Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 186th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud and Twitch TV socials on July 30th 2024. About this episode. – Right after playing at the BBE store on Thursday, July 25th, Colleen launched the request line for the next Balearic Breakfast on Saturday, July 26th, sharing with us: "After a great party at BBE with @handsonfam on Thursday, I’m blessed with a full weekend off. Thanks to all who came down for a boogie - that was truly special. Music is always on my mind and i’m wondering what requests you have up your sleeve for this coming Tuesday’s Balearic Breakfast? I’m streaming Tuesday 10am to 12 noon BST on my Mixcloud Live. A note to Twitch users: as that platform didn’t comply with music copyright Twitch is redirecting participants on dj streams to the mixcloud live platform anyways do@you may as well join us over there!" Today's show, despite some technical difficulties (that manifest themselves at two moments in the recorded stream), was as eclectic as it can be, and it also had a beautiful rhythmic and tonal unity, as we shall see in the listening session. But before delving into these specificities, let's hand the mic to our captain, as usual: "A big thank you to Mixcloud for salvaging yesterday’s Balearic Breakfast, which is now archived on my Mixcloud (and please give me a follow while you’re over there). On this week’s show I look back to my indie roots with a tribute to the late Martin Phillips of The Chills and also to Tadashi Yabe of United Future Organization – may they both rest in paradise. And in addition to your requests there’s a lot of new music. I gotta go as I’m in the studio working on a new remix – shouldn’t be multitasking. So for now please enjoy yesterday’s show with music from…. @warriors_of_the_dystotheque @thechillsnz @united_future_organisation @claremont56 @quinnlamontluke @isitbalearic @alicemcrussell @tru_thoughts @jamiefinlaymusic @wahwah45s @natbirchallmusic @kennethbagerofficial @findlaybrownofficial @musicfordreams @emperormachine @gracejonesofficial @farout_recordings and more…" Listen back to Balearic Breakfast's 186th episode: THE PLAYLIST (2024) Warriors of the Dystotheque – Smile While You're Sleeping (2014) The Chills – Pink Frost 13 (1992) The Cure – A Letter to Elise (Blue Mix) (1992) United Future Organization – Nemurenai Insomnie (Instrumental) (1993) United Future Organization ft. Galliano – The Sixth Sense (2024) Hillside (ft. Quinn Lamont Luke) – Crossing (1973) Aretha Franklin – Mister Spain (2024) Lono Ritmo (ft. Leo Power & Pablo Dominguez) – Luz de Luna (2024) Alice Russell – Gravity (1978) Toto – Georgy Porgy (2024) Jamie Finlay – Rain Will Come (2024) Nat Birchall – Lalibela (2024) Kenneth Bager & Findlay Brown – Love From Outer Space (2024) The Emperor Machine – La Cassette (1991) Pale Saints – Porpoise (1981) Grace Jones – Pull Up To the Bumper (Party Version) (2024) Marcos Valle – Life ls What It Is (2017) Allan Harris – Mother's Love (Nobody’s Gonna Love You Betta Soulfeast Mix) THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Blending jazz-infused musical moments with delicate yet solid pop/rock songs, Colleen takes us on a relaxed sonic trip for the first 25 minutes of today’s show. And, from the start, when listening, we feel there is a strong sonic connection between the songs chosen by Colleen (doesn't Pink Frost 13 and A Letter to Elise remind you of another track from the paylist?)... Warriors of the Dystotheque – Smile While You're Sleeping. – A transatlantic outfit with members from Ireland, France and New York. This very song is taken from WOTD second album It's a Beautiful Thing, which came out on Chris Coco's label Disappear earlier this month. This is how they describe their synthesis and their music: "Growing up in the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the 90s rave days, life in the sunshine in Florida, a mash-up of live and electronic music, friendship and loss, Ibiza sunlight and dark cloudy nights, despair and enlightenment and the power of music to lift us up and create joy and harmony, which we hope you can agree really is a beautiful thing". The Chills – Pink Frost 13. – The band was founded in 1980 by the then 17-year-old singer songwriter and guitarist Martin Phillips (ed. see also this interview), after the demise of one of the early Kiwi punk bands The Same. Martin was the driving force behind The Chills throughout various formations, propelling singles into the charts in New Zealand, the UK, and also the college radio charts in the US. Sadly, he passed to the next realm this past Sunday, and is mourned by many. A true genius, his influence on so many that followed in his wake is enormous. – The song was dedicated to the band's drummer, Martyn Bull, who died at the age of 22, just after leaving the band following unproductive rehearsing sessions (read more about this here). The Cure – A Letter to Elise (Blue Mix). – This track is The Cure's single from their most commercially successful album 1992's Wish, which debuted at number one in their native UK, and surprisingly number two in the USA. Not only a testament to Robert Smith's great songs, the song also embodies the impact of college radio in the 1980s when the young generation championed bands like The Cure (Colleen playing The Cure for her high school radio days) with college radio launching the careers of R.E.M., Nirvana, U2, Depeche Mode, The Chills, and The Cure, who had an incredible run in the mid to late 80s with The Head on the Door, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, and then the gargantuan Disintegration. Smith never forgot the dance floor, producing deft remixes like the one we just heard. – A love song inspired by Robert Smith's love for literature, here finding roots in some of Kafla's works but also some of Jean Cocteau's writings, A Letter to Elise has the power to speak to everyone who listens to it, although it has been composed in times of sadness by The Cure's frontman... Slowly stepping up the tempo, the second half-hour lets us enjoy some Balearic Melodies, allowing the sun to sink in on our musical skins and Colleen's mixing delicacy to touch our souls (the first Wow Moment of the show happens when our beloved captain oh so perfectly blends “Crossing” with “Mister Spain” followed by the mesmerizing “Luz de Luna”). United Future Organization – Nemurenai Insomnie (Instrumental). – Tadashi Yabe, one of the three founding members of Japanese new jazz project United Future Organization, along with Toshio Matsuura and Raphael Sebag. They were one of the pioneering acts of the nascent acid jazz scene and signed to Gilles Peterson's Brownswood and Talkin' Loud labels, and they also hosted a residency called Jazzen at Tokyo's legendary Club Yellow. One of their guests was the UK's Patrick Forge, who wrote this of the late Tadashi Yabe: "He was the quietest in many ways, the deepest of the three UFO members, and it was always inspiring to talk to him about music. He had very eclectic and left-field tastes." United Future Organization ft. Galliano – The Sixth Sense. – This track is taken from United Future Organization's eponymously titled debut album, released in 1993. The song also features Galliano (they have a new album, Halfway Somewhere, coming out on Brownswood). Hillside (ft. Quinn Lamont Luke) – Crossing. – Last week, Colleen met Quinn Lamont Luke in person (from the Phenomenal Handclap days). They have many mutual friends and crossing of paths as Quinn worked with Count Thomas Phil Mison, Ron Basejam, Flying Mojito Brothers, and skateboard legend Tommy Guerrero. Quinn also runs a studio (ed. El Triángulo) in Oaxaca, Mexico, which is where Flamingo Pier recorded their latest single, Mazunte, which Colleen played last week. The latest Claremont Editions compilation, now on its fourth volume, opens with a track from Hillside, which is Murphy along with Alex Searle and Patrick Doers, and it features some blue-eyed soul vocals from Lamont. Aretha Franklin – Mister Spain. – From Aretha Franklin's 19th studio album, Hey Now Hey, The Other Side of the Sky, released in 1973. Aretha released 38 studio albums and six live albums in her nearly six decade career. The album was produced by Franklin along with Quincy Jones, and they originally planned to make it a straightforward jazz album, but they took a little detour with the title cut and Mr. Spain. – The album was not something people, and medias, were expecting from Aretha Franklin back in the day (see the Rolling Stone review linked above), at all, and both the album's cover and the adventurous musical paths Franklin chose lost the listeners: "The brooding “Mister Spain” finds an introspective Franklin atypically tackling the subject of drug abuse, singing on a prideful black man’s plight with heroin addiction and pleading for him to end it." Lono Ritmo (ft. Leo Power & Pablo Dominguez) – Luz de Luna. – Beautiful flamenco sounds from Leno Ritmo featuring Leo Power and Pablo Dominguez. It also has Ibiza's DJ Pippi and Willie Graf remixes on the flip side. Acting as a pivotal point, ending the first hour of this blissful musical show and starting the second, Alice Russel’s "Gravity" and Toto’s "Georgy Porgy" (a song already featured in the show in the past) both do enhance today’s episode tonal unity. And I would love to take this opportunity here to salute every member of the Balearic Breakfast Family, as it is thanks to you that we’re all able to enjoy the Best Show of the 21st century! To all of Us, Eternal Hugs from the Lioncub… Alice Russell – Gravity. – British soul singer Alice Russell recently performed the Love Supreme Festival in the UK, and she played some songs from her most recent album, I Am, released on True Thoughts, co-written and co-produced with Russell's longtime collaborator, T.M. Juke. This is her most personal album to date, dealing with generational trauma, healing and life's darker side through her glorious vocals. Gravity is the most recent single from the LP. – On June 6th, Alice Russell shared Gravity's Club-ready remix. Toto – Georgy Porgy. – By the American rock band Toto, Georgy Porgy was written by band member David Paich and included on their self-titled debut album in 1978. Released as the album's third single in 1979, the lead vocals are performed by guitarist Steve Lukather. Cheryl Lynn provided the female backing vocal, singing an adaptation from the nursery rhyme "Georgie Porgie." Colleen takes us to higher grounds with Jamie Finlay’s “Rain Will Come”, which, to me, acts as the real second-hour starter! It is strange, but I can’t help hearing in this episode both a sonic and rhythmic unity (pay attention and listen again to songs like "Rain Will Come", "Lalibela", or "Pull up to the Bumper", there’s like a musical pattern there, can you hear it too?! Jamie Finlay – Rain Will Come. – Another Manchester act, Rain will come is from composer, songwriter and producer Jamie Finlay debut album Sun dogs out now on Dom Cervini's label, Wawa 45s. And it's a great album featuring some of his fellow Mancunian musicians from Secret Night Gang and A Certain Ratio. – “Rain Will Come is a musical representation of a storm, and is about finding stillness in turbulent times. The phrase ‘Rain Will Come’ repeats like a mantra while the music becomes more chaotic until eventually returning to calmness. It’s about standing still and stoic, and letting storms pass over you.” Nat Birchall – Lalibela. – Mancunian bandleader, composer, arranger and saxophonist Nat Birchall has a new album out called Dimension of the Drums, Roots Reggae Instrumentals. He's a real prolific artist as he's been releasing albums since 1999. And in fact, his first album was called The Sixth Sense, just like the song by UFO, played earlier in the show. Kenneth Bager & Findlay Brown – Love From Outer Space. – The latest single from Danish Balearic maestro Kenneth Bager and British singer-songwriter Findlay Brown new collaborative album that's coming out on Bager's Music for Dreams label, set for release in early 2025. The Emperor Machine – La Cassette. – Andy Meacham, who was also in Bizarre Inc. and Chicken Lips, has been releasing albums as The Emperor Machine for 20 years now. His new double album is called Island Boogie and came out on Lange (Paul Murphy and Simon Pernell's label) a coupe of weeks ago. Pale Saints – Porpoise. – Leeds band Pale Saints with the song that came out on 4AD, another huge label for Colleen and also for college radio in the 1980s. Porpoise, can be found on the 1991 Flesh Balloon EP. It has a lot of kind of indie rock, college rock requested for this show. One really cannot underestimate the force of college radio in America in the 1980s. – There is an astounding review of Pale Saint's 1990 "The comfort of Madness" on 4AD's website (in french). Use google translation on your web browser and read it, it will take you back, or allow you to discover, what it was like to be a teenager in these years. A must read. Grace Jones – Pull Up To the Bumper (Party Version). – The 1981 party version of Pull Up to the Bumper by the amazing Grace, Grace Jones. The original version can be found on her Nightclubbing album, one of my favorite Grace Jones albums, although it's really hard to pick a favorite. Grace Jones still going strong at the ripe age of 76. If you haven't read her autobiography, I'll never write my memoirs. Please do. It's great summer reading and it will really give you a newfound respect for this amazing artist. – „Pull up to the bumper” always had some kind of controversy going on as to its supposed, alleged (shall we say imposed?) sexual meaning. We can't help but think here about other songs having these dual readings by the listeners, one of the most famous of them being "Ring My Bell" by the great Anita Ward. Grace Jones consistently refuted this sexual interpretation of the song: “So, we have a car, and it’s long, because it’s a limousine, speeding down a Manhattan avenue… and you want to keep it clean, so you wax it and rub it, giving it a shine, and it’s hard to park, because we’re in the city, and it’s so big, so you have to squeeze it into tight spaces… You make it fit, and it is such a great feeling… If you wanted, you could imagine that I’m not singing about a car at all. But that’s up to you,” she concludes. “If you think the song is not about parking a car, shame on you.” Yet, for those of us being kinky enough, when you know, well, you know... When you listen carefully, you notice that today’s show doesn’t get "excited to the max", it keeps a cool groove, getting stronger with time which also explains why I chose this title for today’s post! The relaxed vibe of this 185th episode is real, with one exception being Marcos Valle's "Life ls What It Is". Sadly, and for obvious reasons, the second Wow Moment of the show hapenned when Colleen played the beautiful "Mother's Love". A stunning but heart-wrenching tribute closing another unforgettable episode. Marcos Valle – Life ls What It Is. – Celebrating 80 years of life and a 60 year career, Brazilian legend Marcos Valle has a new album coming out called Tunel Acoustico to be released on Far Out Recordings in September. This song is the latest single, composed in the late 70s in LA alongside Lodir de Oliveira from the band Chicago, and it was first released on Chicago's Chicago 13 album with lyrics by Robert Lamb. Over four decades later Marcos Valle looks back upon his good times on the West Coast, recording his own version of this song for his new album Deepening the Groove for a Blast of Irresistible Summer Soul. Allan Harris – Mother's Love (Nobody’s Gonna Love You Betta Soulfeast Mix). – Colleen dedicated this song to to the spirit and to the memory of Giancarlo Bianchi's mother, who sadly passed away recently. – The song, which can be found on the 2016 "Nobody's Gonna Love Your Better" studio album, was composed by Allan Harris and was dedicated to his own Mother, a classical pianist who encouraged him to become a musician.

