen] Good. Good to see you. Thank you so much for joining me. [Kelvin Andrews] Absolute pleasure. Thank you. [Balearic Mike] Thanks for asking us. [Colleen] I love the compilation. I wanted to first just talk a little bit about the history of this compilation, and then we'll kind of take a deeper dive into your backgrounds and also what's coming up. Now, this is volume Tres. Tell us first a little bit about volumes one and two and how they came about. [Kelvin Andrews] Mike and I kind of, I think we met around 1993, four, did we? [Balearic Mike] Yeah, 92, 93. It was early 90s, wasn't it? [Kelvin Andrews] We actually met playing in a five-a-side tournament between clubs at Keele University, which was quite an interesting way to meet. And I think the first thing I said to Mike was, nice shorts. [Balearic Mike] No, you said shorts of the tournament. [Kelvin Andrews] Oh, shorts of the tournament, yeah. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, I had these big kind of like boxing-style black shorts with big white stars all over them from the boys' shop in London. Because, yeah, at the time I didn't have any football hits or anything like that. So, yeah, as I was walking off the pitch after a hard-fought game against Golden, Kelvin said to me, yeah, shorts of the tournament, they are, mate. [Colleen] Who won? [Balearic Mike] Neither of us. Yeah, we were absolutely awful. We'd all been in back-to-basics the night before and come straight there or something. Yeah, it was not very high standard of soccer. [Kelvin Andrews] I believe the cream team won because they had loads of Liverpool football players playing for them. [Colleen] Oh, that's cheating. That's absolutely cheating, isn't it? [Balearic Mike] Yeah. [Colleen] And how did you end up coming to DJ together? Did you start doing parties together first before you did your first compilation? [Balearic Mike] Well, I was kind of DJing with a group of guys in Manchester called Love Dot and Kelvin was obviously already resident at Golden and was like really quite huge, or he was, you know, him and Danny were, she was pure and they were remixing everyone and stuff. Yeah, so I let Kelvin tell you what Golden was. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, Golden was a party started by one guy who was in my art class at school, a guy called John Hill and a couple of his friends. And they were coming along to a regular Saturday night thing called the Freetown and they approached the DJ booth and said, we're starting a new club. We want you and the other guy, Pete Bromley, to be residents. Are you interested? And we said, yes. And they just caught a wave really that the whole, the super club era was about to come in, and papers like MixMag were just starting to have this national hold on the clubbing public. And this wave swept in and within a year we were collecting Club of the Year at the Royal Albert Hall. It was quite mad really. It kind of took off very, very quickly. My first paid DJ gig was a 17 year old in 1982. So, and it wasn't very hip when I started DJing at all, especially in the UK. People were like, what are you doing? I said, I like it. I didn't know why I liked it. I just love sharing music. And so I was in the right place at the right time really. And I got, you know, I'd been DJing a few years when that happened. And when the club thing really took off, I was just sort of there and ready. And that's how I met Mike because he was involved with a crew in Manchester and we sort of got chatting. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, we liked partying very hard and Kelvin and I were both really, really, really, really obsessed about records. And so after the club's finished, because you know, back then in the UK things still finished at sort of two, maybe four. So the after party was very important. And Kelvin and I would invariably just end up honished over the deck, like ignoring everyone else, going, have you heard this? And then Kelvin would go, that's great. Have you heard this? And we did that a lot, like every weekend when we'd meet up after DJing at various places. And then one day I think Kelvin said, we should do a compilation of some of these records, shouldn't we? [Colleen] Let's talk a little bit as well about what you were doing at the time because you were working in a record shop in Manchester and you were also part of the Loved Up crew. If you could tell us a little bit about what it was like at that time. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, so I was just really lucky. I kind of bulged up my fine art degree in Brighton by going out clubbing all the time and buying too many records and not really painting any pictures, which is what they were expecting me to do there really. And yeah, I'd been living in the Northwest of England. So I went to Manchester quite a lot. My mum was living in Warrington in the Northwest and I was in Manchester shopping one day and suddenly a job in vinyl exchange and applied and was lucky enough to blag my way into that. And yeah, again, it was sort of right place, right time. It was really early 1991 and it was a really good record shop but it had only been open a couple of years and it was just starting to get its head around the fact that people really wanted house music and dance music. And so I was brought in to sort of help. There was one guy who kind of knew about house music who was Adrian Loved Up and they just said, right, we need more people who can buy this stuff because it's obviously really taken off. And so, yeah, I got the job and yeah. I mean, I was already kind of really immersed in music and clubbing and kind of, I DJ'd a bit when I was back at school and I DJ'd a bit when I was away at art college in Brighton and stuff. But yeah, I was just mainly just dancing and buying lots and lots of records, and the dancing and buying lots and lots of records kind of went into overdrive really when I got a job in a record shop because yeah, I mean, you think you know a lot about music when you start working in a record shop and then within about a day, you realize that you know absolutely nothing. [Colleen] This is what I always say. I say the same thing because I was so full of myself. I wasn't really full of myself, but I was 16 and I got it when I started first working in a shop. And then I realized I will never be able to even crack the tiniest bit of all the music in the world and it's great. I was just on the phone with François before this interview. We're turning each other onto records the whole time. He's 70, you know, and it's just this kind of passion never really stops, does it? There's just limitless music and working in a record shop certainly does kind of, wet that appetite and feed it and it's sort of a bad way too. Do you two remember any of the early records that you turned each other onto? [Balearic Mike] Well, you know, it's weird because the one of them is on Dancy in Back Volume 2, it's Jago, isn't it? Jago was the one that I think when I played it to Kelvin, he went, you know, we should do a compilation with these records. Summer 1989, and the clubs and raves are filled with this new, dreamy lighter sound: the sound of Italian house music. It was one of the longest, hottest summers in memory, and my first living away from home. After the grim Northern wastes of Warrington, Brighton in the sunshine seemed, to this young gun, like the Italian Riviera. The Zap Club had been closed for most of the winter, undergoing a major refurbishment and extension, which took it from two rather small arches into four, encompassing a huge, cathedral-like dance floor. I went as often as I could. The week after it opened I remember Soul II Soul DJing there, which was amazing, but all summer long they had a terrific roster