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 190th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on August 27th 2024. About this episode. – This episode of Balearic Breakfast is a Musical Celebration. After posting the request line on her socials on her birthday, the 24th of August, Colleen was ready to surrender to Music again with no less than 3 DJ sets (@easternelectrics @anotherlovestoryfest & @hangdaichinese)! With other birthdays celebrated on the 25th (A happy Birthday to Ana, Rick and all the Virgos in the Balearic House!), the request line was effectively very festive! And this happy feeling revealed itself in this show, as we shall see later! As always, let's hang the mic to our dear Captain before indulging in the musical adventures of today's show: "This week’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud and features vintage soul, some new house jams and a Nottinghill Carnival Good Times classic along with your requests. And don’t forget, next week is Balearic Breakfast’s 4 year anniversary (yes BB is a Virgo, too ;). I’ll be hosting a marathon special of your requests and please think of a song that you discovered on the show. You can put in your request in the post comments of the request line when it is posted on my socials on Saturday (please do not DM me with your requests – need to keep them all in one place). Thanks for your continued support and for being part of the Balearic Breakfast family. Also, please sign the Cosmic Slop / MAP charity petition on Action Network dot org. Cosmic Slop is a party in Leeds called Cosmic Slop that is a fundraiser for their MAP Charity which supports young people at risk of permanent exclusion from mainstream education by offering empowering music and arts qualifications. Cosmic Slop is under threat as developers are applying for permission to build over 300 flats right next does to Cosmic Slop’s home of 18 years, the grade 2 listed Hope Foundry. We all know what will happen next. @c0smicsl0p and the @mapcharity have some very reasonable requests and you can help by signing their petition. Until next week, please sit back and enjoy this week’s show" Listen back to the 190th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST (1986) Jun Fukamachi – Morning Glow (1966) Ennio Morricone – The Ecstasy of Gold (1985) Roy Ayers – Virgo (1980) Cast – Sweetness (1973) Funkadelic – Cosmic Slop (1983) Masayoshi Takanaka – Sail on Fire (2024) My Friend Dario – Senza Estate (2022) Arthur Ponder – If You Want My Love (1978) LeRoy Hutson – Closer to the Source (2001) Koop (ft Yukimi Nagano) – Summer Sun (1999) A Guy Called Gerald – Emotions Electric (John Peel Session) (2016) Bobby Womack – Trust Your Heart (Serge Gamesbourg Remix) (2024) Felipe Quiroz – El Tiempo (1992) The Neville Brothers – Fly Like an Eagle (MAW Slippin’ Dub) (2024) House of Spirits – Please Take Me There (NOL) Arno Mathieu – L’Amoragie (2024) Nonna Fab – We Still Out Here (NOL) Philippa & Jimpster (ft. MON) – All I Wanted (2004) The Salsoul Orchestra (ft Loleatta Holloway) – Runaway (Danny Krivit Edit) (1984) General Public – Tenderness THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Each Balearic Breakfast episode brings its own flavour, its own pictures, its own sensitivity, its own message, and neither is a show similar to another one. It's like a constantly evolving sun or a brand new firework, always offering you new landscapes, beginnings, adventures, and promises. And you're never alone while you're there, closing your eyes, indulging in music's spirit, the beautiful boat being conducted by a captain like no other. Today's opening track perfectly represents this image (Jun Fukamachi's Morning Glow) – a record previously played during the show – which perfectly introduces new arrivals without expectations. Although this track has a slow rhythm, it is an invitation with the synth's high-pitched notes opening up a darker sky, an evening sky, maybe? All in all, it allows you to picture a beautiful Firework, and, strangely enough, all of the following tracks, and the way today's show is structured, take that direction, one tracing a path somewhere, unexpectedly but beautifully, with grace and determination (Ennio Morricone's The Ecstasy of Gold). (1986) Jun Fukamachi – Morning Glow By the late Japanese jazz fusion composer and synth pioneer Jun Fukamachi who worked with LA studio musicians like Steve Gadd and the Brecker Brothers, and also with the Japanese fusion band Prism. Morning Glow is from the album Nicole, 86 Spring and Summer Collection, released on the gloriously titled Swiss record label We Release Whatever the F We Want back in 2017. (1966) Ennio Morricone – The Ecstasy of Gold The late Italian conductor, trumpet and piano player Ennio Morricone was a versatile composer who had more than 400 scores for film and television and more than 100 classical works under his belt before his sad passing in 2020. Most of the films he scored were award-winning, including all of the films of spaghetti western filmmaker Sergio Leone. And when I say determination, I mean it as we get right down to the groove from the thirf track on, which is quite unusual here at Balearic Breakfast (Roy Ayers' Virgo Vibes), can you see "the opening" while the xylophone plays its high pitched notes? There you go, you got the idea! You see, we're only on the third track, yet there is a musical and sonic unity! Do you understand why I don't take things lightly here on the blog? And it's just the beginning... Colleen chose to break the rhythm with the next song (Cast's Sweetness), and she'll do it again a few times in this first hour, thus putting on the forefront the dynamics of the songs, letting them breathe. There is a sense of urgency in the horn section in this song (the Balearic Family enjoyed it a lot on the chat!), and the "opening" feeling is very much present, too. Let your mind run wild... We're experiencing another exploding vision when the next song starts (Funkadelic's Cosmic Slop); thanks both to the drums and the vocals, there is a profusion there without a shadow of a doubt! Keeping the rhythm steady, Colleen then plays another very open song (Masayoshi Takanaka's Sail on Fire), and you really should take the time to read the lyrics – the connection with today's theme is quite strong here. Then, the next musical piece (My Friend Dario's Senza Estate), takes us to another pictural element, keeping the fireworks very present in our mental journey, the whole vibe being enhanced by Colleen's delicate touch... I can't help but feel a nighty vision in today's show; it's a beautiful and warm night that surrounds us as the next gently exploding track takes us to the dancefloor (Arthur Ponder's If You Want My Love) – the Balearic Family really enjoyed that one on the chat, and just when we all thought we'd be swaying to the same rhythm for the next song, Colleen gently changed the pace for the following two numbers (LeRoy Hutson's Closer to the Source & Koop's Summer Sun), confirming my intellectual feeling about today's episode! (1985) Roy Ayers – Virgo The vibraphonist, producer, and composer Roy Ayers (ed. Everybody loves the sunshine) had a 1967 album called Virgo Vibes, but Virgo is taken from his 1985 LP, You Might Be Surprised, which he co-produced with James M. Toomey. – The album has been reissued in 2023. (1980) Cast – Sweetness The Italian disco group put out only one album, their 1980 self-titled LP, and this song is also featured on Munich Jazz and Soul Man Reiner Truby's Soul Gliding compilation, which was released on BBE in 2020. (1973) Funkadelic – Cosmic Slop The title track of George Clinton's Funkadelic's 1973 fith studio album Cosmic Slop (ed. who turned 50 in 2023). (1983) Masayoshi Takanaka – Sail on Fire Japanese guitarist, producer, and composer Masayoshi Takanaka, got his start as a high school student back in 1971 playing in bands, and has since become one of the leading guitarists on the Japanese rock and fusion scenes. (2024) My Friend Dario – Senza Estate DJ and producer from Catania, at the foot of Mount Etna in Sicily, released the album Cosmic Sailing on New Northern Soul back in 2020, and this year he has a new LP out on Hell Yeah Recordings called Senza Estate which translates to Without Summer. Dario says it's inspired by the dreamy Italian soundtrack composers Piero Piccioni and Umiliani. – In an interview, the composer shared: “For five years, I worked in a shop six days a week so despite living on a Mediterranean island I could never enjoy these things. Instead, I locked myself in the studio and jotted down the ideas, sensations, melodies and rhythms I had about another lost summer." The track was written in 2022 "just as we were coming out of lockdown. The feeling this track gives me, describes the melancholy but also the hope of a summer to be lived intensely. I played the percussion with a Moog DFAM, the melody theme with a Moog Mother 32, and the bass line with a Novation Bass Station. These are instruments I often use in my productions. The vocals are a special by Daren Obika, which I found in my library among many forgotten vocal tracks.”" (2022) Arthur Ponder – If You Want My Love Arthur Ponder's If you want my love is taken from the studio album The Prince of Georgia Soul, released a couple of years ago on the label Athens of the North, and it's a compilation retrospective of the Georgia singer who started in the 1960s when he replaced Otis Redding in the Southern group Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers. Arthur Ponder later released some 45 singles, both as a solo artist and with the group Sideshow, and Athens of the North has lovingly compiled his work. (1978) LeRoy Hutson – Closer to the Source Leroy Hutson, the American singer, keyboard player, songwriter, and producer, was Donny Hathaway's roommate, and he co-wrote the hit The Ghetto. Hudson also replaced Curtis Mayfield as the Impressions' lead singer until he launched his own solo career in the 70s recording for Mayfield's label Curtom, and that was from his sixth LP, the 1978 album of the same name, closer to the source (ed. reissued in 2018). (2001) Koop (ft Yukimi Nagano) – Summer Sun Swedish electronic jazz duo Koop with Summer Sun featuring the gorgeous vocals of Yukimi Nagano from their second album, Waltz for Coop, which also features tracks featuring singers Earl Zinger and Terry Collier. The album won them a Swedish Grammy Award. The second hour of today's show will take us to the heart of the musical Firework Colleen prepared for us! Our dear Captain is offering us here mindboggling mixes starting with A Guy Called Gerald's Emotions Electric / Bobby Womack's Trust Your Heart (Serge Gamesbourg Remix / Felipe Quiroz' El Tiempo and ending it with The Neville Brothers' Fly Like an Eagle (MAW Slippin’ Dub) ! Listen to what happens here on the rhythmic and musical side... If that's not perfection, nothing will ever be... (1999) A Guy Called Gerald – Emotions Electric (John Peel Session) An early house classic from Gerald Simpson, otherwise known as A Guy Called Gerald. He released the groundbreaking Voodoo Ray in 1988, and then followed up with a Peel session recorded for John Peel on BBC Radio 1, and this one is from that recording. – Our dear Ana Sancho requested the John Peel Session version which blew the whole Family away (click here and here to find out more about these sessions. If you want to listen to almost all of them – a few are missing as explained here – head over to Dave Strickson blog!). (2016) Bobby Womack – Trust Your Heart (Serge Gamesbourg Remix) The inimitable voice of Bobby Womack, the song Trust Your Heart from Womack's 1978 LP, Pieces, and the song was co-written by Womack, Don Davis, and Leon Ware. The rework was made by a producer from Boston, Massachusetts, by the name of Serge Gamesbourg, who is also a hip-hop DJ by the name of Supreme One. But under Serge Gamebourg, he also did a compilation for BBE called Boston Goes Disco a few years ago. (2024) Felipe Quiroz – El Tiempo From a new Latin-flavored EP recorded between Brooklyn and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, now out on razor and tape, by Felipe Quiroz, a Colombian-born New York-raised producer and instrumentalist who also goes under the name Prince of Queens. Quiroz is also known for his releases on Names You Can Trust and his band Combo Chimbita. (1992) The Neville Brothers – Fly Like an Eagle (MAW Slippin’ Dub) The early sounds of masses at work. That's from 1992. It's their slip and dub of Fly Like an Eagle by the Neville Brothers, and the original is from the Neville Brothers 1992 LP, Family Groove. – Of course the song has been famously covered by Seal but it was originally the 1976 single from The Steve Miller Band album of the same name and was of course already featured during Balearic Breakfast. Keeping the explosion spirit perfectly in shape, Colleen then does another great mix, including House of Spirits' Please Take Me There / Arno Mathieu's L’Amoragie beautifully mixed with Nonna Fab's We Still Out Here (leaving the Balearic Family speechless, winning hands down today's episode WOW Effect) and ending the set with Phillipa & Jimpster's All I Wanted, can you see the Fireworks now? (2024) House of Spirits – Please Take Me There The latest single from Tom Noble's House of Spirits project, a follow-up to the last Spirits 12-inch. This one is more of a Brit funk-inspired up-tempo heater called Please Take Me There, and it's out now on Razor and Tape. (NOL) Arno Mathieu – L’Amoragie French producer Arno Mathieu with L'Amoragie just sent Colleen a bunch of new releases. This one is not even out yet. (2024) Nonna Fab – We Still Out Here Nonna Fab is the co-founder of the Apricot Ballroom and the Sweet Apricots Party up in Sheffield. Colleen met him at We Out Here and played on the Sweet Apricots' lovely sound system in the artist area. (NOL) Philippa & Jimpster (ft. MON) – All I Wanted Philippa, the New Zealand-born Berlin-based DJ and producer, along with Jimpster, the Free Range label boss and the keyboard player extraordinaire, featuring Mon with All I Wanted coming out soon. Colleen then ends the show with two classics, leaving us all with Stars in our Eyes; what a way to celebrate a few birthdays! (2004) The Salsoul Orchestra (ft Loleatta Holloway) – Runaway (Danny Krivit Edit) Salsoul Orchestra featuring Lolita Holloway with Runaway, Danny Krivets' special edit. – Back in the day, the album "Magic Journey" didn't sell well, maybe because of its musical inconsistency. (1984) General Public – Tenderness By General Public, who is Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger of the Beat, or the English Beat as they were known in the U.S., along with Dexi Midnight Runners, Mickey Billingham and Stoker, and the specials bassist Horace Panter and Clash guitarist Mick Jones. It was a ska supergroup, and this was their big hit (ed. taken from the 1984 "All the rage" studio album).

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 191th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on September 03rd 2024. INTRODUCTION As we all know, Balearic Breakfast is Colleen's Flagship radio show. Each week, for the last four years, the Balearic Breakfast Family – composed of music lovers, DJs, musicians, composers, vinyl lovers, bloggers, and artists – joins Colleen (and Adam 🤠 ) in a musical celebration like no other. Of course, this blog was born because of Colleen's ability to surrender to music and let it speak to our souls. But there would be no Balearic Breakfast show without All of Us. As Colleen said it so well on her website: "The community aspect is hugely significant. It is not a pre-recording of a DJ mix with a bit of announcing. Rather the show is hosted live on my Mixcloud Live and Twitch TV. The Balearic Breakfast family join me on the chat group, and they greet each other and talk to each other and form relationships on their own. I just pop in every now and then. It’s wonderful." Born amid the Covid pandemic (we all stayed together, created friendships, and formed loving bonds that started growing out of our favourite show and that are still going strong to this day, four years later) Balearic Breakfast – thanks to its "request-nature" – was, is, and will stay our safe harbour through the tough times we all face in our respective lives: "I have had so many people… hundreds and hundreds of emails, people coming up to me at gigs crying saying the show got them through the pandemic. I tell them the show got me through the pandemic, too. It was the community. I’m proud and humbled by it. But it’s not all about me. It’s very similar to David. David knew that The Loft wasn’t just him. He owned it. He was the nexus. But it wouldn’t be there without everyone else’s contributions. It wouldn’t be Balearic Breakfast without ‘the Family’. It’s beyond me. It’s something bigger." "This Tuesday marks the 4th Anniversary of my Balearic Breakfast radio show. It started in the midst of the pandemic, at a time when we were collectively trying to cope with severe illness caused by a mysterious virus, the passing of loved ones, loss of work and income, and compounded with profound mental health issues. People throughout the world were stuck inside their homes, cut off from family and friends. We were isolated and unsure of what the future held. At the time, I was hosting shows on Worldwide FM and when their studio had to close, rather then send in pre-recorded mixes (and with the encouragement and support of my husband), I began to broadcast live from my record room. It was important because I am a radio broadcaster through and through - a lifer as they say. I first became a radio host at the age of 14 when I was hosting programs on my high school radio station WHHB. For over 40 years, I have regularly hosted radio shows, mostly on community radio stations without any financial compensation. Broadcasting live from my home throughout the pandemic reminded me once again why I do this: to make connections with people and to build community through the power of music. When WWFM took a pause, I wanted to keep the show going and took a punt hosting Balearic Breakfast live on my own Mixcloud platform. But I wasn’t sure if my listeners would follow me. But to my surprise, you did and since that time the Balearic Breakfast has continued to grow. Thank you dear listener for being part of the community." 🏖️ This post is dedicated to every one of you, wherever you are 🏖️ Listen back to the 190th episode of Balearic Breakfast: THE PLAYLIST (2010) Ashley Beedle & Darren Morris (ft. Danielle Moore) – Let Your Love Shine (1986) Marianne Faithfull – The Hawk (El Galivan) (1972) Lani Hall – Love Song (1979) The BeeGees – Spirits Having Flown The Neville Brothers – Yellow Moon (live version) (1975) Walter Hawkins – Goin’ Up Yonder (NOL) Paul Young – Every Dub (Pete Blaker Balearic Dub Edit) (2024) Quiet Village – Reunion (2007) The The – Giant (Pilooski Edit) (2018) Parcels – Everyroad (2001) Soulstice – Wind (Fila Brazilia Mix) (1973) Deodato – Prelude to Afternoon of a Fawn (1993) United Future Organization ft Rob Gallagher – The Sixth Sense (1996) Camelle Hinds – Sausalito Calling (2017) Codek – Tam Tam (2023) Tom Tom Club – Won't Give You Up (Random House Project Remake) (1991) Saint Etienne – Spring (2023) Asha Puthli – Lies (Kraak & Smaak) (2019) Smith & Mudd ft Quinn Lamont Luke – The Distance (2023) LT Xperience & Papik ft. Anduze – Best Life (1978) King Errisson – Space Queen (1986) Fragile – We Got Tonight Boy (1978) Bonnie Pointer – Free Me from My Freedom (2007) Vangelis – Let It Happen (BeatFanatic Mix) (2022) Kid Simius & Bonaparte – Astrid & Manolo (1982) Mike Anthony – Why Can’t We Live Together (1983) High Resolution – Sweepin’ Off (Extended Mix) (1981) Teena Marie – Square Biz (1977) Evelyn Champagne King – I Don’t Know If It's Right (2010) Pacific Horizons – Jack Parsons Laboratory (1979) Skatt Brothers – Walk the Night (2023) Living in Ghosts ft. Woolfy – Stay On Top (1983) My Mine – Hypnotic Tango (1983) Raw Silk – Just In Time & Space (Dub) (2017) Mama – Unmask Me (Ashley Beedle Vocal) (1991) Soichi Terada & Nami Shimada – Sun Shower (Larry Levan Mix) (1993) Daphne – When You Love Someone (Club Mix) (2024) Calm presents K.F. – Shining of Life Flutemental (Unreleased Version) () Chris Rea – Tennis (SIRS Edit) (2022) Joan Bibiloni – The Boogie (Ray Mang Edit) (2023) Django Django ft Yuuko Sings – Don’t Touch That Dial (1979) Mascara – See you In LA / Jet Plane Ride) (1985) Supertramp – Cannonball (NOL) Steve Winwood – Night Train (Danny Krivit Edit) (NOL) Phillipa and Jimpster – All I Want (2000) The Boyz from Brazil – The Land of Make-Believe (2003) Reel People ft Dyanna Fearon – Butterflies (Restless Soul Soul Heaven Mix) (2000) Snowboy & The Latin Section – Casa Forte (Joe Claussell Remix) (2020) Lady Blackbird – Beware the Stranger (Ashley Beedle Remix) (2024) Bill Withers & Studio Rio – Lovely Day (1983) Lionel Richie – Love Will Find a Way (2023) Elkie Brooks – Fool If You Think It's Over (Pete Blaker Edit) THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Today's episode has to be the longest one Colleen has done since the show started in 2020. Quite quickly, I felt this episode was going to be an "out-of-this-world" experience. Once again, Colleen's musical soul spoke to me! When you listen to this 6-hour Marathon, you'll first be taken aback by its fluidity. Then, you should be able to notice very dynamic moments, musical outbursts, I call them, where we shift from one musical style to another while keeping the rhythm steady (the mix between Soulstice's Wind (Fila Brazilia Mix) and Deodato's Prelude to Afternoon of a Fawn was the first Wow moment of the show). This episode's length (52 songs!) and tonality also enhance the "out-of-this-world experience," especially during the spooky part when Colleen played songs from our last Halloween Party (listen to the mix consisting of Pacific Horizons – Jack Parsons Laboratory / Skatt Brothers – Walk the Night / Living in Ghosts ft. Woolfy – Stay On Top / My Mine – Hypnotic Tango)! Faithful to her free yet precise mixing style, Colleen also takes us to a very Balearic section culminating with songs like The Boyz from Brazil – The Land of Make-Believe / Reel People ft Dyanna Fearon – Butterflies (Restless Soul Soul Heaven Mix) and Snowboy & The Latin Section – Casa Forte (Joe Claussell Remix)! Yes, everything in this episode is taking you away from our world (Colleen's multi-tasking moment was also out of this world, mixing Calm presents K.F.'s Shining of Life Flutemental (Unreleased Version) with Chris Rea's Tennis (SIRS Edit)), and you don't want to return! Also, and finally, the "surreal" experience is put on a pedestal because of the sad events that hapenned a few days before the show, namely the launch of the GoFundMe campaign dedicated to Ashley Beedle and the unexpected passing of Danielle Moore (it's the first time I heard our dear Captain being so moved, a heartwrenching moment I can tell you, everyone was tearing up, and VinylHeartsClub wrote: "Very Powerful music today - so poignant. Ackowledged and appreciated"...). From the start, the Family felt both the happiness of the celebration and the lingering sadness following these news. All in all, it was a crazy musical trip that brought emotions to a level never before reached, especially when Colleen presented the Balearic Breakfast Family! Of Course, David was with us... Danielle Moore We have been left in complete shock by the news of your early departure. At first it doesn’t seem real at all, then it starts to hit home once you see how many people who loved you from close and afar are so deeply affected by the huge hole that has been left. This is a testament to how uniquely amazing and irreplaceable you are. You are a true rockstar, an icon and inspiration to so many. One of the most talented artists we’ve had the honour to work with for so long and someone that felt truly like part of the family. Your performances on stage were next level, nobody did it better than you. That showmanship, the charisma, those dance moves, that sense of humour. For the term “fuuuck off you bastards” shouted down the mic to always come across affectionate, that is special! From seeing you always so confident on stage, we would also see how nervous you were before you went on. You put everything into every performance and you were so very humble. You were incredibly strong, amazingly quick witted, armed with an arsenal of bad language and one liners that had us in stitches over the years. Never once were you unkind and you always had the time to see the best in people. You stood up for what you believed in and wore your heart on your sleeve. Your political messages and your passion for world affairs and the pain you felt seeing the world in such a state, resonated with many. I hope you know how much change in thought and action you are responsible for. You gave so much to this world and it is clear for everyone to see how much love there is for you. Rest up Dani ❤️❤️❤️ (from gotwood Instagram) MEMORIES FROM THE LIVE STREAM As always, the Family gathered around Colleen on her Mixcloud (reaching 1.2k viewers towards the end of the show) and all I can say is that we had a blast! We cried in the beginning, then we laughed, we spoke about music, about records, about gear and made some jokes (I didn’t know my dear Ana loved to stay naked under the sun and I really would love to know Everything about Colleen’s audio setup, without bragging of course, laughs!). We also shared some knowledge with links and musical information (for instance, if you want to listen to The The interview on BBC – from 14:10 on – head over here) and even had a weather report from a few family members! Of course, there were a lot of messages addressed to Colleen (the best one going out to Matt Raistrick, who wrote: "Balearic Breakfast - a place where you can hear the Bee Gees, Abba and The Osmonds and still keep it Balearic") and we greeted ourselves too for being part of such an amazing musical show (openly saying that next year’s celebrations should be done during a proper in-person party)! We enjoyed this 191st episode on the chat group to the fullest. These were memorable six fun hours for sure! We even made the chat group collapse from time to time, losing the connection or seeing other stream's pictures on Mixcloud! Told you, everything was Out Of This World! LISTEN TO THE PREVIOUS ANNIVERSARY EPISODES! The first Anniversary The Third Anniversary Note: Strangely enough, we did not celebrate Balearic Breakfast's second Birthday! 😅 COLLEEN NEWS Wednesday, 18th September: Classic Album Sundays presents ‘Hard Candy’ with Ned Doheny (click here to buy the tickets) ; Tuesday, 24th September at 8pm GMT Colleen will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Portishead's debut album 'Dummy' (click here to join Classic Album Sundays) ; Monday, 14th October: Classic Album Sundays presents Saint Etienne at The British Library with National Album Day, celebrating the 'Foxbase Alpha' album with Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs (click here to join the live stream).

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 192nd episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on September 10th 2024. About this episode. – Before embarking on a new series of events, Colleen took a short break and visited North Devon in the South West of England. She didn't forget about us, though, as she prepared a wonderful episode streamed live on Mixcloud this Tuesday morning! Despite some technical issues during the stream, the Balearic Breakfast Family was delighted to join Colleen for a fresh musical Balearic journey! The episode started with an amazing mix by "Find Our Balearic Spirit," which I'll delve into further in the listening section of this post. The second part of today's show was devoted to the interview Smokin Jo gave Colleen about her new book "You don't need a dick to DJ", coming back to some events of her life which led her to become the respected musical host she is today! "As I was away in beautiful and remote North Devon (where the weather has been particularly un-Balearic) this show features a guest mix from our community member Bradley Circles of Find Our Balearic Spirit and a mix from and an interview with Smokin Jo who has recently written her memoir. Men have traditionally been the reconstructors of musical histories and in many cases women’s participation, perspectives and stories have been written out. In the pages of her book, ‘You Don’t Need a Dick to DJ’, Jo reveals her unique herstory - how music & DJing became her superpower (she was voted the Number One DJ by DJ Mag in 1992) along with the particular challenges and obstructions she faced as a Black/Brown woman. It’s intense, it’s fun, it’s traumatic and it is a story that deserves to be heard. Other books I have recently devoured include Emma Warren 's ‘Dance Your Way Home’ - a celebratory dive into the collective activity on the other side of the DJ booth - the dance. Through exemplary research and personal account, she explores how dancing helps us to connect with our emotions, our bodies and each other. Her curiosity is infectious and leads us down various rabbit holes - I especially loved her portrayals of intimate community led dance floors (like that of the beloved Plastic People) that led to global cultural movements. She encourages us to “Dance your own story.” ‘This Woman’s Work’ is an array of essays about women and music curated by Sinead Gleeson and Kim Gordon. There are many different stories and angles but favourites include Juliana Huxtable’s Praise Poem for Lucinda Williams , Gleeson’s tribute to Wendy Carlos, and an inspirational interview by Gordon with Yoshimi P-We, the drummer of Japanoise band The Boredoms (and a muse to The Flaming Lips). These are important herstories written by ‘the other’ 50% of the world’s population showcasing women’s cultural contributions and vantage points. I encourage you to have a read of one or all of these books and of course, to have a listen to today’s show. Thanks for listening." Listen to the 192nd episode of Balearic Breakfast: THE PLAYLIST Bradley Circles' Find Our Balearic Spirit Guest Mix (2022) Primal Scream – Shine Like Stars (Andrew Weatherall Vocal Mix) (2022) TGH Collective – High-Level Bends (2024) Original Rockers – Push Push (The Underwater World of Jah Cousteau mix) (2019) Andres Y Xavi – Estrella (2018) Morrison Kincannon – I'll Be OK Tomorrow (1983) The System – Almost Grown (2015) Mars and Jupiter – Amnesia Open Air Dub (2023) Anthony Teasdale – Tango De La Boca (1984) Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome To The Pleasure Dome Smokin Jo Guest Mix (1977) Barry White – Ecstasy (2017) The Wanda (ft. Chaka Khan & Beres Hammond) – Baby Don't You Go (Dr. Packer Remix) (1983) Fatback Band – I Found Lovin' (1988) Sugar Bear – Don't Scandalize Mine (2004) Groove Collective – I Want You (She's So Heavy) (1992) Liberty City – Some Lovin' (1992) Black Traxx – Doctor's Housecall (1995) 2 Makes 1 – No One Loves You Like I Do (2016) Mutiny UK (ft Lorraine Cato) – Secrets (Mutiny's 2015 Re-Edit) (1994) Danell Dixon – Dance Dance (DJ Pierre's Wild Pitch Mix) (2014) Roger S – Shake-Shake (Studio 54 Mix) (2024) YOURS – Donde Esta (Masters at Work Rowdy Remix) (2015) Paul Johnson – I Like to Get Down THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE We could easily give this blog a new name. We could call it the "Listen to music differently" blog (laughs)! And this is precisely what I'm trying to bring you here: sharing visions and feelings music conveys to my Soul! So when I heard Colleen was about to share a mix crafted by Bradley Circles from 'Find Our Balearic Spirit', I was over my head! I remember discovering Bradley's (my interview here) and Anslow's (my interview there) mixes, thanks to their presence in the Balearic Breakfast Family, and I remember absolutely and wholeheartedly falling in love with their musical visions. But Why, will you ask me... Let's find out! 'Find Our Balearic Spirit' is a Musical and a Sonic Trip. Both Bradley and Anslow are from another planet. Their Musical Knowledge is plainly and simply crazy. To me, they are the closest to what Colleen proposes to us each and every week here on Balearic Breakfast. But what differentiates them from our Captain is their ability to share the Balearic Freedom attached to the musical style we love so much. When Colleen creates Stories, sharing a visible Narrative that can be interpreted and transcribed, 'Find Our Balearic Spirit' are able, on their part, to share the open spaces, the big pictures, the cinematic and almost "drug-like" experiences that can be found inside the Balearic tunes we all love so much. Keeping Colleen's ability to create a musical flow, FOBS propose the big jump into the unknown. And today's mix perfectly represents that. To me, sharing music is all about sharing what lies in our Souls. From the start, we feel that something will happen... and it takes only 2 songs to See The Big Picture on the Screen... Starting the mix with Primal Scream's Shine Like Stars, followed by TGH Collective's High-Level Bends, Bradley then plays Original Rockers' Push Push. And there you are... This third track acts as an Overture. Yes, it is an Overture. The first two tracks have a direct approach, and this dynamic feeling is enhanced by the quicker rhythm of the third and majestic track. Can you see the giant doors opening in front of your eyes? This, Right there, this very moment, is something I did on my Balearic Breakfast mix, and I genuinely believe it is a trick every DJ can use while doing a set. Let's say you want to take your listeners into a bigger sonic and musical experience. To achieve the big opening doors effect, all you have to do is start your set with 2 songs (no more than two) which go well together. They can be slow and cool numbers (like I did) or have that more direct approach (like Bradley did). Then, when the second track ends, all you have to do is play a song that has a "bigger Aura" (maybe from a different musical style?), something with a majestic feel (you can play it louder, too, just like I did 😉). By broadening the musical spectrum unexpectedly, you create a Wow Moment in your listener's brain that allows their mind to get instantly lost and freed from tension. And voilà. That's what Bradley did here. It's crazy. Also, don't forget to precisely select the following track that is only here to enhance your Wow musical moment... Bradley showcases that here by playing Andres Y Xavi's Estrella, perfectly followed by Morrison Kincannon's I'll Be OK Tomorrow... A work of art. Pure and simple. And this is why I love Bradley's and Anslow's mixes so much. They create a universe, a sonic and musical universe. Some of their mixes share a Lounge Vibe, some others share a 'Night-like' Vibe, but all of them are an invitation to Relaxation, allowing the listener to reconnect with his deepest emotions by setting him Free. Yes, 'Find Our Balearic Spirit' are not to be Missed. I'm in love... Will you follow us?... SMOKIN JO INTERVIEW [Colleen] This is Colleen Cosmo Murphy on Balearic Breakfast, and I'm so excited as I now have Smokin Jo in the studio with me. And she has a new book called 'You Don't Need a Dick to DJ'. Hi, Jo, how are you doing? [Smokin Jo] I'm very well. Thank you so much for having me. [Colleen] It's a pleasure. It's a real pleasure. And I can't believe that we're neighbors! [Smokin Jo] I know. Who thought that?! [Colleen] Now, this is a brilliant book. I mean, I interviewed Paulette for her book, which was brilliant as well. And yours is brilliant. And it's just it's amazing to hear these women's stories, because traditionally history has been written by men. And now we have women's voices coming out and sharing their stories. And they're all very different as well. Although we do share being a women DJ for over 30 years. Of course, we have some shared experiences, but we all have very, very different trajectories. And this book. Wow. It's intense! [Smokin Jo] Thank you. Yeah, I kind of wanted to write that book for that very reason, as in we always seem to get written out of history. Women don't seem to matter. And I always say that big story about the four guys that went to Ibiza and came back and brought house music. There were two women on that trip as well who never get mentioned, you know. So Nancy and Lisa were there. And so for me, I'm like, right, I want to make sure I am in history that if I write this book, they can't deny that I wasn't there. And obviously there's loads of other reasons to write it. But I just felt like it's good to have that story out there. [Colleen] Oh, it was great. And your story is very different than Paulette's and very different to mine. And as we said, it's different to other women. And I don't want to give away too many parts of the book because I want people to buy it. But I just want to say you had a very challenging upbringing, very challenging childhood and adolescence. And it seemed that music was a thing that really helped lift you out of that situation and to have some belief in yourself. And you found your superpower through DJ. Can you tell us a little bit about how that happened? [Smokin Jo] Yeah, well, I was in a children's home from seven months old until I was nine. And, you know, the 70s were pretty awful. And it was a very old-fashioned children's home run by quite old people who were very racist, misogynistic. They were very abusive mentally, physically, sexually. So it was just nine years of hell, to be honest. Me and my sister were the only black kids in the home and in the area we lived in was lovely. It was a Richmond near Richmond. So I had this awful experience in the home, but then I used to love school. So I got a really good education. And I realized that, you know, being black brown, if you speak well and present well, it does help you get along in a way. And then I moved back to Notting Hill to live with my mom when I was nine. And up until then, I'd never, ever heard music because we didn't have it in the children's home. We had Christmas carols and Sunday school, that kind of stuff. So my mom had Motown playing. She had reggae. She had soul. She had everything. And I was just like, what is this?! And I guess I'd been very depressed because I was emotionally stunted. I didn't know how to express myself. And I kept everything in because in the home, if you're beaten every day, you don't want to show emotion. So you keep it in. And suddenly music unlocked all of this emotion. And I was crying and laughing. And it was just incredible. I just can't describe how much it changed me to have music in my life. Yeah. [Colleen] And then how did you find your superpower of DJing? [Smokin Jo] Just being obsessed with music and being very naughty. I used to sneak out at night and go to clubs from like 13 years old. My mom used to work at night. So luckily I was able to sneak out and I didn't live too far from Soho because I lived in Notting Hill. So I'd go to all these clubs in the West End, all the gay clubs as well. And I was like, OK, I feel like I'm at home. It was like I just wanted to dance, and I connected with the music. And just weirdly, I was already making, you can't call them mixtapes, but I was just cutting up sounds and vocals and beats that I liked and just chopping them together on this double tape deck. So I'd already had this thing that I liked playing music. And then when house music started, I just thought, oh, my God, this is it. I need to do this. This is this is me, you know? [Colleen] Now, my entry point was through radio. And there were women's some women's voices on the radio when I was growing up in the 1970s. So it was there. So it was a it was a possibility for me. It was available. And for me, like DJing came out of radio. But for you, you just got behind the decks. Now, how did that happen? Because did you see any other women? [Smokin Jo] No, I didn't see any women. And this is why I want to do it, because I was literally going out every single night of the week to all these underground illegal venues, massive warehouse parties, the big kind of M25 kind of illegal like daytime and nighttime raves. And I just looked up and I was like, hang on a minute! I've never seen a woman behind the decks. And I was just like, right, I'm doing it. And it wasn't even a serious thought. I just thought I want to do this. So I didn't have anyone to look up to. But there were female DJs. And there was Princess Julia, DJ RAP, Nancy Noize, Lisa is Loud. So there were, but I hadn't seen them. So I can't say I had anyone to look up to at that point. But I was so headstrong. And I just thought this is it. I can't even imagine myself doing anything else. I just got some decks. It took me a while to save up the headphones, all the stuff that you need. You know, it's really expensive, right? And I used to work in a shop very close to Black Market Records in Soho. So I used to go every day record shopping when I was working. So I kind of very quickly got myself together. And just luckily, I think luckily I got a few gigs here and there. And then Trade opened in 1990. And that was my big stepping stone into kind of being seen and getting noticed. [Colleen] And something very big happened not too long after you started DJing and you were named and voted the number one DJ in DJ magazine in 1992. What did that feel like when you found out it? [Smokin Jo] I'm so annoyed at myself because right now, if I won, obviously I would be like. But then I just didn't really get the gravity of it. It was amazing. But I was painfully shy then. I'm still quite shy now, but I just didn't get it. And they said to me, well, it's really expensive. So we can only get you a ticket. So you can't really bring anyone. So I went on my own, had no friends with me. I got my award and went home. I just was like, this is cool. [Colleen] I mean, it's such a it's the thing that's so amazing about that is that it was voted by the readers. This isn't a popularity contest with like who's schmoozing who. This is from the readers in 1992 voting you, and there's no social media campaign. No, for you to say, hey, vote for me. This was really heartfelt. This is true. [Smokin Jo] It was amazing. I think I realized I was eating so much every single weekend, probably four nights a week, traveling the whole of the country. And sometimes I do five gigs. I'd start way up north, Grimsby or Harlem, just work my way down. So hundreds of thousands of people were hearing me every weekend. So I think that, I guess, was the push for people to vote me. I think, you know, yeah, I'm so grateful. It's just a shock, and pretty disgusting that no woman has won it since then. [Colleen] But and also that other thing you mentioned in the book is that usually when somebody wins the number one spot and the DJs like, you know, list, they are published on the front cover. And were you the only one who wasn't? [Smokin Jo] As far as I know, I did not get on that cover and they put me inside probably eight or nine pages in and they bleached my face out. So you couldn't even see it was me. And they put this pink filter on top and it was just so, like, underwhelming. Yeah, I know. And I still complain to them about it. I need to get my cover. [Colleen] I need my cover now! But no one can take it away from you that it's the it's the people that voted for you and you were number one. Let's have a little bit more of a listen to the music and the mix you put together for us. And we'll be back with Smokin Jo on Balearic Breakfast. [Colleen] And we're back with Smokin Jo on Balearic Breakfast. Now, Jo, you were just telling us that many times you had up to five gigs in a night going up and down the country. And you were really one of the first international globetrotting DJs as well. I mean, you started in 1992 and here in the UK, the DJ scene was much more mainstream, I think, in the sense that wasn't so underground. You know, house music was so underground in America. There weren't a lot of opportunities to play a lot of places just because the audience wasn't as big. But here in Europe and in the UK in particular, with the whole acid house thing and rave culture, I mean, the DJ was really put on a pedestal and there was a lot of work. How did you deal with that? I mean, that's I just did three gigs this past weekend in 20 hours. I'm like, oh, my gosh, it's it's really intense. [Smokin Jo] It is intense. I mean, I was I was young. I started in 1990 and I was 23. So I had, you know, lots of energy and drive and I was passionate about it. Yeah, I was taking those drugs, if I'm honest, as well. So that drove me a lot, you know, to keep me awake. And as you say, the scene was just massive. It was huge. It was just burgeoning. It was so many clubs and events and a lot of them were pretty dodgy as well. There were a lot of unsavory promoters, but I just immersed myself in it. And I was so passionate about what I was doing. And it was so fun. I mean, why wouldn't I want to do three gigs and everyone's going bonkers and you can play anything that you like, really? I think I felt much freer then to experiment. And when you're buying vinyl, they only make so many copies. So not everyone's got the same record. So your set is quite precious to you. You know, and then when I did get the gigs abroad, it was really eye opening to see that how universal music is. You know, you go to Tokyo and everyone's still loving and dancing to the same music. And it's just like, oh, my God, this is really special. [Colleen] I feel very privileged to have a life where I can go out and share music and meet people who are similar and like minded. And it's interesting. It's almost like you realize how small the world is sometimes when you start traveling and you have connections through music with people. And I never forget how privileged I am to be able to do that. But it's also a very exciting time in the UK. And by the time I moved here in 1999, this is the era of the super club and the superstar DJs. And you you are one of them. I mean, you are, you know, really residencies. You played at Ministry of Sound. You played at Fabric. You played, you know, Trade before DTPM. I think that's where you were playing when I moved over. Manumission. You playing at Space. All these incredible clubs. Was it really exciting time or did you feel like it was becoming too commercial? I mean, what were what were your thoughts when it was really starting to peak when dance music was starting to peak at the end of the millennium? [Smokin Jo] I think because, again, being so shy, I didn't like the whole suddenly you're on this stage and all these lights when you're looking at you. I preferred it when it was in the dark club in the corner and you could just kind of do your thing. So I did struggle with that. But I did really enjoy doing those big gigs and somewhat like space. I mean, you can't not enjoy that. The sun's out and everyone's there for the music. And you're creating this energy. So I loved every minute. I can't complain, to be honest. You get the odd gig and you'd maybe go somewhere like Moscow and it'd be a bit odd because they didn't quite get it. And then you feel like you're just kind of in the club and you've got strippers pretty much on poles. And they're