of regular nights, with Harvey & Choci’s Tonka Soundsystem on a Monday (I think it was?), an insane new gay midweek night which I can’t remember the name of, and of course Chris Coco’s Coco Club every Saturday night. I heard this record at all of them. I can’t remember exactly how I found out what it was called or who it was by. If I asked a DJ it must have been at a Tonka night. The Zap Club’s DJ booth was high on a balcony above the bar, overlooking the main dance floor, and so it was a pain to get to, but at Tonka, Harvey and co set up the decks on the stage, right in the middle of the dance floor, so you were literally dancing around them. Much easier to pester them. I bought it from Rounder records in Brighton some time that summer - the reissue with the brown label. I remember at the time Mark (I think his name was?) and the other staff in there all thought that it was a new Italian house record and that the Frankye Knuckles (miss-spelt) mention was just a cunning ruse to get people to buy it. None of us had any idea that it was actually an old Italo-Disco track from 1983, or that it really had been remixed in Chicago by the godfather of house three years later. That’s part of the enduring appeal of this record for me. It sounds like it could have been made at any time over the last thirty- plus years, right up until today. Hence no surprise when I relocated to Manchester and found everyone I met here loved it as well. It’s also one of the reasons why it rarely, if ever, leaves my record box. Back in the early 90s when I first met Kelvin, we were back at an after party in the house in Withington I shared with Adrian LuvDup and Chris Sheep. As usual we were hunched over the decks, deeply involved in a game of musical top trumps. When I played this track we both decided we should release a compilation LP, with this on it. It only took us twenty years to get round to it. My friend Oscar’s son is named Jago. [Kelvin Andrews] Mike had a habit of playing me things. I saw, you know, when you think you've got a hot record box and this guy comes along and starts pulling things out and you're like, he's like, yeah, this is promo only. And it's a Colombian B-side seven-inch. I'm like, what, who is this guy? You know, so I was immediately hooked and, you know, and we were just like, we were probably quite rude to everyone else because we were just talking to each other about records, you know. [Balearic Mike] Ignored the party going on really, didn't we? And yet by putting records on, we're helping facilitate it at the same time, but you know, we're definitely an audience of one rather than everything else in the room. [Colleen] Well, believe me, I mean, the music that the both of you play, it really does translate. It's a, don't think, it's not that kind of Trainspotter-ish, Trainspotter-ish kind of situation where some people are just pulling out records that are rare just for the sake of it, but they're actually not very good. We do see quite a bit of that because we've excavated so much already, I suppose. But literally every selection, every selection on this double album is fantastic. [Balearic Mike] Well, thank you very much. We're really pleased with that, actually, aren't we? It's like... [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, very much so. It was kind of like, you know, oh, let's do this, because we talked about doing Volume 3. There's been a bit of a gap, as you may know, but... [Balearic Mike] Ten years! [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, yeah. And I don't think it's really the fact that, you know, we don't have the records to put on there. I think licensing slows things up. This time around, in the past, we put it all together ourselves. This time, we've got a label to help us, and that made such a difference. It was so great. You know, we could concentrate on, like, picking things out and then giving it to licensing people to take care of, you know, which is great. I think when you listen back, you don't know when you're in it, but when you actually listen back to the comp, you think, oh, this is quite good. It's bizarre, isn't it? You know, when you're... I think when you're DJing... When you're DJing, you don't... I'm certainly the same. I'm thinking about the next record. [Colleen] Yeah. [Kelvin Andrews] And I'm not really listening to the record that's playing. So when I... Particularly when I hear a mix back, I'm like, oh, that's pretty good, that is. That's what gives me my confidence, and it always has done. I think back to, like, the first time I got mixtapes recorded. When I listened back, it made me go, actually, I'm all right, I can do this. I think it's the same with the comp. You know, the choices are... And we don't really consult each other. We just come up with two lists, chuck them together and see when we've licensed it, what we can get, and then we make the comp. [Colleen] And then when you do that, do you have one person does one disc, one does the other? Is it back-to-back? How do you sequence it? [Balearic Mike] I think we both just like it to flow like as if we were playing together live. You know, it's like when we DJ, we often do sort of two-on, two-off, or three-on, three-off, or something like that. But we wanted it to work like... We'd like all of them to work like a DJ set almost, haven't we, I think, Kelvin? [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. [Balearic Mike] Have a kind of beginning, middle, and an end, really. You know, like a flow in a kind of sensible, musical way. And it's really weird, actually, when we were putting the running order together, we both came up with separate running orders, and they were almost identical, I think, weren't they? [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, yeah. And actually, they've only really changed just to facilitate having the right amount of music on a side of a record and stuff like that. You know, it's the only reason that it had to be moved around, really. [Colleen] Yeah, that's one of the kind of bloody awful things about vinyl, right? [Balearic Mike] Well, I mean, the worst thing is not being able to get things. I mean... [Colleen] That's the worst. And then somebody else gets it. [Balearic Mike] Thankfully, that hasn't happened to us yet, that something's come out that we wanted that's on someone else's comp. [Colleen] Actually, it's fine. At least it's out there, right? I mean, there's so much great music, and the two of you are proper, proper crate diggers. Why don't we get back into the music for a little bit, and we'll come back and speak some more. Right now, we're listening to a one-hour exclusive mix from Balearic Mike. I should also say he has a radio show on 1BTN, which is really good, so you should check that out, too. [Colleen] You're listening to Balearic Breakfast, and with me right now, I have Calvin Andrews and Balearic Mike, and they have a brand new compilation out called Down to the Sea and Back, Volume Trace, the Continuing Journey of the Balearic Beat. In fact, it's not out right now. It's coming out on Music for Dreams on the 31st of May at the end of this month. And right now, we've been listening to Balearic Mike's mix. We have Kelvin Andrews' exclusive one-hour mix coming up afterwards. I just love the way both of these guys play. We were talking earlier about the methodology of how you created this compilation. I mean, we have two different people. I did a similar thing with Ashley Beedle a long time ago (ed.: on "Dark Star" - Discogs). Now, when did you actually start DJing together? [Balearic Mike] It would probably have been sometime in the mid-90s, wouldn't it? I think, did I play at Golden with you, and you played at Loved Up Nights with me? [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. [Balearic Mike] We played together at things like Wobble and stuff in Birmingham, and then we had a club that we ran together in Stoke called Sound in some 96. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, 96. So it's like the sort of 94. We were sort of occasionally playing at different clubs. We'd show up at a club on the circuit, and we were playing. When I think back about how we communicated without mobile phones at that point as well, it was quite weird. But we always used to see each other, didn't we? [Balearic Mike] Yeah, it's mad, isn't it? You see each other like every weekend, and it's like you'd be DJing in Glasgow, and we'd be in London, and we'd meet in Birmingham. It's like, how do you do that without tracking devices and stuff? But yeah, we just did, didn't we? [Colleen] Kelvin, what was it about Mike that really struck you as a DJ? [Kelvin Andrews] Well, he was playing at a level with the digging, which I wanted to be, because I didn't know many people like that. It was like, this is how I see it, like obsession, detail, and just... And it was always about the music too. You're playing a record, I don't really go with the idea that if it's rare, it's good, like you mentioned before. It's got to be good. It's got to be exciting. On top of that, if it's obscure and rare, even better, because it kind of gives you something to play with, and not everyone's playing it. And if I learn that 20 DJs are playing this record, I kind of shy away from it, because I'll be looking for something else. And this was a guy who was, he always had music that I wanted. Luckily, because he was in a record shop, he would buy me copies of stuff. [Colleen] They tried to have. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, which is really helpful. [Colleen] Or not, not on your bank balance, that's for sure! [Kelvin Andrews] Well, no, but I did get a discount, generally, so. But we both had the same kind of appetite for records as well. And it was just like, he would make a call to me in an afternoon and go, we've had these tracks in, there's three, do you want me to put one aside for you? I'm like, yeah. I didn't even need to hear it, because I knew I needed it. Because if he was having it, I wanted it as well. It's a bit like that. And I was running a couple of labels as well, Bits and Bobs coming out. I was in the studio doing that side of my thing. [Colleen] Why don't we say what that was? Because not everybody knows exactly what you did at the studio, because you did some pretty big things. [Kelvin Andrews] Well, I worked with my brother, Danny, and we started off by making some house tracks. I was in bands and stuff. It was a very, quite a musical background. My dad was a musician. So we were all into music. My dad said to us, don't go into the music industry. And all three brothers ignored him. We, and it wasn't by design. We were sort of like, we just fell into it because we were into it. You know, it was just the exciting thing to do. You know, you either formed a band or you played records or you, you know, as I was growing up, my parents were into the music that we played. So in 79, we were obsessed with Earth, Wind and Fire, you know, and I was the eldest. My two younger brothers, they were having it drilled into them. So music was everywhere, really. So making music was the next step. So first of all, Danny, younger brother, I was working in 86 for Polygram Records. And I got a cassette of the House Sound of London, Chicago house music. And it was a promo cassette. And I play, I play Jack Your Body to Danny. And he had an epiphany right there. He just went, that's it. That's what I'm doing. Within six months, he'd enrolled into the School of Sound in Manchester. And he was programming drums and, you know, using a mixing desk within, you know, when he was 18, he released a record called Ride the Rhythm by This Ain't Chicago, which almost crossed over. It got to number 41, but it was a big club hit. All of a sudden, remixes started to come in. Then I started to get involved with him. He was like, come in the studio. And then brothers, by 92, we were releasing house records on our own label and stuff. Then we blagged a couple of remixes and then the major started knocking and we were doing remixes like weekly for a while. Some good, some bad. [Colleen] I just want to say some of the names. I mean, Danny was also in Candy Flip. [Kelvin Andrews] That's right, yeah. Danny was a pop star, age 20. [Colleen] And then you were doing Sure is Pure. And that is massive. I remember getting those records over in Dance Tracks. Very well-crafted, melodic, lovely arrangements. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, it was great because we've just put all our love for music in these records. And a lot of the time, we were putting in our love of disco and boogie and those things that we grew up with into these house records that were becoming very popular. And the club I was playing at, Golden, when I was resident, they loved that sound. It was like, we'd go from, I remember what, because I was digging out records from my dancing past and one track that springs to mind was the Fat Bat Band's Backstroking. And that's like, not many people mention that record, but it was an anthem at a super club, at a house club in Stoke. [Colleen] WOOW!! [Kelvin Andrews] You know, and we had 2,000 people going. So the minute you played that first, that bendy synth riff, hands were in the air. And it was nowhere else either, which was really cool. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, I'd never heard that record. And like seeing Kelvin play at Golden and 2,000 people go absolutely mental. So it was like, how have I not heard this record before? [Colleen] You know, it's interesting. It's these regional, the regional hits, because we won't have this anymore with clubs, you know, because of everything being online and everything is available for everybody. But the regional, there was one club I used to play in Perugia called Red Zone. It was massive. It was a huge club (ed.. They had all the American DJs there. 6,000 people in the suburbs. And they had their own anthems. The first time I went to a Northern Soul night, I was just visiting. And you know, I thought I knew something about soul music. I was already a DJ. I was visiting in the 1990s and I went up to Glasgow. I wanted to go to the sub club, wanted to check it out. And that night was the Goodfoot. And I didn't know a single song. Everybody was singing all the lyrics. And I just love how there's regional hits like that, where people really rally around a certain song and it's their song. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. It was buying records as a teenager, before sort of I started buying 12 inch singles in 79, 80 with pocket money. And then, you know, just things that I could get hold of. And we'd go to a local discotheque called The Place. And then The Place was The Place basement. [Colleen] The Place?! My husband's parents used to go there in the 1960s. [Kelvin Andrews] My parents met at The Place. [Colleen] Oh my, they probably knew each other then. Because, yeah, that was like the place. Well, it was the place to go. [Balearic Mike] The Place was The Place. [Kelvin Andrews] Stayed open right through the 70s and the 80s. And then in the, when I was a teenager, they had a teen scene there. And it was like an under-18s thing. But the guy who used to play records on the Saturday nights, in The Place basement, is a guy called Trevor M. Trevor was my DJ mentor. He used to play import, US import, funk, jazz, soul, that kind of vibe. And the jazz-funk fusion-type things. And there was a whole subculture of these working class, mostly black kids, UK kids, getting their sisters to sew up clothes for them so they had their own look. It was like, it was a brilliant thing because they didn't have the money to buy, you know, fashion labels. They would make their own stuff and they, and the music was the best. It really was. I was quite grown up when you're 14, you know, listen to Ronnie Laws and, you know, and Diodato and Al Jarreau, you know, I mean, quite sophisticated when you're 14, really. But I was already tuned to this because my dad was a musician and he had a decent record collection, not a large record collection, but a decent one. And he, when he stopped being a recording artist in the 60s, he then joined tour management and he worked for a company called Danny O'Donovan Enterprise, he's in the mid-70s. And so he, they used to bring over the black American acts to the UK. So I saw Rufus and Chaka Khan's soundcheck when I was 10. Oh, it was? Right, when you're 10, you don't, all I wanted to do was play the pong machine in the corner. Rufus are playing a soundcheck with Chaka Khan and I'm ignoring it, playing the pong game, you know. I look back, it's like, what were you doing? You know, but that's when you're 10, that's the thing. I was kind of lucky in that sense, but my taste, well, the time we'd been to the basement, we were listening to like grown-up music and that was having an influence on us. Cassette culture was prevalent. We were all sharing cassettes. There was a guy in the basement and there was a guy in town who would, his big brother was buying all the hot imports, putting them onto cassettes and selling them for four quid each in town. So we were- [Colleen] The entrepreneur. [Kelvin Andrews] We were having the best music, you know, on our little ghetto blaster. And it was like, and you were learning how to dance and, you know, it took a while for me because I was a bit stiff. You know, my other brother, Richard, is a great dancer and I wasn't quite as good as him. So I had to work hard at being a good dancer. The first time I heard Trevor M play in the basement, I heard Harry Thuman, Underwater, completely blew my mind. Literally, it was just like one of the greatest things I'd ever heard. I heard Slicks, Face Bass. I heard, and just on the first night this was, my head was like, I want to do what that guy does. And I'd already made my mind up that I was going to be a DJ. So he collected records, played a couple of parties and then someone said, I'll pay you so much to come and do a gig. This was in 82. And that's when I started. [Colleen] Professional DJ career. [Kelvin Andrews] I think I got 15 quid. Yeah. [Colleen] Wow! [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. Which bought you about, bought you three imports if you're looking. [Colleen] That's more than I got for some gigs. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. [Colleen] I started in 82 as well, but it was on the radio, on a 10-watt radio station. And I wasn't getting paid, so I can't call it professional, in any of these. We've been, we've been chattering quite a bit. Why don't we get back to the music and when we come back, I'll be speaking with you, Mike, about how you, what you thought about Kelvin when you first met him and what kind of DJ he was. [Colleen] You're listening to Balearic Mike's mix right now on Balearic Breakfast. [Colleen] And we're back and I'm here with Balearic Mike and with Kelvin Andrews, talking about their new compilation, Down to the Sea Volume Tres. And earlier I asked Kelvin what he felt about you, Mike, as a DJ, when you first started playing together. And now I want to ask you the same about Kelvin. When you two started playing together and you started discovering music with him, what were your thoughts about Kelvin as a DJ and musical selector? [Kelvin Andrews] Do I leave the room now? [Colleen] Yeah, you bet. Yeah, I think you should. [Balearic Mike] Well, I mean, we were at very different stages in our career, really, because Kelvin was already a huge star, really. He had a huge residency, he DJed for years. And so I was just a bit in awe of him, really. He had amazing records, you know, I mean, this is what we really bonded over. We had similar tastes, but really, you know, if you can call such eclectic tastes similar, it's basically like anything that's good, anything that will make people dance, anything that's kind of got something original about it and something interesting, something that's different to what everyone else is playing. So we kind of really bonded over that. But I mean, Kelvin was just like light years ahead of me in his DJ journey at that point, you know. He could take an audience of a couple of thousand people and just have them absolutely in the palm of his hand. So I actually, I've learned so much from kind of studying Kelvin. [Colleen] So how do you feel the two of you complement one another? [Balearic Mike] Well, it's just really strange that we just dig around, we have such similar tastes. And yet when we get together, I mean, we haven't DJed together for a couple of years now, have we? What with COVID and everything that's been going on in the world. And we'll come together and we'll both have completely different bags of records. And yet I'll love everything Kelvin plays and he'll like everything I play, you know. And it was the same when we were putting the comps together, you know, we both came up with lists and there was no duplication at all. It was like, you know, you just think some of us, we're going to suggest some of the same records, but no, it's like, you've just got all these records that, you know, some of them I'd heard because we DJed together and I'd heard Kelvin play them, but some of the things on there that I hadn't heard before. I mean, you just, you realize that it's just never ending, isn't it? You never hear everything, you know. So it's good to have something else, a good pair of ears out there that's putting you on to things all the time. [Colleen] Yeah, exactly. A filter basically, a curator. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, exactly. [Colleen] Now, how did you two fall in love with the sounds that are usually associated with the White Isle? Mike, it's in your name, Balearic Mike. [Balearic Mike] I mean, I only heard the name, the term Balearic Beats in sort of 88, you know. There was the article in ID and then the compilation came out and I liked that, but I didn't really understand what it was. You know, I'd never really been abroad before. I wasn't in a position where I was going to go on holiday to Ibiza and hear this DJ play in this magical club or anything. But I've always had just really quite varied taste and I've always, I mean, growing up during the 80s, I kind of, I moved into sort of listening to clubs and went into dance to music in the sort of, around about 86 when I was about 15, I suppose. So it was before the sort of behemoth that is house music kind of came and washed everything else away before it. And in those days, you just heard lots of different kinds of music. On a dance floor, you know, you'd hear kind of hip hop and electro records and you'd hear kind of smoother sort of jazz funk and things like that. And like electronic pop records and all those kinds of things. And that's basically what Balearic Beats is, isn't it? I mean, it's a kind of, it's a great term, but it's really inaccurate, isn't it? Because actually the DJs in New York were doing exactly the same thing with just slightly different records. DJs in Italy were doing the same thing again with just a slightly different, you know, selection of records. DJs in Belgium were doing it with, you know, a slightly different sound. So, you know, but yeah, so I heard about it then. And I think summer 89 was my first summer kind of living away from home. I was at art college in