like, yeah, we kind of lost the point a little bit here. [Colleen] Now, you went through all these. You had all these great accolades, but you also had a lot of challenges as you got into further into your career. You moved to Ibiza. [Smokin Jo] Yeah. [Colleen] And, you know, I can understand why Ibiza would be such an attraction. I think people that listen to the show, Balearic Breakfast, they understand what the attraction to Ibiza is as well. But, what was what were the challenges that you started to face in the new millennium and as your career was starting to progress? [Smokin Jo] I think what I felt most was as a female DJ and as a black female DJ, I wasn't getting the same kind of promotion or the same energy behind certain things. Like I really wanted to do a radio show. We wanted to do one for years. And Radio One was just a closed shop. I actually was taken on by one of their producers to kind of train and all this. And they ended up giving it to another DJ who was way, way less known than me and not even, well, whatever, you know. I was like, I kind of thought that was the reason I didn't get it. It's like there just wasn't any black women on the radio then. I didn't get the same exposure as well. I mean, I got a lot. I can't complain. But I definitely feel that there was a little bit of a ceiling still over my head and just traveling alone as a black woman. You know, you go to Eastern Europe. It was pretty horrendous. You know, the racism you're experiencing in the airports, on the streets. I didn't feel as comfortable traveling on my, you know, as my colleagues were. The only time I realized this the most was when I went on tour with Heineken, and it was like Tiësto and a few other DJs. And I just saw how different it was for them, you know. It's like, and as a woman as well, not that I want to be given loads of girls, but you see women being, you know, brought into the DJ booth for the DJ to choose which one he fancies the most. And it's this little boys club. And, you know, you are on the outside of that, and it's navigating your way in and trying to stay amongst, you know, all these male promoters because 99% it's males that are promoting the clubs and booking the DJ. [Colleen] You know, I never even realized that until you stated that in your book. And you mentioned, I think you said Hannah Holland, who I just met this past weekend for the first time. Lovely woman. Michelle Minetti. And there was somebody else you mentioned. [Smokin Jo] It was Nicole Rudebaugh, who's obviously a DJ now, but before she was a promoter. [Colleen] And that just never occurred to me. It's so strange. It's because now that I think about it, all the big promoters, most of them, I think we had a few, in the US is a little different. I think of Carmen D'Alessio was like the big promoter who really started in Studio 54. She used to go to the loft. So it's a little bit different. But yeah, I would say in the majority is. And, I never it never even occurred to me. I thought that was such an interesting point to make. [Smokin Jo] And they all kind of. I didn't realize they were all hanging out and going for drinks. And I had no idea this was going on. I just thought everyone was like me. You rock up to the club, you play, you go home. [Colleen] Well, that's the same with me as a woman alone, too. I really didn't go to after parties. I was saying to Adam, my husband, I said, there's one after party I went to once back to someone's flat. And it's because I knew their brother. And it was the Gruber Marduk guys like early on. I was like, only time I've ever done that because it was more about concern for my safety was number one. But also, I didn't want to look like the party girl because I thought they wouldn't take me seriously. [Smokin Jo] Funnily enough, they probably would have taken you more seriously if you got absolutely shit faced. Yeah, no, yeah. I definitely made more friends when I was getting really high with them. When I was sober, it was like, oh, everyone stepped away a little bit. [Colleen] Yeah, OK, but maybe I should work on 56. [Smokin Jo] I don't know. [Colleen] No, but in any case, you did. You obviously had some challenges. [Smokin Jo] Yeah. [Colleen] With with drugs, which you go into. [Smokin Jo] Yeah. I think when you're brought up the way I was, you really kind of lost a little bit. And I just didn't love myself, hate myself. And the drugs took all those kind of feelings away. And, you know, I've been taking drugs since I was 11 years old. And I loved it, to be honest. And I never saw it as a negative. It's only when I got to the point I've been in the beat for seven years and it's kind of stopped working. And I was taking more and more and more. And I knew at that point I just wasn't happy. And with all these amazing gigs and this profile and the money I was getting, I should have been really happy, but I wasn't. So that's when I decided to go off to rehab. Not that I'm an addict. And it's really weird saying that because I'm not. I know when to stop. It was just habitual. And I knew there was a reason behind it all. [Colleen] Yeah, that's really brave of you to do that as well. I mean, and also not even just your childhood, but also the lifestyle. Everybody around you is partying. And as you said, when you're doing three to four gigs in a night, it's like you have to stay awake and you have to be at your peak and you have to bring that energy to it. And it's a pitfall for everybody I think. [Smokin Jo] It is. And to be honest, it's just so normalized. And that's a problem for us in the music industry. It's not frowned upon really. Possibly now it's slightly different with social media, but it's like it's expected almost. If you say no to a line, it's like, oh, what's wrong with you? You know? [Colleen] I found that more in the UK. [Smokin Jo] Yes. Oh, I think the Americans are a little bit more professional than us. [Colleen] I mean, you look at the people who have lasted, you know, like like Louis Vega, Francois, I mean, they're like they're totally together people. And I think, yeah, I think it's a little bit different in the US than than the UK. I was quite surprised! [Smokin Jo] Yeah, when I when I went to play for Danny Vinyl, it was so funny because that was when New York was completely there was like no alcohol allowed in the clubs. [Colleen] That's right. [Smokin Jo] And I brought my whole crew with me. We were like, no drink! We were like, no way! We were so horrified! How's anyone doing this? [Colleen] I remember going on, I think it was a Virgin Atlantic flight from here to Miami for the Winter Music Conference from London for the first time, rather than New York. And they drank the plane dry. [Smokin Jo] Because we are the West. [Colleen] But you did pull yourself out of it. I mean, you really did. And it's why don't we talk a little bit more about that when we come back? You know, I want to talk about how you pulled yourself out of this and where you where you're at right now. You're listening to Smokin Jo on Balearic Breakfast. [Colleen] And I'm back here with Smokin Jo on Balearic Breakfast. And you've been listening to her exclusive mix for us, which is wonderful. Jo, you were talking about the trials and tribulations of being a DJ, a globetrotting DJ. And, you know, it happens to so many people, you know, drugs become an issue, maybe not. You weren't addicted, as you said, but it certainly became habitual, which is very, very easy for anyone to do in this in this business that we're in. But you managed to pull yourself out. How did you do that? [Smokin Jo] I just, you know, I had done loads of therapy in my 20s because of obviously being in the children's home and I was very depressed. So I'd already kind of looked in. And so I was very open to changing and knowing. I knew that was something wrong. So I just made the effort, went to rehab. You go for a month. So that's a whole month of no drug, no drink. And I'd never done that in my entire adulthood. So, you know, it was it was very eye opening. I felt warm and and real again. It was like I'd lost myself. So it was very difficult to go back on the decks completely sober. [Colleen] That's what I was going to ask you about. [Smokin Jo] I didn't like it. Like I didn't like it because again, when you're shy, you'll use alcohol and drugs to mask. So I just didn't want people looking at me. I didn't want... I just didn't know how to figure this whole. How was I going to do it? But it took me about three, four months and I started to feel good again. And I think I was probably playing a lot better because I wasn't trashed. But the pros didn't like it. They were like, oh... You know, you don't want any coat. You don't want it. And I was like, no. So I definitely wasn't getting booked for some of the same things anymore, which is kind of odd. [Colleen] Oh, that's interesting... [Smokin Jo] Some of the crazier nights. [Colleen] Well, you know, I found that one of the reasons I think I was attracted to DJing is I am, you know, extroverted in some ways. I love communicating, but I am on the radio and a mic and I don't see anybody. I think DJing was another part of being slightly introverted as well, because, as you said, I could go off, be in my own space and work and have something to do without making small talk. You know, I like yourself. I started on the dance floor dancing. I mean, that's every woman DJ I know. It was never like I just want to become a DJ right away. I was just a dancer and dancing. And it's... I think it was because I was slightly introverted that drew me to the decks. I'd be at a party. Everyone's talking and laughing. I'm like, oh, I feel like being on my own records. They put some of those on and that kind of a thing. And it's the same now with DJing. Let's talk about the difference too... So we both started DJing at the same time. You're DJing in parties. You're not really on a pedestal. It's in a dark club. And now we often find ourselves on stage. [Smokin Jo] I just don't get it because there's nothing to see. Yeah, just playing records. And then all the focus then goes on to you rather than music. And then obviously you've got all these superstar, whatever you call it, Instagram type people who are just not real real DJs, but, you know, they haven't learned their craft, but they're just got supporters and followers and their hands in the air. And I just think we're losing the real art form and the kind of point of it, which is the music. You know, you don't need bright lights. You know, the old days, it was one strobe. If you're lucky in the dark space and a really good sound system. So I do miss that. I really do. And I feel we're getting to a point now that people are realizing they need to kind of take a step back and maybe stop having phones on the dance floor, that kind of stuff, because that's ruined everything. Yeah. [Colleen] And there's been some great clubs that no longer have phones on the dance floor. I mean, I know that the Berghain does that, but I just played another club in Berlin that's very different to the Berghain that is called Heidegluhen. And again, no phones, and and and a lot of young people. And they're loving it because it's complete freedom to them. You know, I mean, for the first 30 years of my life, I didn't have a phone. [Smokin Jo] Exactly! I know we're so obsessed with phones, aren't we now? It's a shame. But I mean, social media is great for some things, but I think you need to know how to put it down. [Colleen] Exactly. Exactly. Now, one thing in your book is you regretted that you weren't making tracks and doing remixes as much in the 90s as your male counterpart DJs were doing. Is that because you weren't being asked? [Smokin Jo] There was yeah, there was a lot of not being asked. I didn't put myself forward for it, but also confidence thing. I just I was a DJ. Didn't mean I was going to be able to make the music. And obviously that's a whole different skill set. Luckily, Simon Dunmore from Defected had put me in the studio of Eric Koppel, which was which was fantastic. And he's one of my favorite producers at that time. So, you know, but I just knew I'd never going to be able to sit. I haven't got the patience to to do it myself. So I've always used the engineer. And I was very busy traveling. I didn't have time or I didn't make time. I didn't put it as a priority. I didn't actually realize because, you know, someone like Carl Cox never made any tracks. And he was huge. And I didn't really feel like I needed to. But I realized later down the line that, yeah, it's important to have music out. And now I'm I'm making more. I'm loving it, actually. [Colleen] Tell us about what you're doing now. [Smokin Jo] Yeah, I'm working with like Ted Patterson, actually. I'm doing something with him. [Colleen] Yeah, I know he is such a great person and a great producer and a great DJ. [Smokin Jo] So I don't keep I was pestering him for ages, like, right. OK, honey, let's do it. Let's do it. So we're doing that. And I've just done a track with Shadow Child, D Ramirez on Faith. And then, yeah, I've got a couple of other bits. Can I come over? But yeah, definitely working a bit harder about that. [Colleen] And how does that feel? [Smokin Jo] It feels good. And I think I'm just a different person now. I've got confidence. I can say what I think. I think when you're in the studio, it can be quite intimidating. And you're like, oh, you've got an idea, but whether you want to share it, you know, it's the creative processes is ups and downs, isn't it? So I'm more willing to share and use my gut kind of thing. [Colleen] So, yeah, I think it's also our age. I mean, I'm in my fifties. I believe you're in your fifties as well. And in your fifties, you kind of give less of a shit what other people think. [Smokin Jo] Does that mean that? Yeah, you do, yeah. [Colleen] And you also maybe have a bit more experience to draw upon. So you realize, gosh, you know, I can inhabit this space just like other people can. And I have the experience and I have the credentials and I'm able to do that. So you have some tracks coming out and that's that's wonderful. I'm really glad to hear that. You also started to do something that combines another passion that you have, which is yoga. So you're combining music and yoga. Can you tell us about that? [Smokin Jo] Yeah, well, I started doing yoga probably 18 years ago and it just really changed my life, as in it just kept me sane. And because I used to dance, I was trained as a dancer. I understood body movement and how it was really important for me. So being shy, I didn't want to teach yoga. But I had a boyfriend who was like, look, you should just why don't you give it a go? You've got a good voice. All this stuff I hated about myself. Suddenly it all kind of clicks into place. It's like, yeah, you've got really good voice for yoga because it's strong and it's clear. And, you know, yeah. [Colleen] You have a great voice. [Smokin Jo] Thank you. I always hated it. [Colleen] Oh, I love low voices. I love your voice. [Smokin Jo] Oh, I think they always say they like women with low voices and men with high voices as well. So, yeah, I just did the course and just realized that I found my voice. I enjoy teaching. And then I could make this wonderful playlist to go with the class. And people just love it. And it's a joy and a passion. But hard work, really hard work. [Colleen] I took one of your classes and it was hard work. I was like, oh, my God, I can't even do that. You know, I've been doing yoga for decades as well, but not on the level that you do it. One more thing about the book. You know, you are a shy person and you have written a very revealing book. I mean, you put it out there. How does it feel? [Smokin Jo] It feels great. I think which I've said to loads of people in skin, especially when she read it. She was like, God, I'm so jealous of you because you could write what you wanted. Because, you know, I don't have parents. My mom died 20 years ago and I don't have children. So I don't have a family that I'm in connection with. So I have no one to tell me, oh, my God, what have you done? So I just thought, you know what? Just put it out there. I'll probably never get a boyfriend again after this! [Colleen] Or you might get more! [Smokin Jo] But I felt I could be really honest. And I just thought it'd be interesting for people to see the other side. You know, I think a lot of people back in the day just thought I was a complete bitch because I didn't use to speak to them, but they didn't realize I was shy. And I think it's important to know there's two sides to people. You know, you see this person on stage and they look very glamorous and they all look like, you know, they've got the world at their feet. They have no idea what's going on behind that. And I just wanted to kind of pull that little curtain over and say, look, half the time I'm struggling, you know? [Colleen] Wow. Well, it's it's a very I really admire you for writing this book. And, you know, I had tears when I read it, and I was I was amazed at the things you've gone through as well. Some shared experiences, but a lot of experiences that are completely unique to you. And and just to have those insights shared. I mean, it's so deep and profound. And I really think you're a brave person for doing it. So just tell us about what's going on in the future for Smokin Jo. [Smokin Jo] Well, I mean, with the book, it's been going really well. I've had so much support. I've got a documentary being made about me in the book. So, yeah. And they're hoping to try and make that into a film. I'm kind of seeing Netflix series! So I studied film, funny enough, as well. And I absolutely love it. So this is like I'm so happy this is happening because I can really get my teeth stuck into it. And, yeah, continuing to DJ, DJ is going really well and producing. Yeah. Trying to get a holiday squeeze in there. [Colleen] Got to get a holiday. You know as well that you have to have that kind of downtime, especially when you're in front of people all the time. [Smokin Jo] Oh, my God. [Colleen] And just giving your energy. Yeah. [Smokin Jo] Yeah. [Colleen] And you're getting it back. [Smokin Jo] Yeah. Obviously, it's reciprocal. But yeah, I just saw Honey was Honey D. John took two weeks off a couple of weeks ago. And I'm like, you know what? That is amazing to do that in the height of summer when you probably had a million gigs. It's like you just took that time because I used to say yes to everything. I went to Tokyo for one night because I had to get back for another gig. And it's just like, this is ridiculous. [Colleen] I know. Well, the pandemic kind of showed us that, you know, when the events were first to close and the last to reopen, I am sort of in a mindset like take it while you can get it. Take it while you can get it. And it's very hard to say no. I think for a freelancer in general, but also, you know, dance music can be kind of fickle. You can be hot today, not hot tomorrow. And you just want to seize the opportunities when you have them. [Smokin Jo] I get that. But I think, you know. [Colleen] But there's self-care. [Smokin Jo] There is that too. [Colleen] You know, I remember I wanted to interview PJ Harvey and he said, no, she's taking a year off. Oh, she had worked for years without taking a week off. So, you know... Well, good luck with the book. It's a wonderful book. And again, it's called You Don't Need a Dick to DJ. And I can you know, I can definitely say that is a fact. It's a great title. And thank you so much. And the best of luck to you with all your future! [Smokin Jo] Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed that! COLLEEN'S NEWS Wednesday, 18th September: Classic Album Sundays presents ‘Hard Candy’ with Ned Doheny (click here to buy the tickets) ; Tuesday, 24th September at 8pm GMT Colleen will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Portishead's debut album 'Dummy' (click here to join Classic Album Sundays) ; Monday, 14th October: Classic Album Sundays presents Saint Etienne at The British Library with National Album Day, celebrating the 'Foxbase Alpha' album with Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs (click here to join the live stream).

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 196th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on October 8th 2024. About this show. – Following a few hectic weeks and a busy weekend too – not mentioning here the coming events she will host/ be featured in, laughs! – our dear Captain still managed to craft a surprisingly profound and uplifting episode, resonating both on a spiritual and a musical level (there is an evolving tension throughout the show...)! But we'll discover more about that in the listening section of this post, as usual! Listen back to the 196th episode of Balearic Breakfast: "This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now archived on my Mixcloud at https://shorturl.at/5KqdF and if you head over please give me a follow Today’s show is a 2 hour journey of spacey art pop, british soul jazz funk, a tribute to the late Kris Kristofferson, your requests and new music from @feel_fly @aura_safari @sirs_official @eastcoastloveaffair @dardisku_records @exgeneration.official and my latest Cosmodelica remix of Joe Goddard out now on Domino Recording Company If you are a regular Balearic Breakfast listener, please consider subscribing to my Mixcloud channel for £3 a month - less than a cup of coffee nowadays. Each show takes a full day each week to put together and your support is very much appreciated. Until next week, kick back and enjoy. Thanks for listening!" PLAYLIST (1983) Marianne Faithfull – Running for Our Lives (1977) David Bowie – Moss Garden (1984) Eurythmics – Julia (2024) East Coast Love Affair ft For Mankind – The Morrigan Sings (2024) Tony Esposito – Pagaia (Feel Fly Cosmical Remix) (1985) Rah Band – Clouds Across the Moon (2021) Clive from Accounts – It's Not That I Don't Care (NOL) The Highwaymen – WayHighMan (Bertolucci Jr Balearic Incarnation Mix) (2008) Atlantic Ocean – Waterfall (2 Slow 2 Lounge Mix) (2023) Roachford – This Generation (revisited) (2024) Aura Safari – Wave Riding (SIRS Remix) (2012) Miguel Migs ft. Meshell Ndegeocello – Tonight (Crazy P remix) (2024) Joe Goddard – Follow You (Cosmodelica Remix) (2024) Dar Disku ft Asha Puthli – Baar Baar (2024) Ex Generation – Seratina (1976) Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express – Happiness Is Just Around the Bend’ (Live) (2020) Morttimer Snerd III – How Did U Know (Miggedy'’s Full Retouch) THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE In a recent interview with DJ Tina Edwards, Colleen shared her feelings towards album reviews; the exchange went like this: [Tina] (...) How do you sort of define good music? Is it a feeling? [Colleen] No, you can't. I can't describe great music in words. It goes beyond words for me. It really does. I used to even write record reviews in the 1980s, actually, for Rockpool and then also for Project X magazine. And I stopped. I stopped writing record reviews because I hated describing music in words. I said instead, I'd rather interview the artists and find out their stories. But I don't read record reviews. I used to read my own and stopped. [Tina] I guess that's a whole another experience. [Colleen] But I don't read them. I don't really pay attention to them. I don't really think they're that important for me. I mean, maybe for people who don't have access to music, they need to figure out what they should buy or listen to. But I think times have changed, too. We can all sample anything and make our own decisions. So I just don't even read record reviews. I just have no time for them. And I just I have a really hard time describing music in words. It is so deep a feeling that words just there are no words. [Tina] There is that phrase, writing about music is like dancing about architecture. [Colleen] Yeah, that's a great one. Right. No, I haven't heard that. But that totally nails it for me. [Tina] Yeah, quite an abstract thing to put into words. [Colleen] Exactly. (...) Of course, the exchange triggered my mind as I write a lot about Music here, laughs! Then, while thinking about it, I remembered that a somewhat close discussion hapenned in the past, in another interview, between a journalist and the great French theatre actor Henri Rollan. In this interview, the main question Henri Rollan had to answer was: "Does one have the right to speak out verses?" In a nutshell, his answer, which he underlined with real examples, was that, of course, you had the right to speak out verses, you had the right to read them out loud, but as long as you felt the music, the rhythm, the silences, the verse's Soul. I was so impressed by this interview that I did a whole mix around it, showing that when read Properly, verses could transform into music and merge into it (many poems have been and will be transformed into songs)... You may ask yourself why I started today's post with this explanation. Well, as you know, I consider each Balearic Breakfast show as an album, an album which showcases not only Colleen's musical soul and her sensitivity but also an album that reflects the times we are living in, and I felt today's show perfectly encompassed all of these aspects, also underlying the work of love and passion I try to craft each and every week... Today's show is a snapshot of the difficult times we're living. It's also a reminder of how much we can change what's happening, each at our level. Yes, we do live in troubled times indeed: there's a war happening in Gaza (the conflict with Israel has been going on for years now), and Israel now attacks other countries to defend itself against Hamas. Also, it has never rained so much in many countries worldwide: Asia, Europe, and the USA have recently seen dramatic climatic changes that have translated into violent meteorological events. Politically, tension is also present in several countries (the American Presidential election is happening...). Poverty is rising with people struggling to pay their taxes, and the cost of living seems to get higher and higher. Can this get any darker? We all hope it won't. But, amidst this chaos, another reality keeps growing, and I didn't choose today's post title only because Roachford's song perfectly depicted our times (life is a never-ending circle, right?). I chose it also because it depicts the change that is happening, the one I feel, the one I see in the younger generation, and which has already been documented. Let's dive into today's episode to see what it's all about... Starting the show with Running for Our Lives, Colleen sets the message clear: "But I think I'd like to get out of here, This place it frightens me". The song has a broad message but is also constricted in its hope. We need to do something, but will our actions meet our expectations? The first part of today's show, and some songs present in the second part, deals with the theme of change and choices that must be made and the impact they have. The troubled times reveal themselves in Colleen's selections. This is the case with Moss Garden, as we can feel a travelling tension, expecting the unknown, flying through it, and feeling the clouds while a force pushes us through. We're being driven by the times here. It's not a peaceful trip. We're not Free; we're being acted here. This uneasiness is also very present in Eurythmic's song, Julia. No promises here. Yet, the "forced flying effect" is still very present; we're lost, and that's a fact. We could think things will change with The Morrigan Sings, but the menacing tonalities and the audio effects found in this deep track do not leave us happy. We're still being driven; we're still not free. The musical unity Colleen proposes here is just on par with what she always crafted for this show. As she explained during the interview with Tina, she's all about creating a flow, and as I said in the beginning, this flow is both Musical and Intellectual. You can't implement change if you're unaware of what's not going right... and the voice at the song's end says it all... So, if you ask me, it seems evident that one can write reviews about Colleen's shows, laughs! Remember, all you need to do, even when listening to music, is Feel its Soul... You can never go wrong if you do that. (1983) Marianne Faithfull – Running for Our Lives By the English singer-songwriter, actress, and icon Marianne Faithfull from her 1983 LP, A Child's Adventure. And that album was produced by Compass Point All-Stars and Grace Jones Collaborators Barry Reynolds and Wally Bataru who all co-wrote that song together. It seems Marianne Faithfull was writing it more about the kind of difficult situation she was in at that time as she was in a real kind of state of drug psychosis at that time, both her and her husband. – Funnily enough, the album contains "She's Got a Problem", a poem written by Caroline Blackwood and put to music by Faithfull's then-husband Ben Brierley. (1977) David Bowie – Moss Garden Moss Garden was co-written by David Bowie and Brian Eno and is taken from the Starmound's 12th studio LP, Heroes, produced by Tony Visconti at Hansa Studios in Berlin. – The conceptual piece is based on a location in Kyoto, Japan and its composition took a strange turn. – Some reviews describing the track presents its duality made both of calm, serenity but also a lingering tension (strange and serene) put on the forefront by the use of airplane sounds. We must remember that Heroes is part of David Bowie's Trilogy, known for its darker intellectual and musical approach (which will somehow see an extension in the 1981 movie soundtrack Christiane F., recorded between 1975 and 1979 with Bowie making an appearance in the original movie, recently beautifully adapted for television). (1984) Eurythmics – Julia From Eurythmics soundtrack to the film 1984, For the Love of Big Brother, which was based on George Orwell's dystopian novel. The score was put together by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart entirely without the help of any other musicians or producers. – There is a wonderful post about the whole soundtrack you can read here. "Julia… was Winston’s love interest in the novel. This is amazing. It’s mostly vocal with Lennox’s heavily processed voice. Not only that, but she seems to be singing parts over top of herself. “Julia / When winter leaves and branches bare … My darling, will we still be there?” It’s awfully melancholy, with winteresque piano, a staccato synth part buzzing away in the background, and piano doing the same. Lennox’s voice is the main feature here, so distraught, so despairing; “Oh Julia / And the leaves turn from green to brown / And autumn shades come tumbling down / To leave a carpet on the ground / Where we have lain.” The synth tones comes shining across like rays of the morning sun. The processing is interesting. It’s all phases, as though her voice has been turned into a synth itself. There’s even horns in here adding a light plaintive touch midway through the song. It’s quite an unusual song and sound. No beat at all. All effects and ice, shimmering, shifting phases: “Will we / Will we / Will we still be there” – repeat for a long while until fade out. Pretty mournful sounding stuff. And still it goes on, with some cool Spanish style guitar playing a fanciful dance around the synths as the song fades…truly beautiful." (2024) East Coast Love Affair ft For Mankind – The Morrigan Sings East Coast Love Affair featuring For Mankind with The Morrigan Sings. And that's also along with Fellow Scott, the now Ibiza-based DJ for Mankind, or Russ Foreman. And that's from East Coast Love Affair's new album, Musica Para Todos, released last week on Athens of the North. The Morrigan is the Celtic goddess of war, chaos, confusion, but also connected with fertility and childbirth. The uneasy, driven feeling is also very present in the following tracks, but a new element seems to emerge: combativity. While listening to Pagaia (Feel Fly Cosmical Remix), we feel that there's a duality here, forces battling against each other, and a unity starting to form and steadily growing. What a beautiful mix Colleen proposes here as the following number, Clouds Across the Moon, starts! A Wow Moment for sure! Colleen lets the Music Speak; no one comes close to her; her purity shines here! Keeping the rhythmic unity perfectly aligned, Colleen then plays It's Not That I Don't Care, and we still feel a battle somewhere in here, forces observing themselves and entering into physical contact. But, as at the beginning of this second part, the fight seems to be an "open-minded" one, something stretched towards openness, just like when you speak your truth to someone, not imposing it but laying it there as an open door (by the way, this is a way of communicating that we should all master: not answering to an attack by attacking but by being open and welcoming without sacrificing the objective truth). This feeling of certainty, of truth, is beautifully present in the next song, WayHighMan. Did you notice how the tension evolved? Lost, we were driven, then we fought to defend our truth, and now, as the first hour of the show ends, we're reaching eternity... (2024) Tony Esposito – Pagaia (Feel Fly Cosmical Remix) Daniele Tomasini's new track, a remix he did of Napoli singer, songwriter and drummer Tony Esposito. It's a remix of his 1982 single Pagaya and it came out last month on Archeo. (1985) Rah Band – Clouds Across the Moon The 1985 single of Richard Anthony Hewson's Rah Band. The English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist was the man behind the raw band. And he said that the song took place in the future where there was a 100-year-long war on Mars. – To learn more about this song, read this blog post. It is interesting to note that the song fits today's show theme because of its projection into the future 😉 (2021) Clive from Accounts – It's Not That I Don't Care Music from the regional Tiddlywinks champion, stationary cupboard loiterer and all around beige sky thinker. The London-based DJ producer Clive McCounts also likes two things, pens and music, but mainly pens. At least that's how he describes himself using springs tape and old synths with fonts he admires. Clive creates a musical equivalent of warm photocopies. He also has an Alan EP with the face of Alan Partridge. (NOL) The Highwaymen – WayHighMan (Bertolucci Jr Balearic Incarnation Mix) A little tribute goes to the late Chris Christofferson, who passed away in the next realm just over a week ago. And what a cool, cool guy he was. Not only an outlaw country star, but also a master songwriter and actor who won a Golden Globe for his role in the 1976 film A Star is Born. He was also very political, a vocal opponent of the Gulf War and Iraq War and other American military interventions in Panama and Nicaragua. Even though he himself served in the military, he was in the army in the 1960s. His music lives on and I suggest you delve into his work. So many great songs. This track is a rework of Highwayman by the Highwaymen, the country supergroup of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Chris Christofferson. – The song was part of the 1985 "Highwayman" studio album of the supergroup; Jimmy Webb wrote it, and it's interesting to note how it inserts itself in today's theme as it deals both with reincarnation and, if you think of it, with the pioneering spirit (different pioneers over different generations, in different aspects, beautifully asking an interesting question: "does the generation theme makes sense?"). Are you ready to pursue your dreams? Are you ready to go all the way in? Because we're ready. We want to find balance, we don't want to have regrets, we Believe in our Destiny, we believe in our Future although we're afraid of it, we believe we can be online without losing our identity, we don't want Stars without Souls, we don't need Liars, we need artists we can respect, and we want to be a part of the sky, too. Politics let us down; we will work our reality out without them; we don't trust them anymore, and we don't trust the system anymore; we want to be free and do what we wanna do. We are the Cool Power. We're the New Generation... Add your own reality to these lines... Yes, the first two tracks – Waterfall (2 Slow 2 Lounge Mix) and This Generation (revisited) – are a powerful affirmation, "a little future optimism for the current apocalypse"... Speaking about "Cool Power," Colleen is going to give us what we need in the beautiful mini mix composed of Wave Riding (SIRS Remix) / Tonight (Crazy P remix) and Follow You (Cosmodelica Remix). Do you feel the difference here in the "flying effect?" Do you feel the cool strength, the joy, and the Freedom? Because I do! And Colleen is so good here; even silence is a Freaking Huge Groove in her hands as it totally surprises you and takes your mind away, Ha! The Balearic Family had a blast when Tonight was playing; we lost our freaking minds altogether, laughs! We also lost our minds when hearing Colleen's remix of Joe Goddard's Follow You. Without a shadow of a doubt, this was the second Wow Moment of today's show! With Baar Baar / Seratina and Happiness Is Just Around the Bend’ (Live) – which beautifully slows down the pace – and ending the show with How Did U Know (Miggedy'’s Full Retouch), Colleen, once again, shows us that there is a message in the Music... (2008) Atlantic Ocean – Waterfall (2 Slow 2 Lounge Mix) Waterfall by Dutch duo Atlantic Ocean, a hit for them when it was released 30 years ago. But of course, the mix we heard wasn't trance at all. (2023) Roachford – This Generation (revisited) The 1994 single by English funk band Roacheford, formed by singer, songwriter, keyboard player Andrew Roacheford in 1987. Not long after they formed, they were opening up and touring with Terrence Trent Darby, signed to Columbia Records. – The inspiration behind "This Generation" was similar to that of the Black Lives Matter movement, Roachford stated in an interview, adding: "I just felt like some people at that time were old, stuck in their ways, and they were stunting the growth of society. Society needs to move forward. I don't know exactly, but there was something on the news that just triggered it and made me think about it. My journey, coming as a kid from Caribbean descent with my experiences, I just felt impassioned to write a song that was positive about the future."This version comes from Roachford's 2023 album, Then and Now. (2024) Aura Safari – Wave Riding (SIRS Remix) Wave Riding is taken from Italian DJ and production collective Aura Safari's second full-length album, Island Dreams issued on September 15th, 2023 on Hell Yeah Recordings, the SIRS Remix is part of the Island Dream Remixes exclusively issued on Bandcamp on August 23rd 2024. (2012) Miguel Migs ft. Meshell Ndegeocello – Tonight (Crazy P remix) Issued on the 2012 Tonight Remixes album, click here for Miguel's interview in 2021. (2024) Joe Goddard – Follow You (Cosmodelica Remix) A new Cosmodelica remix, that's Follow You by Joe Goddard from Hotship from his third studio album called Harmonics, which came out earlier this year. Double album, a lot of fun and he's released a series of remixes and it came out last week on Bandcamp. Other remixes by Ray Mang, East Coast Love Affair, Black Science Orchestra and again that's kind of my kind of like an 80s kind of poppy new wave remix of Follow You and a little vocoder action there. I thought that was kind of fun. (2024) Dar Disku ft Asha Puthli – Baar Baar London-based Bahraini duo Dar Disku have been making a name since 2018 with self-released edits of Middle Eastern recordings by other artists and now they're making their own tunes fusing the sounds of Southwest Asia and North Africa. There's Algerian Rai, Sudanese funk and Turkish psychedelia and they released their debut album last week on Soundway. Here they are joined by Indian singer and icon Asha Putli and they're calling this tune a Spaghetti Eastern. – For Baar Baar, a funky, shimmering track inspired by Vish’s beloved Bollywood that serves as the album’s centrepiece – they called on Bombay-born disco diva Asha Puthli. The Indian icon’s psychedelic blend of jazz, disco and sensuous pop, which drew on her training in opera and Indian song and dance, made her a star of the 1970s New York scene. Andy Warhol counted her as a muse and she was a headline act at the iconic club, Studio 54. She crossed over in myriad ways: her 1976 single Space Talk was sampled by hip-hop legends like Notorious B.I.G. For Maz and Vish, to be in the studio with her felt like a fever dream. “For half of the studio session, there was no recording done,” Vish says, laughing fondly. “We just wanted to hear her stories!” Puthli regaled them with tales – of meeting Andy Warhol, suing a hip-hop mogul and how “she refused to change her name to please a white music label” – that inspired Vish and Maz to continue down their own path. (2024) Ex Generation – Seratina The Melbourne jazz soul production team of Ziggy Zeitgeist and Lewis Moody honed their production skills for a decade and then started their own label Energy Exchange Records in 2022 and set about to expand their horizons with cross-cultural meetings with Neapolitan tastemaker Federico Galotti, who suggested they come to Naples to record a record with the musicians who are the driving force behind New Genia. The result is their album The Napoli Exchange which is out now on vinyl. (1976) Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express – Happiness Is Just Around the Bend’ (Live) That version of Happiness is Just Around the Bend which was actually penned by the musician you just heard, British keyboard player and Hammond organ maestro Brian Auger. He started out in the 60s. He did a session with the Yardbirds and then he formed 60s blues band Steam Packet which featured Long John Baldry, Julie Driscoll, Vic Briggs and Rod Stewart and then in 1970 he formed the jazz fusion group Oblivion who were very prolific in the 1970s. They released a lot of albums and Auger wrote that song and the studio version is on their 1973 LP Closer to It but we just heard the live version from the Oblivion Express's second live album released three years later and of course that song was covered by Main Ingredient in 1974 (and has been featured in the 33rd episode, the original version being played in the 121st episode). (2020) Morttimer Snerd III – How Did U Know (Miggedy'’s Full Retouch) Also known as Belizian Voodoo Priest, Miggedy and Steve Maestro, the somewhat mysterious Mortimer Snerd III (DJ/Producer/Musician/Songwriter/Label Owner) issued many tracks over the years (find more here). You can follow him on his Instagram.