Brighton. I got a job on the pier selling ice cream all summer and basically went out clubbing every single night to the Zap club in the escape. And again, I heard the term Balearic Beats a lot again that summer because Soul to Soul was such a huge sound. And so, you know, even if you went to hear a DJ who predominantly played house, you'd hear Soul to Soul records and you'd hear De La Soul being played and things like that. And so that kind of, it wasn't just a steady kind of four, four, 120 BPM rhythm that you were hearing all summer. It was all over the place. So there was really unusual records being played. And I went to the Tonka parties at the Zap. I think it was like the first Monday of every month. Yeah, and some of those records were just mad and strange and really interesting. It was like Gaelic Show, Dance Forever and stuff like that. So it'd be strange sort of somewhere between Italo Disco and the Italian house that was just starting to emerge, I suppose. And yeah, and so I've just always liked that kind of stuff that's really hard to categorize. I mean, that's the thing with Balearic, isn't it? It's like you don't know what this is. It's so strange and unusual and it's not really house. It's not soul, it's not funk, it's not a synth pop record. What is it? Oh, I know, it's Balearic. [Colleen] Exactly, it's so much easier. [Balearic Mike] So yeah. [Colleen] If you just have like a record shop, it's just one category. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, good record. [Colleen] Balearic. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, so... and then when I went to Ibiza.... [Colleen] But when did you finally go to Ibiza? [Balearic Mike] I didn't go to Ibiza until 94, the first time. So I was like 23. Kelvin was out there DJing. A friend, Graham, was out there for the summer DJing for Jose. Because we'd all met Jose. We'd all got, Jose had come over to Manchester and- [Colleen] Jose Padilla, everybody. But I'm sure most people listening to this show know that by now, but just- [Balearic Mike] We'd all met Jose and he did a good winter residency at the back room of Golden, Kelvin? [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, yeah. [Colleen] Really?!! [Kelvin Andrews] He was there as a guest of a few clubs, wasn't he? He had a winter residency. [Balearic Mike] They played at like a few parties for Love stuff and he did a residency for Kelvin at Golden. And then he, when he went back for the summer, he took one of our friends, Graham, with him. And Graham became resident at a couple of parties that he was promoting on the island. And so, yeah, Kelvin had gone out to DJ at the clubs Jose was promoting at Passion and Space, wasn't it? [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. [Balearic Mike] That order. And Graham said, oh yeah, come. He was staying at Jose's flat in San Antonio. And he said, oh yeah, there's a spare bed. You can come out and I'll get you a gig. And so I just grabbed a bag of records and went out as well. So that was my first visit. And I already, I think actually we had a great time, but we went to like KU one night and it wasn't called KU anymore. It was, they changed its name to Privilege or something revolting like that. And I remember thinking, this is over. This is done. This is like nothing that I want to be involved with. Whereas Passion had been brilliant. I mean, I'd got there, we'd got straight off the plane and went straight into Passion. Caught Kelvin just starting his set. And that had been everything I'd hoped Ibiza would be really. But yeah, it was obviously becoming something else at that point, I think. [Colleen] Well, I think there's different things that pleases different people. That's a nice way of putting it, at least. Kelvin, was that about the time that you started playing at Ibiza or had you been to Ibiza before that? [Kelvin Andrews] No, I'd just heard this myth about this place and you were hearing about Alfredo and the Balearic Beats Comp came out on FFRR. So, and there was also around that time, just a bit previous to that, 91, around that period. It was like all these little Balearic clubs popping up in England. Cause like, the weather in England isn't Balearic, is it? Far from it. But like, I remember- [Balearic Mike] It's kind of Balearic, it's quite Balearic in Brian. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. Yeah, it is definitely more Balearic than here right now. But I saw that it was something special. So I romanticized about the whole thing. It was like, in my head, this is what I wanted it to be. So when I got the chance to DJ there, it was like, that fed into what I was playing. Funnily enough, one of the records, which is on the new comp, I played that evening. And the very first time I played at Pasha, when Mike came along, that was the pressure drop record. The reaction was the same as I imagined it would be. It was so brilliant, you know? So in my head, I was keeping the Balearic beat alive, somehow. Well, I went into space and tried a similar approach and got booted off the decks. The same time as Andrew Weatherall did as well at Pasha, didn't he? Because he was over there at the same time as us. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, I miss him being dragged off. [Kelvin Andrews] One of my greatest claims to fame was when I was booted off the same day as Andrew. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, he tried his panel beaters of Prague set at Pasha, didn't he? Yeah. [Colleen] Very well. Oh, I can't see that happening. That doesn't seem like a very good mix. Well, why don't we get back to the mix now? And actually, we are listening to Kelvin Andrews' mix right now, his exclusive mix that he's done for us, which is wonderful. And we'll come back in a few minutes. Right now, sit back and enjoy the music on Balearic Breakfast. [Colleen] And we're back. We've been listening to Kelvin Andrews' exclusive mix for Balearic Breakfast. And I'm here with both Kelvin and with Balearic Mike because they have a new compilation, if you don't know by now, called Down to the Sea and Back Volume tres. And it's coming out on Music for Dreams at the end of the month. Now, this compilation, as I said earlier, is fantastic. And I didn't know the songs. I knew maybe a couple, but most of them I didn't. I mean, there's all different types of sounds. There's 80s Dutch pop, there's 80s Kiwi, electronic Zymoc sounding band. It sounded just like Zymoc to me. You have kind of Sunshine Jones, who's from Dubtribe sound system, kind of bouncy, kind of ping pong electro house, I like to call that. There's a lot of different sounds, but it flows together really well and the two of you did a great job sequencing. I was just wondering if we could talk about some of the individual records, if there's certain ones that have great discovery stories and maybe I can ask about one of my favorites. Was the Lee Ryder or Lee Rita? [Balearic Mike] Yeah, Lee Ryda. Yes, that's mine. So in 2014, coincidentally the last, the summer that the last Down to the Sea and Back compilation came out on, I got invited, I think I got a message on Facebook from some guys in Athens. And I've been to a DJ in Athens once before, but it was at some big music festival. I've not done any sort of clubs or anything. They ran a record shop and they seemed like nice guys. And so yeah, I went out to Athens and I think I did a gig on the Friday night outside the city at some sort of coastal bar, which was quite nice, but it wasn't very busy. But then the next night Giannis, the next day Giannis took me into Athens to meet Dimitris who ran the record shop, Cassetta Records. And we spent the whole day in the shop, just like rooting through all his stock, playing records, drinking beers, having a great