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 197th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on October 15th 2024. About this episode. – As she was preparing several Classic Album Sundays events (she interviewed Keith Killgo (pic 1), Suede (pic3) and Saint-Etienne (pic2)), Colleen decided to step back a bit and dedicate this new episode of Balearic Breakfast to requests she had not had the time to feature previously in the show, of course including some brand new music the Balearic Breakfast Family was happy as ever to discover for the first time! As we shall see in the listening experience part of this post, this episode has a very "Magical" musical soul, a relaxed one, allowing the listener to drift away in a sparkling sonic world... "This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud for your listening back pleasure (and please give me a follow while you’re over there). On today’s show I catch up on requests and some new music, reissues and re-edits that have been sent my way including music by @seodophy @cinematic_orchestra @ishmaelensemble @djsupermarkt_tooslowtodisco @favouriterecs @isleofjurarecords @dd.mirage @privatejoyhq @patrice.rushen @naya.beat @strutrecords @richarddorfmeister @djrocca @irmarecordsit @universalcave @skyrager @heard_larry @coflothesoulshifter @gc_rulin_london @soulfuricmusic @djemmaculate If you are a regular listener please consider subscribing for £3 a month and for those that already do subscribe, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Have a wonderful week and I hope to see some of you at Jazz Cafe this Friday when I’ll be spinning with Danny Krivit for the 25th anniversary of Strut Records. Thanks for listening!" Colleen with Brett Anderson and Mat Osman at the R.A.H - Picture by Andy Paradise Listen back to the 197th episode of Balearic Breakfast: THE PLAYLIST (2024) Seodophy – Dark Nebula (1989) Van Morrison – Coney Island (2023) The Cinematic Orchestra (ft Fontella Bass) – All That You Give (1973) Stevie Wonder – Visions (2024) Ishmael Ensemble – Butterflies (2024) Michael Franks – Chain Reaction (DOCTORSOUL You Can't Fake It Re-Therapy) (2024) D.D. Mirage (ft Private Joy) – Night Time (1981) Byrne & Barnes – Love You Out of Your Mind (1982) Patrice Rushen – Remind Me (2024) Turbotito & Ragz (ft Manjeet Kondal) – Pyaar (Edit) (2002) The Funky Lowlives – Inside (Richard Dorfmeister vs Uptight Dub) (2024) DJ Rocca presents Triorox ft Gianluca Petrella – Mirrors (2024) Universal Cave and The Street Road Band – (Till You're) Back in My Arms (1979) Edgar Winter – Above and Beyond (Instrumental) (NOL) Ron – Hai Capito O No? (I Can't Go For That) (Skyrager Edit) (1989) Mr. Fingers – Stars (NOL) Coflo – If It Goes (Deeper Mix) (2024) Gratts, Moody Mae & Jaj – Nuit de Fièvre (Pellegrino Nottata Stellata Remix) (1997) Gareth Cooke – Dynamik (2024) Gabriel Rene (ft J Soul) – Spirit (Emmaculate Extended Mix) THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Some sounds, some textures, a certain frequency response, and well-used audio effects can send you more messages than a word will ever do. In this regard, Colleen was right when she said she stopped writing or reading album reviews. Yet, it is such a thrill to try and catch something from the music you're listening to, because that's what makes the connection and, as a listener, you need to capture a tangible element so that song (or that album) will stay in your mind. Maybe that picture will be only yours, but perhaps you'll also be able to share it with other people and find you're somehow connected... This is exactly what this Balearic Breakfast episode is all about. To me, it has that "magical" touch, a "melange" of strangeness, calm, airiness and expectation, a sense of wonder, like a dream within a dream... you can feel within the first minutes of today's show as Dark Nebula, Coney Island and All That You Give are playing and sending unexpected and wonderful pictures to your relaxed mind. We never had a show where "Magic" was so present, so directly, so it made me smile as I shared this fact on the chat and I just crumbled in awe when I saw the picture Colleen chose for today's episode. Once again, our planets aligned... And, as always, nothing was planned, I mean this is just perfection, and I am so happy to share it with you all, week after week, If only you knew how much you all mean to me... Balearic Breakfast is our Magical Musical Island... Speaking about magic, Colleen is our Magician today as Stevie Wonder's Visions enter the Balearic Scene... I can't stop smiling through my tear-stained eyes as I picture the joy I felt watching magicians doing their tricks before my wild opened child's eyes... Stevie Wonder's song has that power, undoubtedly... It's the third time the show has made me cry from happiness, I know it hapenned to you too... What a gift we all are to ourselves, aren't we?... (2024) Seodophy – Dark Nebula Lithuanian bassist and producer Seodophy with the haunting Dark Nebula, based in Vilnius, Seodophy studied in the UK for three years, and he will unveil his forthcoming Ablutio EP on XVI, or 16 records, in November. Its theme is alchemy, a four-part process featured in four tracks, and Dark Nebula is the opener and the first single. (1989) Van Morrison – Coney Island So many Irish people and people of the Irish diaspora like Colleen deeply connect with Van Morrison's music. Coney Island is taken from his 19th studio album, Avalon Sunset, which was recorded somewhat spontaneously in 1989, rehearsed over two days and recorded in two days, leading guitarist Artie McGlynn to comment: "we still don't know if it's an album or a demo for an album". But that's the mysterious and mystical way in which Van the Man often works, and it does work. This request is not in reference to the Brooklyn Amusement Park, but to an island in Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. – It's interesting to keep in mind what Van Morrison said about his career in 1987, which was well present in this relaxed album "This is all an illusion, it's something that you're making up: you're making up that I'm a performer who's going to go out on stage and put this thing across, so it's a bit like acting. You're taking a hell of a lot for granted. And then the audience is taking a lot for granted as well, because they agree with that way of looking at me. But for me, all I wanted to do was start playing. It was like A-Level material, learning from all these records. It was all very ear-orientated stuff, it wasn't orientated along the lines of 'I'm a personality and I'm going to put myself across and wear these clothes.'" Read More:How Van Morrison Got His Groove Back on 'Avalon Sunset'| https://ultimateclassicrock.com/van-morrison-avalon-sunset/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral (2023) The Cinematic Orchestra (ft Fontella Bass) – All That You Give The opening track to the Cinematic Orchestra's 2002 LP, Every Day, the song All That You Give, featuring American soul singer Fontella Bass, known for her work with Ike Turner and Bobby McClure and her own hit, Rescue Me. She was rediscovered by Jason Swinscoe and featured on two tracks on Cinematic Orchestra's second album. (1973) Stevie Wonder – Visions From Stevie Wonder's16th studio album, Inner Visions, which was released in 1973, hot on the heels of Talking Book and Music of My Mind, both released in the previous year, and marking the then new incarnation of Wonder, breaking away from his little Stevie past and taking off in full flight as one of the greatest songwriters and musicians of our generation. – As Craig Jenkins puts it, Inner Vision is "almost a lament, a song about the awareness of death, the evil of hate, the power of love, and a hope for a better future" and the glittering instruments add to the magical feeling and conveys directly the message of hope. The Billboard analysis of the song is also interesting: "Visions” is as thoughtful and gentle as it is gloomy. Here Stevie sits back at his piano while guitarists pensively strum and he fantasizes about a place, “where hate’s a dream and love forever stands.” It’s not long before he realizes that the land of milk and honey only exists is his daydreams. This wouldn’t be the only time where Wonder visits another planet to find a little peace of heaven. Three years later he’d travel to “Saturn” on his heralded “Songs in the Key of Life” album." Then, Colleen steps up the rhythm but without ever changing the intellectual connection she established with us from the beginning of the show, I love how she disappears behind the music she plays, she's the only one I know who has that ability, when I listen to her when she plays songs or even when she mixes, I don't Feel her, I Feel the Music, it's just unbelievable, and I know my soul is right if there were something else I would not be able to do what I do here... Let yourself fly as Butterflies take you away... Keeping the magic alive, and waving through rhythms, musical styles and mental representations, Colleen then plays the funky and magical Chain Reaction by Michael Franks. As I already explained, if you want to write about music, you must feel the inner groove of every song or album you're listening to. Being a critic should never be about your point of view, the listener does not care if you liked or not the music, that has no meaning whatsoever. You must write about what you feel, about what the music brings onto the table, even if it doesn't suit your musical taste. Being a critic means you serve the music, not your ego... (2024) Ishmael Ensemble – Butterflies Ishmael Ensemble is a Bristol collective led by saxophonist and producer Pete Cunningham, and that's from their latest album, Ritual, which came out last month and the vinyl sold out quickly on Bandcamp, but you can catch them live if you're in the UK as they're playing this week in Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester, and their hometown before heading over to the continent. – In a recent interview detailing the album track by track, Ishmael Ensemble shared: "Butterflies was written in Mexico whilst on an artist residency there, it’s one of the few tracks we made together “in the room”, I put the drums together super quickly, originally as a place-holder, but as the track developed they ended up just staying as they are – sometimes the first idea is the best one. It’s also one of my favourite Holly collabs (ed. Holly Wellington - Vocals, Piano, Synths), her development of melodies and piano voicings really shine on this one." (2024) Michael Franks – Chain Reaction (DOCTORSOUL You Can't Fake It Re-Therapy) California Quiet Storm singer-songwriter Michael Franks has been a Balearic Breakfast favorite. German label Too Slow to Disco have a new series of official reworks of the warmer music catalog, which is extensive, as Franks has 16 albums, released over 33 and a third years, weaving together jazz, pop, soft rock, and soul, and his songs have been covered by countless stars, including Natalie Cole, the Carpenters, and even Ringo Starr. This song was given the treatment by Parisian producer Dr. Soul. The magical walk keeps on giving as Night Time starts, bringing a more direct Balearic Touch and somehow making me think about some of Sade's songs, nicely followed by Byrne & Barnes' Love You Out of Your Mind, these two songs perfectly showcasing the mindest you experience when you walk with your beloved one under a summer's sky with a light breeze running through your hair... Magic is in the lover's air, don't you think? The connection you feel in that moment with your loved one is perfectly present in the following song too, Remind Me. (2024) D.D. Mirage (ft Private Joy) – Night Time Lovers Rock from Sydney, Australia, the debut 7-inch from D.D. Mirage, featuring Private Joy, with a dub on the flip, from one of our favourite labels, Isle of Jura, run by Brit Kevin Griffiths, who is now based in Adelaide, and whom Colleen had the pleasure of meeting earlier this year. (1981) Byrne & Barnes – Love You Out of Your Mind Muscle Shoals guitarist and producer, Robert Byrne, who followed up his 1979 album, Blame It on the Night, by teaming up with multi-instrumentalist, Brendan Barnes, to record a very rare West Coast classic, featured on their album, An Eye for an Eye, and he later went on to produce artists such as The Pointer Sisters, Patty Austin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Phil Collins, just to name a few. The album was reissued by French label Favorite, and now this single's been reissued, Love You Out of Your Mind, with an unreleased song by Robert Byrne, on the flip. (1982) Patrice Rushen – Remind Me Patrice Rushen embarked on her career at the age of 17, when she won a jazz competition and got to play with her band at Monterey Jazz Festival, and then she got signed to the Prestige label 50 years ago. Since then, she's released loads of albums, has been nominated for Grammy Awards, and has had hits as a singer-songwriter, and is a much-in-demand jazz keyboard player, and she was also the music director for Janet Jackson. Much of her catalog has been lovingly reissued by Strut Records (to buy tickets for Colleen's session with Danny Krivit, click here). – Remind Me is taken from Rushen's 1982 "Straight from the heart" studio album which got very popular (Pitchfork ranked Straight From the Heart #194 on its list of the 200 Greatest Albums of the 1980s and at the time of its release it peaked inside the top 20 of the Billboard 200 chart at number 14) thanks to the inimitable "Forget Me Nots" (a song the label did not like in the beginning!). Remind Me has been sampled many times, most famously by Mary J. Blige. Proposing a more incantatory track with Pyaar (Edit), Colleen keeps the mysterious part of today's show in the groove by playing (perfectly in rhythm it must be said) the groovy number that is Inside, do you see the magic in this track? According to you, why does this track fit today's show so well, eventually winning the Wow effect? I could give you the answer, but I'm here to expand the way you listen to music, so find the elements that make this track magic... 😉 Ending the first hour of the show with the slower, yet quite profound and wide-sounding number that is Mirrors, and not being afraid to take us out unexpectedly of a place we started to like a lot, Colleen confirms that she's all about proposing a flow that takes us to an unknown and surprising world... (2024) Turbotito & Ragz (ft Manjeet Kondal) – Pyaar (Edit) Turbotito and Rags featuring Manjeet Kondal with Pyaar (Punjabi for love), the edit coming out on Naya Beat Vol. 2, South Asian Dance and Electronic Music, 1988 to 1994. – It features the vocals of the late great bhangra vocalist Manjeet Kondal, the YouTube description of the track explains: "Naya Beat label heads Turbotito & Ragz deliver an original track ‘Pyaar’ (Punjabi for love). A blissed out 90s dub inspired chugger featuring the vocals of the late great bhangra vocalist Manjeet Kondal. This is the first single from Naya Beat’s forthcoming EP (which also features the legendary Mr. Scruff) paying tribute to a forgotten era of late 80s/early 90s UK bhangra influenced by house, dub and hip-hop. Naya Beat’s forthcoming ‘Bhangra House Xtc’ is a scorching bhangra acid house and dub release that celebrates vocalist Manjeet Kondal and producer Deepak Khazanchi and their classic 1986 album ‘Holle Holle’ which ushered in a new era of dance and electronic music in bhangra and South Asian music in the UK. Turbotito & Ragz deliver a dub tribute that works with Kondal’s vocals from an assortment of tracks from ‘Holle Holle". (2002) The Funky Lowlives – Inside (Richard Dorfmeister vs Uptight Dub) London duo The Funky Lowlives, Gary Danks and Jonathan Whitehouse, got together in 1998 and then released a few albums in the early noughties. In 2002 they released the single We Heard Inside. (2024) DJ Rocca presents Triorox ft Gianluca Petrella – Mirrors Trio-rox, a new project uniting three prominent Italian music figures, namely pianist Giovanni Guidi, bassist Joe Raymer, and electronic musician DJ Roka, a.k.a. Luka Roka Tagliati. Guidi, a jazz piano prodigy, has recorded for ECM and collaborated with Enrico Rava and Riccardo Villalobos, and American bass player Raymer, now based in Italy, has worked with jazz greats like Bob Mincer, and here they come together with Rocca on a record that's a mix of electronic, dance, jazz, and pop styles with underlying grooves and hints of electro, classical, and minimalism. The second hour of today's show will make you forget you exist. Not content to propose tracks that take you to another dimension ((Till You're) Back in My Arms), Colleen chooses ones that, by the memories attached, bring you back to a place you wish you could have witnessed, like... The Loft (Above and Beyond (Instrumental)), of course mixing these two magical tracks in a beautiful perfection and keeping the magic feel alive by then playing the Italian version of a true Classic, Hai Capito O No (I Can't Go For That) (Skyrager Edit)! (2024) Universal Cave and The Street Road Band – (Till You're) Back in My Arms Philadelphia's Universal Cave and the Street Road Band covered Dan Strimer with Insured Sound's cult anthem (Till You're) Back in My Arms, which was originally released as a 45 in 1977. When Universal Cave featured (Till You're) Back in My Arms on Soft Rock for Hard Times Vol. 8 in 2023, they reached out to Dan Strimer (ed. Danny Strimer - website) to tell him how much they loved the record, and they made a friend as he helped them release a cover of the song 47 years after it first came out, and Dan is still making music to this day, with rumors of unreleased recordings making their way out in the near future. (1979) Edgar Winter – Above and Beyond (Instrumental) This song was a cult club favourite in New York and elsewhere. The Texan guitarist and singer-songwriter fronted his band, the Edgar Winter Group. Dan Hartman was actually a member, and he had huge hits with Frankenstein and Freeride, and of course, he is the brother of the late guitarist Johnny Winter. – The Edgar Winter Album (1979) was recorded at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios, where the artist collaborated with dance music pioneer Tom Moulton to create a lively mix of soulful R&B and disco, drawing inspiration from the city's musical influences. The band for this project consisted of Larry Washington on congas, Keith Benson on drums, James Williams on guitar, and Craig Snyder on guitar, all veterans of Philly and MFSB. Alongside energetic disco tracks like "It's Your Life to Live" and "Above and Beyond," Winter also included a rendition of his anti-war ballad "Dying to Live." (NOL) Ron – Hai Capito O No? (I Can't Go For That) (Skyrager Edit) Hai Capito O No?, (I Can't Go For That) by Ron, the Italian singer-songwriter Rosalino Cellamare, and that's the Danny McLewin, or Sky Rager, edit. He sent a bunch of new edits over to me. Danny is one of the deepest diggers that I know, and it's always interesting to see what he unearths. Danny SkyRager has the compilation Traces of Illusion released last year. Followed by the aerial and very Balearic If It Goes (Deeper Mix), the dazzling track Stars opens the last minutes of today's episode. Colleen then pays two faster numbers, still owning that Magic high in their spirit, starting by Nuit de Fièvre (Pellegrino Nottata Stellata Remix) and beautifully followed by the well-named Dynamik! Should you need to hear one last time how magical this episode has been, Colleen chose Gabriel Rene's Spirit (Emmaculate Extended Mix) to end today's show in a beautiful mini mix, something she hadn't done in a long time... By the way, do you know where we are now?... (1989) Mr. Fingers – Stars Chicago House classic released in 1988 by the masterful Larry Heard. (NOL) Coflo – If It Goes (Deeper Mix) Coflo, who is a dancer, a caporista, and a producer based in the East Bay area of San Francisco and California. And he's the founder of Catch the Ghost Records and a member of the Soul Shifters collective. He was raised by Hawaiian and Portuguese folk musicians, which I feel has given a real delicacy to his own music. He's been releasing some beautiful deep house tunes and remixes and recently sent me this one. The deeper mix of If It Goes, which I believe isn't out yet. (2024) Gratts, Moody Mae & Jaj – Nuit de Fièvre (Pellegrino Nottata Stellata Remix) Belgian producer and DJ Tristan Jong, otherwise known as Gratz has been releasing some deep and lovely records, including this one released last month on 7-Inch on his Be Strong Beat Free label. Here he is with Moody May Band with Reinhardt Van Bergen on violin and Parisien Jage on vocals. Nuit de Fièvre in a lovely remix from Pellegrino called That Notata Stellata Remix. (1997) Gareth Cooke – Dynamik Dynamik came out in 1997 and is by Gareth Cook, called Dynamic, and the flip side has a Don Carlos cut. But it was just reissued on vinyl by Natsukashi Records. (2024) Gabriel Rene (ft J Soul) – Spirit (Emmaculate Extended Mix) Gabriel, part of the Ohm Records family, a member of Solstice, also going under the alias Aquanote, released this tune back in 2009 in Sulfuric, but it's just been given a remix treatment by Emmaculate.