time. And then we went to the gig and it was like in this, Athens is an amazing city. It's a bit like Berlin was sort of 20 years ago where basically if a building's empty, people just move in and do things in it. So it was like this empty sort of office block with like big kind of mezzanine floors. And someone just started a bar on one floor and then put sound and lights in the basement. It was just like squatted almost. It was amazing, but yeah, it was fantastic sort of space. And they DJed before me and they warmed up for me. We kind of went, you know, also went on all night till like basically everyone's left basically in the morning. And yeah, so Giannis was warming up and he played it, he played that record while he was warming up for me to go on. And I was just like, what the hell is this? You know, I was stood on the dance floor just going, oh my God, this is incredible. And it's like, and it's a great sign when the people warming up for you are playing music that you think is great and you don't know. You just think, well, if they're getting away with this, I'm gonna get away with murder here, aren't I really? [Colleen] And they're also setting it up nicely for you too. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, I mean, it's just perfect. You just think, wow, this is sort of, if I was playing this warmup set, this is the sort of record I would want to play. And so I immediately ran over and saw what it was and couldn't believe that, yeah, it was a British library record. It's on Bruton and it's like, you see, you know, used to see millions of Bruton library records lying around but not very much. I'd never seen that one before. And yeah, so when I got back, I managed to track what they had on the internet and bought it and kind of hammered it ever since really. It's just an incredible record, isn't it? [Colleen] That's fantastic! [Balearic Mike] Yeah, I was completely, yeah, unaware of it until 10 years ago when I went to Athens. [Colleen] Well, I was straight onto Discogs and then I was like, this is coming out on vinyl anyway, so I'll get it that way. You've done the work for me. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, that's it, yeah. [Colleen] Kelvin, if there's a tune, an obscurity on this album that you picked that has a great story, could you tell us? [Kelvin Andrews] The one track which I was like, like, double fingers crossed that we'd get, and that was a car crash set record, the Kiwi Watch. [Balearic Mike] I knew he was going to say that one! [Kelvin Andrews] I've been obsessed with this record, but this is another recent discovery, really, you know. A friend of mine who used to be a promoter friend who books both me and Mike back in the day from Plymouth, a guy called Dave Green or DJ Verdi, he was on a late night. [Colleen] Yes Dave. I've heard of him. [Kelvin Andrews] He was on a late night chat. He said, hi, mate, have you ever heard this? And he sent me a YouTube link to this track. And I was just, I put it on and I had, the kettle was on and I was just like, oh my God. So it's a Car Crash Set, Fall From Grace, and it's a private released record that did nothing in New Zealand when it got released. They only ever played it once live, this band, and I've got the recording, because I ended up finding the guy, Nigel, the vocalist. I found him on Facebook, which was amazing. And I contacted him and he was really lovely. And he told me the story about how the track came about. It was one of the first conversations I've had of a track from 83. And he talked about a 303 being on there and they used the 303 on there. So it's quite a historical track in that sense. You know, they were using it purely for the fact that they could take it out live with them because it was only small. So it was like, and I'm hearing this track and I'm just going, this is unbelievable. It's like one of the best, it was instantly one of the best things I'd ever heard. So it was just like, it was like a double fingers crossed that we'd get it. And I'm amazed that we did quite easily, you know. And if you look on Discogs, it's pretty rare. The 12 is non-existent. The last one I saw go for was about $300, you know. So that was, that's the, you know, for me the gem in the crown, you know, it's like a, you know, a beautiful thing to have on there. And the many tracks on there that I got excited about, things that we were, we wanted to be on the last compilation we've managed to grab for this one. And some that we, some that I was hoping for didn't make it as well. The Car Crash Set one, the reaction I get, it backs up my enthusiasm for it as well. It's incredible. [Balearic Mike] Yeah, I remember the first time we played it, Mark, that I'd heard it was on one of our dancing team boat and backboat parties at Love International in Croatia. And the reaction to it live, I was just like, oh my God, what is this record? I mean, it's from New Zealand. It's like from the other side of the world. And the only, I think the only reason that Dave knows, he lived there for 10 years or something, didn't he? [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah. [Balearic Mike] So Dave moved out of New Zealand and lived there and he just must have come across a copy of the secondhand shop or a charity shop or something. [Colleen] I was just looking at the track list again and I just realized Tri Atma. I just have to take a quick look. I think I saw a Tri Atma record in my collection today. And I'm like, you're looking for something? I've been looking, I found it. Yeah, yeah. This one. Do you know that one? [Balearic Mike] No, I haven't got that one. [Colleen] This has to be some great stuff on here. [Balearic Mike] Well, wait a minute. [Colleen] It must be the same Tri Atma, right? Yeah, I think so. The yummy moon long version. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, the yummy moon from a 12. [Colleen] Yeah. Yeah, it says: 'an effervescent fusion of buoyant Eastern rhythms and electronic popular music. Danceable, hummable, enjoyable. Probably some of the happiest music to come from Germany in a hundred years!' [Balearic Mike] Wow, that's a review, isn't it? [Colleen] That is hilarious. Oh, there's some good stuff on here. Microcosmos is one that I liked. [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, that's the other one. I've got a copy of that. [Colleen] Do you?! [Kelvin Andrews] Yeah, I found a copy of, I've got a, it's like a radio seven-inch single I found in a junk shop and that's on that, right? Couldn't believe it. [Colleen] Really? Wow. I can't recommend this compilation enough. And I know that you said the two of you haven't played together in a while. Will you be playing some more festivals together at all this summer? Is there anywhere else that people can look out for the two of you? [Kelvin Andrews] Mike and I are playing together in Brighton on the 14th. And we're also playing- [Colleen] 14th of June? [Kelvin Andrews] 14th of June, yeah. That's at the Flower Pot in Brighton on the seafront. And that's gonna be like a release party for the comp. And we're also doing a thing in Newcastle-on-the-Lyme at the Carlton on the 24th with James Holroyd and the pair of us. So yeah, we're making up for lost time, hopefully. [Colleen] Yes, well, good luck with it. I mean, honestly, I love the way both of you play. It's great to hear you doing this together. Hopefully I'll be able to catch one of your live sets. But for now, the compilation will have to do. Thank you so much. And thanks for your exclusive mixes for the radio show as well. Your exclusive Balearic Breakfast mixes. I really appreciate it. I know the listeners are loving it right now as well. [Kelvin Andrews] Thank you. Thanks for the invite, Colleen. [Balearic Mike] Thanks for having us.

I met Delia Recording's crew for an interview about their brand-new Vinyl compilation and the quality craftsmanship accompanying it on its new musical journey. 1) Thank you so much for joining me here on the Balearic Breakfast Blog Simon, Matt, and Huw! It's an absolute pleasure! One of the first questions that came to my mind is, how did you guys start this whole adventure? We know that very often, a project comes from a dream, something we want to do. Can you tell us more about yourselves and share what drove you to launch Delia Recordings? Matt: Why? So that the music doesn't just sit on a shelf in our studio. Huw: And we realised all the music is coming from the same place – our community in Nottingham – with Matt mixing all the tracks and producing a lot of the music, too. It has a shared sound, a texture, and we wanted our records to be out in the world, filed alongside the records we love the most. Matt: Delia Recordings is actually named after my mother, who sadly died while we were recording the Torn Sail album (a future release). While she was ill, she'd said I should "do what I want to do", which was permission of sorts to risk a pile of money and time on a wildly romantic venture. Not for the first time either, I ran a successful drum and bass label called Baltic in the late 90's. Simon: There’s also a small nod to Delia Derbyshire, the electronic music composer, and TV chef Delia Smith; we’re very much a kitchen-table operation at this stage. Huw: I’d been working with Matt over an extended period on the Torn Sail album and introduced friends and now label-mates Brown Fang, whose second album Matt has mixed. Simon had managed my old band, Earth The Californian Love Dream. He came in to create the label identity and push us well out of our comfort zone with ideas like our live Happenings and the idea of launching the label with this compilation record. Matt: It started as a sampler with two tracks each from our upcoming Torn Sail, Brown Fang, and Shrinkwrap double albums, but as I curated, edited, and remixed it, it evolved into a record in its own right, an imaginary soundtrack more like The KLF’s ‘Chillout’. Simon: It’s way more cohesive as a project than most compilations or mix albums, and I think people are listening to it as a whole record, if that makes sense. It’s definitely a label statement of intent too, an answer to any question about Delia Recordings. 2) With the resurgence of vinyl in the last few years, it seems you started at the "right moment". I loved how, on your new compilations' Bandcamp page, you stated " Entitled The Horizon Is On The Horizon (referencing both fastidious craft, attention to never-ending detail, and vinyl production schedules) it’s released on 26th April 2024 on heavyweight vinyl and old-school CD", laughs! Yet, it also seems that vinyl is going through many changes lately. Production facilities and producers are trying to be eco-responsible and produce less polluting records, just like you do. What are the pros and cons of such a decision? Matt: The pros are it’s a little less damaging to our environment, which has to be a good thing. There’s no cons really, unless you want to do a small run of less than 300, then it’s really hard to use an eco-aware company. Having said that, you are right – there is a move away from the polluting process of vinyl production. Some manufacturers are moving slower than others, which is why we’ve chosen to make our vinyl with a company in the Netherlands called Deepgrooves, which appears to be spearheading new eco-friendly processes and not just engaging in greenwashing talk. Their factory in a former prison in northern Holland is powered by 100% green energy, and after many years of research, they are now offering ISO ISCC-certified bio-vinyl with a 90% reduction in CO₂ emissions, the harmful heavy metals taken out of the manufacturing process, and no detriment to sound quality (in fact it is arguably better in the top end frequencies than old school vinyl production techniques). We were fortunate to be shown around their production facility by CEO Chris Roorda, and his warmth and enthusiasm for ‘making vinyl the right way’, as he put it, confirmed we had done the right thing. Of course, there’s still the transport issue of moving the stock to the UK – vinyl is heavy! The boxes of vinyl just about fit in the boot of my friend's car – his mum’s new hybrid ‘family car’ that is very efficient on fuel – so we like to think we brought the stock back to the UK in the least fuel-consuming way! We hope that the records we make ultimately end up on people's shelves, lovingly played, and not just thrown into the sea. Thanks to that charlatan, Mr Johnson, Brexit has made working with partners in Europe a bit of a bureaucratic nightmare, as we found out on our road trip to Holland to pick the stock up earlier this year. We love the ethos Deepgrooves demonstrates, and they did a brilliant job pressing ‘The Horizon Is On The Horizon’, so, on balance, it was worth the drive to pick them up. We also spent a couple of nights in Amsterdam on the way back – so what’s not to like?! 3) Colleen played Nine Voices' "So it Goes" during the "Balearic Brunch" show aired on NTS every last Sunday of the month. I took the time to listen to the other tracks from your forthcoming compilation and I was taken into a modern (yet light) sounding musical trip. When reading the credits, I saw you are working with Mastering engineer JP Braddock from Formation Audio. Another important decision while launching a Balearic record label, laughs! Can you share with us the sound you want to achieve within Delia Records and how important JP Braddock's work has been on this first release? Huw: I don't think we're really trying to achieve a specific sound – it's a natural combination of each artist's aesthetic, with Matt's mixing and production bringing just enough consistency. We're lucky to work with really experienced musicians who bring deep craftsmanship, which wasn't the plan, but it's definitely a factor in the sound. Mastering is a small but vital part of that, making sure every detail is given full attention. I do think 'Immersive' is a relevant word. We have no chart aspirations. We're into the art. 4) We talked about vinyl and the sound, but now it seems we cannot go on without speaking about the artists! As with every great record label, Delia Records must have its editorial slant! How do you choose the artists who will join your label? The Balearic musical scene is pretty wide, so where does Delia Record's soul lie? Matt: We only have the time and money to work with a small family of artists at any one time, so the emphasis is absolutely on quality, not quantity. Torn Sail, Brown Fang and Shrinkwrap are all connected, both through the individual musicians and the Nottingham scene, it’s a genuine family. We’d like to grow the family – the artists featured on 'The Horizon Is On The Horizon' are all part of that family. Huw: Our soul is in trying to represent the humanity of the musicians and artists and respect the lifetimes of energy they've dedicated to a vision – it's about people we know, here, in just another grey city in the UK, and about trying to share the beautiful pictures in these people's minds and spread a kind of love of something better. When you're playing, you're not fighting, right? It's inspiring. 5) Delia Recordings is a team effort – it's pretty obvious. The three of you are even involved in the creative process, working together, for instance, on the sleeve of your first compilation and even bringing up the experience to propose musical events and a magazine! Can you tell us more about the importance of the visual aspects of your record label and its projects? I feel like you guys are proposing something unique here... Simon: We want to bring the same level of care and consideration to everything that supports the music – the record sleeves, the words we use to talk about the label, social media, and our Happenings, events where people can experience what we’re all about. As with music, it’s more than collaboration; it’s co-creation where the magic happens because of the combination of people in that particular place and time. We respect each artist’s visual identity, but Delia is the golden thread that connects everything together, more of a feel and attitude than a specific visual look. We’re warm, we’re open, we’re genuinely optimistic and welcoming… I guess this is the heart of the Balearic connection for us. Thank you so much, Simon, Matt, and Huw!