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 199th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on October 29th 2024. About this episode. – Following last week's episode and knowing there were a lot of great requests to be included, Colleen proposed a beautiful show today. This 199th episode was one of the Funkiest we ever had. I never heard such a funky groove before in Balearic Breakfast, and I remember a lot of other episodes! Also, after a few months without our beloved ending phrase, Colleen said it once again today: "And remember, just be Balearic!" What's not to love in this episode?! "This morning’s Balearic Breakfast was part two of our Black History Month celebration and there were so many wonderful requests. Thank you for taking part and you can listen back at https://shorturl.at/3jY2N So, please kick back and enjoy music from... Ashley Beedle Scott Grooves Lil Louis The Soul Survivors and more..." Listen back to the 199th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST (1969) Richie Havens – It Could Be the First Day (1989) Kofi – Black Pride (1996) Dennis Brown – Love & Hate (1972) Eddie Kendricks – My People...Hold On (1965) The Impressions – People Get Ready (2003) Kindred the Family Soul – Stars (2004) Victor Davies – Morning Sun (1970) Donny Hathaway – The Ghetto (1972) Billy Paul – Am I Black Enough for You (2024) Scott Grooves – Leaves are Falling (808 Callin Mix) (1988) Prince – I Wish U Heaven (1984) Change – Change of Heart (1976) Jackson Sisters – I Believe in Miracles (1980) Billy Frazier – Billy Who (1994) The Ballistic Brothers – Blacker (1975) Black Blood – AIÉ A Mwana (1998) Moodymann – Mahogany Brown (2024) Mélange ft Linda Muriel – Simple Melody (1978) Wilbert Longmire – Black is the Color (2018) Yta Jourias – Adome Nyueto (Bosq Edit) (1992) Lil Louis – Club Lonely TO BE A BLACK ARTIST... As for last week's episode, I thought it would be interesting to explore our beloved artist's point of view on racism, segregation, or discrimination. One of the kindest and most gifted black artists who ever walked the stage in the 20th century, and who touched many who listened to him, Richie Havens never shied away from singing and speaking out about discrimination, racism and government corruption. With the song "Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child", prolonged into the legendary "Freedom", an anthem he kept on singing the rest of his life, his 1969 opening performance at Woodstock stood the test of time and still shines to this very day. Sadly, Havens experienced racism at a young age. Of course, these events influenced his artistry in songs like "What You Going To Do About Me" or “Handsome Johnny” which was political and a direct attack on racism and war. Yet he is also remembered for his deeply touching melodies and songs shining hope on the listeners (see the "Black History Month: The Origins and Rebirth of African-American Folk Music" article here. Another singer to openly stand tall against racism is Kofi, also known as Carol Simms. The British reggae singer previously part of a group named "Brown Sugar" formed in 1976, pursued her own solo career in 1992. One of Kofi's albums, 62 today and still going strong, "Black... With Sugar" has a song named " Black Pride" which was essentially made to promote as it says in the name black pride. An example of this is when she says " Black is the color of my skin. Black is the life that I live. And I'm so proud to be, The color that God made me." Eddie Kendricks also beautifully held the 'Hope Torch" with his anthem, "My People…Hold On”, a syncopated chant and a call to action, taken from his first solo 1972 album recorded after he left the Temptations. He always pushed back against the politics of the song, telling Disc, "it’s a spiritual song; it says ‘people hold on, hold on to love, that’s the only lasting thing.’ To me, that’s singing the truth. But I’m not hung up on getting political messages across. I leave that to the politicians”. Of course, other artists depicted the harsh realities of their time, and no one seemed to do it better than Donny Hathaway with "The Ghetto" which really took you into the flesh of the moment – this song always makes me think of another song with a close title by elvis presley, "In the Ghetto". The word has been associated with impoverished inner-city African American neighbourhoods while depicting, in the first place, the desolate sections of Nazi-occupied cities where Jews were held before being shipped to death camps; Elvis' song depicts the poorest side of the town. Few words are as ideologically charged as "ghetto." Its early uses centered on two cities: Venice, the site of the first ghetto in Europe, established in 1516; and Rome, where the ghetto endured until 1870, decades after it had been dismantled elsewhere. Over the nineteenth century, as Jews were emancipated and ghettos were dissolved, the word "ghetto" transcended its Italian roots and became a more general term for pre-modern Jewish life. It also came to designate new Jewish spaces—from voluntary immigrant neighborhoods like New York’s Lower East Side to the holding pens of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe—as dissimilar from the pre-emancipation European ghettos as they were from each other. After World War Two, ghetto broke free of its Jewish origins and became more typically associated with African Americans than with Jews. Chronicling this sinuous transatlantic journey, this talk reveals how the history of ghettos is tied up with the struggle and argument over the meaning of a word. Today's show Funkyness is so well documented in the first hour that I truly believe it has never reached these heights in any other episode of the series, culminating here with the infectious track that is Billy Paul's "Am I Black Enough for You". In an astoundingly beautiful article you can read on Medium, Janet wrote "Just like the title of the song, the meaning of the lyrics are not vague. After asking the listener “Am I Black Enough For You?” , Paul then goes on to say that the community is rising up “one by one until the work is done.” Needless to say the work that needed to be done at the time was easing the tensions between the black and white community. This song was written while the civil rights movement was still fresh and the sense of togetherness was stronger than ever. While the song can be easily seen as a classic especially for the time, I felt that it represents a different time period in African American history. At that time in 1972, it was important to be “unapologetically black” after hundreds of years of facing unequal opportunities." Yet, Billy didn't think releasing the song after the success he met with "Me and Mrs. Jones" was a good idea, which sadly was to be true regarding his career. Reflecting on racism, he said in an interview: "There are still pockets now. But all those years, marching with Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson means we have a black president now for ALL the people of America. I feel good about it, but Obama would not have been in the Whitehouse had all the young black AND white people voted for him so I think in some small way we all helped." The Great Prince always fought racism on his terms, his war seeming to be more musical, "quality-wise" if you see what I mean. While saying that black people don't get a second chance, he championed his craft to unbelievable heights, and directly attacked the industry as can be read in this antiracistcumbria.org stunning article. Blackness and the struggle of Black people were in the notes of so many of the songs he wrote and sang, with race and social justice woven throughout. Songs like Reparation, Baby, The Rainbow Children, Dear Mr Man, Uptown, We March, Walk Don’t Walk, We Are the New Power Generation, Act of God and America to name but a few – look them up, listen to their lyrics. And it almost goes without saying that his musicianship, song writing and the way in which he performed were all steeped in many traditions of black music and rooted in his experiences as a Black man. His activism didn’t just live in his songs and performances though; lesser known facts centre around acts of him donating money to the family of Trayvon Martin and making arrangements for the family of Eric Garner to attend one of his concerts. Or the fact that he was the inspiration for the initiation of the Yes We Code project which was set up to teach low income Black youths how to write code as he felt civil rights activists needed to do more to open up the tech industry to them and he funded hackathons in Detroit and Philadelphia to bolster the project. He donated money from his Purple Rain concert tour to food banks and inner city programmes for Black youths. His most well-known activist act is undoubtedly the writing of the song Baltimore, after the murder of Freddie Gray there in 2015 and his subsequent Rally 4 Peace as Baltimore erupted in flames. His rally helped calm the city’s unrest and was compared to James Brown’s calming of the unrests in 1968 after Martin Luther King Jr was murdered. Of course, there are other artists featured in today's show that directly fought against racism, we can't mention all of them but I would like to end this post with a dedication to The Ballistic Brother's Ashley Beedle, a key figure on the Dance scene and someone I deeply admire and who treated me as a friend sharing early versions of some of his tracks with me, who explained how his family faced racism: "My mother experienced racism from other Bajans and from white officials too,” he explains. “Barbados was still a Crown Colony and didn’t gain independence until November 1966. My mother couldn’t accompany my father to social functions; she couldn’t gain access to any white members-only bars and clubs, and as a couple they would be stopped and questioned by the police. As a result, we moved back to the UK after three years and settled in Harrow.” London had its own share of racists at the time, though. “Racism was the norm,” says Ash." Obviously, Ashley and his friends are another proof of artists who stand tall against racism. COLLEEN'S NEWS Colleen will take part in the following events: Saturday, 9th November 2024: Subculture NYC (with François K – tickets); Sunday, 10th November 2024: Soulful and Jazz mix at Razor-N Tape (free); Wednesday, 20th November: Classic Album Sundays presents Penthouse and Pavement’ by Heaven 17; Wednesday 27th November: Dance for Ashley at Ministry of Sound (tickets) ; Sunday 8th December 2024: London Loft Party (tickets); Tuesday 31st December: Fever105's Midnight Funk (tickets); ABOUT THE SONGS (1969) Richie Havens – It Could Be the First Day. – The late soul-folk singer, songwriter, guitarist Richie Havens with It Could Be the First Day from his 1970 LP Stonehenge. Havens' grandfather and great-uncle were of the Native American Blackfoot people and they joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Richie himself was born in Brooklyn where he had street corner doo-wop groups. But then he went to Greenwich Village where he started performing in the different folk houses. He eventually signed with Bob Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman, and Havens released albums and he was also the opening act at Woodstock. He had to go on a bit longer because the following artists were delayed because of all the traffic. (1989) Kofi – Black Pride. – London-born Carol Sims was a member of the Lovers Rock trio Brown Sugar along with Pauline Catlin and Karen Wheeler, who was later featured in Soul to Soul. As Kofi, she embarked upon a solo career and worked extensively with Mad Professor. She later signed to Jazzy B's Funky Dreads record label and she was also featured on Soul to Soul's third album. (1996) Dennis Brown – Love & Hate. – Dennis Brown started recording in the late 1960s at the age of 11 and recorded more than 75 albums. And he had so many great songs. Money in My Pocket, My Favorite Love Has Come Around. And he was such an icon that even Bob Marley called him the crown prince of reggae. (1972) Eddie Kendricks – My People...Hold On. – From the former Temptation singer's second solo album, which saw him moving away from soulful pop into a more hard-hitting commentary with a deeper funk groove and coinciding with the Black Power movement. And you may have heard Erykah Badu and J Dilla sample My People Hold On as it's such an important song. (1965) The Impressions – People Get Ready. – The Impressions with their 1965 single, People Get Ready, penned by Curtis Mayfield and an indicator of his growing sense of social and political awareness. In fact, Dr. Martin Luther King called this song the unofficial anthem of the civil rights movement. (2003) Kindred the Family Soul – Stars. – Philadelphia neo-soul duo Kindred the Family Soul with S.T.A.R.S. from their debut LP, Surrender to Love, which came out on Jill Scott's record label Hidden Beach in 2003. The pair, consisting of Fatine Dantzler and Aja Graydon, were nominated for both a Soul Train Music Award and a BET, or Black Entertainment Television Awards. (2004) Victor Davies – Morning Sun. – East London singer-songwriter Victor Davies, who was inspired by his parents' record collections, featuring artists like Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder, and also watching the guitar playing of his older brother's friend, who was in the British soul group Central Line. Davies started releasing albums after the turn of the century, and his unique brand of Latin, soul, jazz, and house endeared him to the German record label, Compost, who co-released his first album. This next song is a request from Jeff Kite for a song from Davies' second album, Hoxton Popstars, released on his own label, Afro Gigolo, in 2003. Victor Davies with Morning Sun. (1970) Donny Hathaway – The Ghetto. – Co-written with Donny's friend Leroy Hutson, and taken from Hathaway's 1969 LP Everything Is Everything, his first solo album after a stint as a songwriter, producer, arranger, and composer for Mayfield's Curtome Records record label. And Hathaway's debut album also includes another sociopolitical song co-written with Hutson called Tryin' Times. It's a great album. (1972) Billy Paul – Am I Black Enough for You. – The Gamblin' Huffens' Am I Black Enough For You from an album they produced for Billy Paul, the 360 Degrees of Billy Paul. And the song was emblematic of the Black consciousness expressed by some of the greatest Black artists in the early 1970s. And for some, it was quite a radical follow-up to his big ballad, his big hit, Me and Mrs. Jones. And sadly, the song, which is supposed to be empowering, wasn't supported by most white-run American radio stations. But in an interview 40 years after the song's release, Billy Paul said Am I Black Enough For You was one of his most requested songs by white people. (2024) Scott Grooves – Leaves are Falling (808 Callin Mix). – Detroit producer, musician, and DJ Scott Groves is somebody Colleen really admire as he isn't afraid to do something a little bit different. He first came on her radar with his cover of Lonnie Liston Smith's expansions with special guest Roy Ayres that was released on Soma in the late 1990s. And he made a lot of great deep house records, including Oregon Nights and The Journey. And then a few years ago, he really surprised Colleen when he sent me his live version of E2E4, which is just stunning. As the years go by, he reaches further with his music. (1988) Prince – I Wish U Heaven. – From his 10th album, 1988's Love Sexy. The album was recorded in just seven weeks at Prince's new Paisley Park studios after the release of his Black album was actually canceled. (1984) Change – Change of Heart. – The title track from Change's fifth album. And this time, the Italian-U.S. studio ensemble enlisted the talents of songwriters and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and those two really helped define the sound of the 80s. As they were in the time, and they produced the S.O.S. band, Sherelle, Alexander O'Neill, and of course, Change. (1976) Jackson Sisters – I Believe in Miracles. – Born in Compton, but raised in Detroit, and the Jackson Sisters released one album in 1976 with that cover of the Mark Capani classic. (1980) Billy Frazier – Billy Who. – A song Colleen first heard David Mancuso play at The Loft. It's a great groover and one of the only two singles released by Billy Frazier, of whom we know very little. And the song is very appropriately titled, Billy who? (1994) The Ballistic Brothers – Blacker. – From the Ballistic Brothers' second album, Rude System, released in 1997. And they were a collective that included Darren House and Darren Rock from Express 2, Dave Hill from the record label Newphonic, keyboard player Ushi Klasson, and our friend Ashley Beedle. (1975) Black Blood – AIÉ A Mwana. – An Afrobeat funk soul outfit formed by African expats in Brussels, Belgium in the 70s. This was their first single, which featured on their self-titled 1975 debut album. And they put out a couple more records before disbanding and feeding into other groups. – The song was famously covered by La Compagnie Créole in 1987 and remixed by Larry Levan, a newly remastered version being reissued on vinyl in 2019. (1998) Moodymann – Mahogany Brown. – Detroit producer and DJ Moody Mounds, 1998 LP for Peace Frog. The follow-up to his previous year's debut, Silent Introduction on Carl Craig's Planet E label. Nay, Kenneth Dixon, who started by selling beats to local hip-hop producers and DJing at house parties, and in fact he started in hip-hop and was offered a record deal with his production partner Kahil Oden, but two days before they signed Oden was killed in a shooting. So Dixon went on to success as a house techno producer in the 1990s and he's still going strong today. (2024) Mélange ft Linda Muriel – Simple Melody. – Simple Melody by Melange featuring Linda Muriel is a collaboration between singer-songwriter Muriel, musician Andre Lewis and DJ producer Fitzroy Facey, a lovely fusion of Latin jazz and soul funk and it's out now on 7 inch on Creative Records and you can find that on Bandcamp. It's spelt very interestingly KR number 8 IVE records and Fitzroy is also the main writer and publisher of The Soul Survivors Magazine and it's a great read in fact the latest issue features our friend DJ Marcia Carr. (1978) Wilbert Longmire – Black is the Color. – Wilbert Longmire with Black Is The Color and I bought a UK pressing so it has the British spelling of color with the letter O Longmire was a jazz guitarist from Ohio who played with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra and he released his own album starting with 1969's Revolution through to 1980's With All My Love and you can certainly track the zeitgeist of the times with those titles Black Is The Color is the opening song to his 1978 jazz funk LP Sunny Side Up. (2018) Yta Jourias – Adome Nyueto (Bosq Edit). – Originally released on the album Air Afrique, this song has since been given the re-edit treatment by Bosk, or Benjamin Woods, who splits his time between Columbia and Cape Cod and you can find that wonderful edit on French label Hot Casa on Bandcamp. (1992) Lil Louis – Club Lonely. – 1992 single from the Chicago producer Lil Louis from his album A Journey with the Lonely. Louis had a number one dance hit with French Kiss in 1989. Club Lonely features vocals by Joy Cardwell who went on to put out some great singles of her own on 8Ball. In fact she came up to my radio show in the 90s Club 89 for an interview and so did Lil Louis. I met Louis in the last year that I lived in New York City and we hung out a few times in his amazing studio that he had in Midtown. That's what happens when you have a number one dance record. And I found him very down to earth, pragmatic and future facing. – Ending this post on a funny note, yours truly was dancing on Lil Louis' "French Kiss" without even knowing it at the age of , the french humorist Vincent lagaf doing a humoristic song out of it with a play on words which I won't translate here! But I can assure you all the kids knew the lyrics by heart!