With the well-fought-out mixes she proposes on her Mixcloud, Christina DeSouza got my attention. We spoke together about the late Burt Bacharach. Read on! Hello Christina ! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these few questions! It's a real pleasure to have you in here as this place is all about Balearic Breakfast, the show, our beloved Captain but also the community, meaning you! So, are you a professional DJ or a professional audio editor? I listened to some of the mixes you published on Mixcloud, and I must say I absolutely love the vibe of your audio creations! l’m purely an amateur; I’ve always loved putting together mixtapes/playlists for friends and family for many years, sometimes whether they wanted one or not! 🤣 MixCloud has allowed me to now impose myself on the unsuspecting public! I have deliberately not promoted my MixCloud to people I know as I want people to discover the page organically, as that’s how I love to find music... often by accident through searching online, checking out various specialist radio shows/stations and crate digging in vintage stores/flea-markets, I’m a strong believer in letting the universe do its work! If you're meant to find something, you will. We have lost a lot of artists lately, including the great Burt Bacharach. With songs like 'Close to you', 'Walk on by', or even 'I say a little prayer', the American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist is still regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. How did you get to discover his music? What aspect of Burt Bacharach's music attracts you the most? I would say that Burt, particularly when alongside Hal David, was the finest songwriter of the last fifty years. As with most of my music loves, it started via my late father who was an avid collector of 60’s/70’s & 80’s Jazz, Soul & Funk LPs. I initially heard Burt Bacharach via Dusty, Dionne & Herb and always loved the incredible melodies and lyrics. My heritage is Portuguese, and we have a word that I feel sums up his music and it’s “Saudade”. This word describes a feeling which can be hard to describe; it’s a feeling of longing, nostalgia, sometimes feeling both joy and sadness at the same time. And, for me, Burt Bacharach's tracks encompass this feeling - Many quality songs that you hear make you feel emotional, but tracks such as Raindrops, Alfie, Look of Love and numerous others can make me smile and cry all within the same three minutes and often at the same time! Burt Bacharach had a complicated personal life with many love stories and marriages; this comes through in his melodies. A friend of mine worked as a make-up artist for a UK television station for many years, making up many stars for their TV appearances. I once asked her who her favourites were. She told me that two artists had stood out, as they were so warm and seemed genuinely interested in her rather than just going on about themselves! ... These were David Bowie and Burt Bacharach! This makes me love him even more! You did a wonderful mix on Mixcloud to pay tribute to him; obviously, you chose rare versions of some of his songs. How did you prepare it? Was there a special message, or a special feeling you wanted to convey through the mix? I wanted to post a set of well-known Burt Bacharach tracks but in less-known versions by a wide range of artists. On my MixCloud, I prefer to post less-known tracks. I like people to discover things they maybe haven’t heard before or not heard for many years. I like to “feel“ music and therefore, the Burt Bacharach post is a rollercoaster of emotions, both within each track, but also as a whole. The set also includes two songs performed by Dutch artist Trijntje Oosterhius who has released three Burt Bacharach songbook albums, I really love her delivery of Burt’s tracks and her version of the final song on my post “Make It Easy on Yourself”... Makes me blub every time! Coming back to a technical aspect, that's what we audio lovers like to talk about right? (laughs) Can you tell us more about the way you work on your mixes (the gear, the software you use etc.)? I don’t use much gear to do my posts, I am definitely an amateur! The tracks are on my iTunes and I use the App “Mixxx” to put the sets together, with the Auto-DJ option to blend the songs. I can’t mix for toffee (laughs)! I like to think of myself as a music collector rather than an actual DJ! I admire DJs who can mix so much! Colleen is such an inspiration, particularly in what can be such a male-orientated industry. I love the Balearic Breakfast show so much, it’s an incredible mix of genres and Colleen has the talent to be able to weave them together to create a feel/vibe with each show. She can mix, she is so musically knowledgable, she has a tremulous vinyl collection and she has an awesome sound system... She’s got the lot as far as I’m concerned! Last question, are you working on a second part of the Burt Bacharach Mix? Any other ideas for the future? I have so many ideas, too many, actually! I do have a very large collection of both vinyl and CDs that I inherited from my father and have then added some more over the years, I absolutely love to spend time in vintage music stores whenever I can. I’m a big fan of 80’s Soul, Funk and Boogie and tend to post one of those related sets per month, with one other monthly post being “something else”. I do have plans for a “Burt 2” set, so stay tuned! Thank you so much Christina! See you soon on Balearic Breakfast with our dear Colleen!

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

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

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

I did a nice little interview with Rick. I wanted to change things a little bit and propose something fun. Rick is from the Netherlands! Let's meet him! 1- Hi Rick! Let's do a "Balearic Proust Questionnaire"! Your first record and the memory associated with it? Okay Artur! Let's go! My first record! Do you really wanna know? 🌞 I was only four or five years old, and my musical taste has changed over the years 🙂 It was a 7-inch single by Willem Duijn. It's a Dutch cover of the song "Darlin", first performed by Poacher and best known for the Frankie Miller version. As I was very young, I don't remember much, but I do remember buying it with one of my parents at one of the local record stores. I like to think it was the record store I worked at later in life, but I truly don't remember. I still have the 7-inch. 2- The musical artist you can’t live without? Hmm, I'm not an artist person, I guess, not even an album person. I just like songs, or I don't. My all-time favourite song is Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack. I loved it from the first time I heard it back in 91 till today. So I have to say Massive Attack then 😝 3- A song that makes you want to party hard each time you hear it? Recently, an edit of Sanctuary's "I'm Going to Love Him" was released. I'm not sure if it's a Pete Blaker edit, but I love his work, by the way! 4- The most important thing in Music? The most important thing is for the listener and the performer to like it. Enjoy it, and let him/her feel good! 5- The way you Listen to Music? I just listen and enjoy. Most of the time, I listen to music when I am doing something else. I would love to listen to it deeper or closer, but at the moment, my life is very busy. Still, I think experiencing music is the best way. I love it when a new song grabs you, lifts you up, makes you feel good, gives you goosebumps, and you want to hear it again even when It's not even finished or when an old song brings back memories and puts you in the same good vibe as it did then. 6- 3 DJs you love? Besides Colleen, that's DJ E.a.s.e (aka Nightmares on Wax). I was really hooked on his boiler room mix! There's also DJ Dimitri. He's not from Paris but from Amsterdam 🤠 He brings a great selection of house music and really takes you on a journey. He has a very good mixing technique. Furthermore, he has influenced a lot of people and recently celebrated 40 years of DJing. He also did some great compilations for Outland Records back in the day. 7- Balearic Breakfast in one word? The answer is already in the question... One... 8- If Colleen was an animal, which one would she be and why? A pigeon. Why... That is a long story 😅 9- A memory linked to Balearic Breakfast you keep close to you? The emotional and also positive vibes in the last show on, and the first one without Worldwide FM! Colleen did a great job and got the show to the next level! 10- Your mix in one image? Thank you so much Rick!

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