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 201st episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on November 19th 2024. About this episode. – Following her stay in New-York, where she met her close friend François Kevorkian with whom she played back to back at Subculture NYC’s inaugural party (not forgetting the great show they did on election day dedicated to Quincy Jones!), Colleen came back to London and, on a snowy morning, retook the con, embarking the Balearic Breakfast Family on the most moving show of the year as she paid tribute to her late and great friend Giancarlo Bianchi who recently passed away. A heartbreaking moment, this episode will for sure stay in our hearts for a very long time... Listen back to the 201st episode of Balearic Breakfast: This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud at https://shorturl.at/kLWiV. In the first 30 minutes I catch up with some new tunes and the remaining 90 minutes are a tribute to my late friend, Giancarlo Bianchi. Giancarlo was also a friend of David Mancuso and was the founder of the Last Note parties in Italy. After caring for his mother for years, he tragically passed away last month, only a few weeks after his mother’s passing. His generosity, passion, humour and friendship are sorely missed and today’s show is a very emotional tribute to him by myself and the Last Note family (who are also part of the Balearic Breakfast family). I hope you will be able to understand what a wonderful man and what a profoundly loyal person he was. Thank you Giancarlo for bringing so much joy into our lives and for connecting so many people through music, dancing and love. L’amore salva la giornata. Grazie mille alla mia famiglia italiana. Grazie per l’ascolto. PLAYLIST (1983) Jon and Vangelis – Italian Song (2024) Maarten Goetheer – Hymn of the Heart (2024) Kyle Shepherd – Teardrop (2024) Dream Baby Dream – Banana Trance (Calm's Mellow Mellow Dub) (2024) Alfonso Lovo – Terremoto (Brian Jackson Retouch) (1978) Lucio Battisti – Prendila Cosi (1978) Angela Bofill – Under the Moon and Over the Sky (1999) Andreas Vollenweider – Stella (1978) Paz – Kandeen Love Song (1997) Bob Marley – Exodus (Bill Laswell Remix) (1976) Gabor Szabo – Keep Smiling (2012) Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra – San Diego (Phil Mison Remix) (1988) Womack & Womack – Teardrops (1969) Santana – Jingo (1977) George Benson – I Always Knew I Had It in Me (1976) Charles Earland – Drifting (1982) Vasco Rossi – Una Splendida Giornata WINTERISH WANDERINGS... (To Giancarlo Bianchi) Isn't it strange, dear Giancarlo, that on the day Colleen was about to pay tribute to you snow started to fall? I was so surprised when I saw Colleen's video on Instagram that I went to check if what I saw was true and indeed, the weather report website said: "Yesterday saw the first snowflakes of the season fall on London". As you know, I don't believe very much in "coincidences" although it seems I had a lot of them since I started runing this blog. This one though is the most beautiful of 2024, and I thank you for that... Today's show was a two-hour tribute dedicated to you. We all know the first half hour of the show was also all about you, and Colleen transcribed so well the sadness we all felt following your departure. The first two songs, Italian Song and Hymn of the Heart (one of the longest tracks played during the show, mind you 6min42), felt like we were all invisibly walking close to Colleen, under the falling snow... These two tracks were introspective musical moments, blending nostalgic, lost, questioning yet, and at the same time, hopeful moments allowing us all to think about you. In a perfect mix, Colleen brought tears to our eyes when she openned her wings with Kyle Shepherd's Teardrop... We're here together, dealing with your absence the best we can and carrying your soul's message deep within our hearts. Fly dear Giancarlo, we'll meet again soon, you can count on that... On the chat, the ambience was sad, we all could feel it, a lot of your close friends were there, sending messages to Colleen and to you. One of them, written by Ouarrique, was splendid: "May We all be remembered by those who we love. Beautiful tribute Colleen". Colleen kept the flying effect alive and well by playing Banana Trance (Calm's Mellow Mellow Dub), sending messages to the other world, where you'll now hear them... Ending this musical introduction with Brian Jackson's Retouch mix of Alfonso Lovo's Terremoto, composed after the devastating earthquake that struck Managua on December 23, 1972, Colleen sent us a message of hope despite the painful times she and the Last Note Family are facing. There will be better days and, of course, you'll be right here, with us... In the show's second hour, Colleen shared memories of you and everyone joined her by saying how much you were a loyal friend and how much they all loved you. Although we never met, I know you feel the love I send you Giancarlo... Prendila Cosi... BALEARIC BREAKFAST'S TRIBUTE TO GIANCARLO BIANCHI I met Giancarlo through another dear mutual friend, David Mancuso, back in 2003 when we started our loft parties together in London and Giancarlo was a trusted friend and advocate of David as Giancarlo helped David in Italy, and Giancarlo and his friends Ivano and Sara and a bunch of others came along to nearly all of our parties at the Light Bar with David, and Giancarlo would also stay in the same hotel as David and they would hang out and Giancarlo would have some great stories such as the time he saw the same toothbrush from David's bathroom in his hotel being used to clean a stylus, the precious kouetsu at our loft party in London. And Giancarlo is so inspired by David especially his approach to sound and he learned as much as he could from the maestro and meticulously put together his own loft sound system so that David could come back to his ancestral home of Italy and musically host parties in the true loft style. But by the time Giancarlo is ready in 2013, David had stopped traveling so David asked me to go in his place and this is when my friendship with Giancarlo went to the next level. Together with a wonderful group of people from all over Italy, many of whom you will hear from today, over the last 11 years we've put on 30 to 40 Last Note parties on Roma and Perugia, and it's been an incredible journey of friendship, music, dance, and of course since it's Italy, food. And I would also say that Last Note was also Giancarlo's life work. Music, sound, and loft parties were Giancarlo's passion and mission, and for nearly 20 years he was a taxi driver in Rome, but after the passing of his father he left his job to become a full-time carer for his mother, which is what he did for several several years. He was an incredibly devoted son who put his mother's well-being above his own health and she sadly passed away this past summer and Giancarlo was finally able to go for a much-needed surgery but, alas, fate had other ideas. He had just turned 50 this year and he was definitely taken from us too soon. Giancarlo was one of the most generous people I've ever known. Just looking around my record room I see so many gifts from him, from records to the handcrafted Cosmodelica isolator right in front of me which has Love Saves the Day inscripted upon it. He and Ivano always sent me home to London with a bag full of guanciale and pecorino as a side for music. Food is also a focal point as it always is in any Italian relationship. He hosted the Last Note party for the love, and not for financial reasons, always saying he would rather have less people but the right people, and he did all of this without any monetary gain purely for the love, and the right people felt it. He was an incredible loyal and trustworthy friend who had your back in your absence, and he did not waste his time by suffering fools and his passing has really taught me to spend time, my time on this planet, with people I truly trust and love and who love me back. Time and true friendship is so very precious. Giancarlo is also ridiculously funny with a dry ironic and very Roman sense of humor and I could still hear him telling a story, I could hear his laugh, and I still can't believe he's gone, but he's still in my heart and he's still in the heart of his sister Christina, and in the hearts of our Last Note Family, and today we'll pay tribute to him through some of his favorite songs. I chose this song as it brings back some beautiful memories of listening to music together while he drove around Rome. We drove so much in his car, and when he first played this song to me it was a beautiful sunny spring day with a big blue sky over Rome and I asked him to play it again and again and again. Lucio Battisti with Prendila Così. I’m still trying to process the loss of my dear friend Giancarlo Bianchi. It doesn’t seem real as I can see him right in front of me; I can hear his laugh. Amidst the deluge of tears I break out in laughter remembering one of his turns of phrase or a hilarious story that only he could tell with his dry Roman humour. I smile reliving the many car rides we had driving around Italy and Roma (where he was a taxi driver for nearly two decades) listening to Lucio Battisti ‘Prendila Cosi’ or endless tapes of the legendary DJ Miki of CIAK or a preview of one of my new remixes - he would listen quietly all the way through and was a true source of support. In true Italian style we enjoyed many, many amazing meals together including at our own home where he loved my husband Adam’s cooking and had a chance to venture into non-Italian food. Our fridge is always stocked with guanciale and pecorino from our dear Roman friends Ivano and Giancarlo. I met Giancarlo just over 2 decades ago when he religiously attended our Loft parties at The Light with David Mancuso. Giancarlo struck up a friendship with David when our friend traveled to Perugia to play at the legendary Red Zone club, a place where I had the honour of playing, as well. For many years, Giancarlo drove from Roma to Perugia and was part of one of the most energised club scenes in Italy throughout the 90’s and early 00’s. He and David struck up a deep friendship as David knew he could trust him - Giancarlo often advocated for him in Italy. Davids passion for sounds was instilled in Giancarlo and David guided Giancarlo as he meticulously put together his sound system to inaugurate a party in Italy with David. Once he was ready, David had stopped travelling and asked that I go in his place. I was lucky as over the 11+ years of our Last Note parties my friendship with Giancarlo deepened. Giancarlo was a true friend in the most profound sense. He didn’t suffer fools, but if he was your friend he had your back. I’m truly devastated but find solace remembering the times we shared. I love you Giancarlo and rest in paradise. Colleen will be playing these next coming dates: Saturday 23rd November: Tresor Meets Surgeon (Berlin – tickets here); Wednesday 27th November: Dance For Ashley (tickets here); Sunday 8th December: London Loft Party (http://www.loftparty.org/ – contact Colleen directly on her instagram DM); Wednesday 11th December: CAS with Alina Bzhezhinska (tickets); Tuesday 31st December: Fever105's Midnight Funk (tickets here).

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 202nd episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on November 26th 2024. About this episode. – Following her trip to New-York, where she played back-to-back with François Kevorkian, with whom she also paid tribute to the late and great Quincy Jones during a friendly radio show, Colleen then headed to Berlin where she played at the Globus Room in Tresor in Berlin on Saturday night. A few hours before that, our dear Captain published the request line on her socials, allowing the Balearic Breakfast Family to request songs for today's show. And, the least we can say, is that we all had a great time sharing music we desired to be played by Colleen! Requests included brand-new songs by artists we deeply love and true classics. What we can never anticipate is what will come of these musical suggestions, and today's show was both a cool, assertive musical moment and an adventurous and unexpected one, keeping its snowy visuals alive wherever we looked. But more about that in the listening experience part of today's post! Listen back to the 202nd episode of Balearic Breakfast: Good Day! This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now up on my Mixcloud at https://shorturl.at/MNdcH and features your requests and a lot of new music. It was great seeing so many people on the Mixcloud Live stream chat this morning, too. Our family continues to grow and its so cool to see people from all over the globe forming friendships through music. Thank you Balearicans. A reminder that I will not be streaming next week as its my Mum’s last day in London before returning to The States. This weekend we are heading up to Scotland and I’m looking forward to seeing some of you at Coorie Doon. And I look forward to seeing some of you at our London Loft party the following weekend on 8th December. On that tip, many of you have told me you are not receiving our email invitations. Please have a look in your inbox for invitations from thelondonloft@loftparty.org and if you don’t see one and want to join us please send us an email. But for now, kick back and enjoy today’s show with music from Caixa Cubo ROGÊ Far Out Recordings Lumberjacks in Hell Danny Krivit Floating Points Fat Freddy's Drop Ray Mang Michael Kiwanuka Ilya Santana MUSIC FOR DREAMS @lumberjacksinhell Stee Downes Jamiroquai Black Science Orchestra Charlotte & Reinhard Ezra Collective Salsoul Records IRMA Records PLAYLIST (2024) Caixa Cubo – A Rocha (2024) Michael Kiwanuka – Rebel Soul (2020) Hermanos Gutiérrez – Mesa Redonda (2024) Charlotte & Reinhard – My Love (2024) Fat Freddy's Drop – Oldemos (1977) Elkie Brooks – Night Bird (1977) The Brothers Johnson – Strawberry Letter 23 (1980) Renée – Lay Me Down (1986) William Pitt – City Lights (1992) Jamiroquai – When You Gonna Learn (2024) Ezra Collective – Everybody (2024) Erin Collective (ft Devon Miles) – Resistance (2024) Rogê – A Forca (2015) Maalem Mahoud Guinia, James Holden & Floating Points – Marhaba (1992) Black Science Orchestra – Where Were You (Back to Philly Mix) (2024) Ilya Santana – Cosmovision (Disco Version) (NOL) Lyma – The Fool Ain't Me (Ray Mang Remix) (2004) Salsoul Orchestra – Salsoul Rainbow (Danny Krivit Re-Edit) (1976) Maynard Ferguson – Pagliacci (2011) Luvbirds (ft. Stee Downes) – Want You In My Soul THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE A positive, somewhat slow but affirming opener, Caixa Cuba's A Rocha perfectly sets the tone of today's show, easily allowing the listener to picture beautiful landscapes under light falling snow. Happiness was everywhere, in the music, of course, but also in the chatgroup, where the Balearic Family felt as one, returning to Colleen's beloved record room. This feeling of belonging and of walking under the falling snow kept evolving as Michael Kiwanuka's Rebel Soul entered Balearic Breakfast's musical scene (a song about how we deal with our insecurities). Michael Kiwanuka's new album is calmer than its predecessors, it is more open, there is a constant light in the music and especially in the title song, Small Changes. “Then you get told what the boundaries are by the media or whatever is around you and you start to believe a lie, essentially. Think about impostor syndrome – for that to happen, you have to feel like there’s a door that you’re allowed to go in and out of. If you realise those doors shouldn’t – or don’t – exist, you can’t impose any more. You’re free to go anywhere. Stay inspired, stay vibrant – just be open, like an eight- or 12-year-old. It’s the hardest thing, but that’s how you keep yourself excited. And that,” he concludes, “is how you make nice music.” (Michael Kiwanuka) The next song, Hermanos Gutiérrez's Mesa Redonda, perfectly follows Rebel Soul. Its key is close to Kiwanuka's compositions, thus perfectly blending into today's episode. This showcases how much Colleen knows the artist's music she plays! Charlotte & Reinhard's My Love expands today's show visuals, keeping the positive and free feeling the show lends to the listener's ears (the song's lyrics directly add to the positive feeling too). Many of the songs featured in today's episode share a common intellectual approach by putting landscapes, nature and visions of destiny through decisions that must be taken at the core of their existence, always keeping a positive mindset. That's very interesting and must be noted here. Although Fat Freddy's Drop's Oldemos ("a cinematic desert ride" 😉 – the band is on tour) is slightly more worried, it keeps the visuals intact and positivity is never too far away (winning the first WOW Effect of today's episode), perfectly representing the way the band worked on the album : "Slo Mo is a more purely-studio creation, with 'Oldemos' coming to life over drum loops courtesy of Riki Gooch, and slap bass on 'Getting Late' played by Tyrone McCarthy. The album is also sequenced to reflect a live show, moving from the reggae bounce of 'Next Stop' and 'Stand Straight' to the techno pulse of closing track 'I Don't Want to See You'. Mu says songwriting is always democratic, but "in the studio there are definitely stronger personalities that will make the calls. And that's good I think, and we all respect each other, and know each other enough, that there's not too many egos getting in the way." Please, don't search for negativity in the next song, as Elkie Brooks' Night Bird embraces everything the show laid out since its beginning! For your information, Elkie Brooks recently embarked on her Long Farewell tour. Keeping the energy flowing, Colleen then selected The Brothers Johnson's Strawberry Letter 23, a cover of Shuggie Otis' 1971 song, making a very nice tribute to Quincy Jones who produced this love letter song and the album on which it is featured, perfectly followed by Renée's Lay Me Down, William Pitt's City Lights (a song I featured in the tribute mix dedicated to the show) and Jamiroquai's When You Gonna Learn! Did you hear Colleen's astounding precision in this snowy mix? Can you see the Snow Falling now? It's everywhere! Pure Musical Beauty right here folks!! Today's show's second hour will propose a change, musically speaking, and a very interesting one as we shall see. Starting with Ezra Collective's Everybody, a track embodying unity like no other, Colleen then plays Erin Collective's Resistance, followed by Roge's A Forca (proposing a beautiful musical twist while still keeping the rhythm intact!), and ending this small set with Maalem Mahoud Guinia, James Holden & Floating Points' Marhaba ((مرحبا) a common greeting used by Arabic-speaking people. Levantine people (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan) use it to mean Hello and Welcome. Christians believe Marhaba has roots in the Syriac (Aramaic, Assyrian) language and was by the first Christians. Mar refers to God/Master and Haba means love, and translating loosely to God’s love, or God is love. Marhaba is also certainly related to the Arabic root رخب (rḥb) 'to welcome'). This last song is astounding as it proposes a very realistic recording, blended with a futuristic approach with the use of synthesisers (being very close in rhythm and tonality to Lil' Louis French Kiss), allowing the DJ to include it in a broader set... As we approach the end of today's show, Colleen is going to take us into an unexpected, dancy and futuristic musical moment, starting with Black Science Orchestra's Where Were You (Back to Philly Mix), followed by the astounding Cosmovision (Disco Version) by Ilya Santana (Supernature in the mix, anyone?😁), the very 90's sounding The Fool Ain't Me (Ray Mang Remix) by Lyma! A WOW Effect moment in all of its glory for sure as far as I'm concerned!! I really wasn't expecting such a musical twist in today's episode! But the best is yet to come with the next two songs: starting with Salsoul Orchestra's Salsoul Rainbow (Danny Krivit Re-Edit), Colleen then plays Maynard Ferguson's Pagliacci which came to me as a total surprise as I knew the Aria from the Italian Opera's by heart (it has also been famously covered by Queen in their It's a hard life song). What I didn't know was that my favourite trumpet player ever recorded such an astounding version! In an interview about her father's life, who sadly passed away in 2006, and when asked if she had a favourite track played by her father, Wilder said: "Pagliacci !! Maynard really loved this tune and when he played it at some huge fairground he climbed up this big cliff, that formed the back of the stage and finished the tune up there. It was such a crazy thing to do, but he was really having fun." Of course, as a Pavarotti fan, I can't resist putting here his own astounding, mindblowing version of Ruggero Leoncavallo's Vesti La Giubba. Were we talking about... Positivity? ... I declaim! While taken with delirium,I do not know what I am saying,or what I am doing! Yet it is necessary, I must force myself! Bah! Are you not a man? Thou art Pagliacci (clown)! Put on your costume and apply make up to your face. The people pay, and they want to laugh. And if Harlequin invites away Colombina laugh, Pagliaccio (clown), and everyone will applaud! Turn the spasms and tears into jokes, The tears and pain into grimaces, Ah! Laugh, Pagliaccio (clown), your love is broken! Laugh of the pain, that poisons your heart! If you want to discover more about Maynard Ferguson I can only recommend you listen to his double live album, Live at Jimmy's, it's simply astounding (it is featured in this mix from 18min on). With Luvbirds' Want You In My Soul, Colleen ends the show just the way she started it... with an affirmed positivity... Oh, did you notice? It's not Winter yet, but... It started Snowing already... Fun fact: During the stream, at the favor of an informatic bug I believe, our friend's logo "Balearic Clouds" appeared for a few minutes. I felt it was a great occasion to let you know that our dear Panagiotis is still going strong, publishing covers of brand new Balearic albums on his instagram account. Follow him at Musica Balearica!

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 204th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on December 17th 2024. About this episode. – After a beautiful show last week, and just a few hours after sharing the great set she did during the 2024 WOH Festival under the Love Dancing Tent, Colleen came back this Saturday and invited us to make new musical suggestions for the holiday season (it's Christmas next week 😊), and Balearic Breakfast's penultimate episode of 2024, writing on her socials: "Good morning Balearicans! This week’s Balearic Breakfast is handed over to you. What would you like to hear this Tuesday from 10am to 12 noon GMT on my Mixcloud Live? Which songs will help us through the festive yet often hectic days leading up to the holidays? As always I look forward to your suggestions and please put the artist and song title in the comments (please no links). Over the weekend you can catch up with last Tuesday’s show and the last 4 years of Balearic Breakfast all archived on my Mixcloud via the playlist (and please give me a follow while you are over there). Enjoy your weekend and remember to breathe. Thanks for listening." Looking at the requested songs, I truly think we all surpassed ourselves on that one! And this post will be another one for the books with Great memories to warm ourselves up during the cold coming days... So, without further ado, let's buckle up our seatbelts and let's get lost under the falling snow! Listen back to the 204th episode of Balearic Breakfast: PLAYLIST (1981) Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays – September Fifteenth (Dedicated To Bill Evans) (2024) Opal Sunn – Elastic (Phase II) (1979) Judie Tzuke – Sukarita (1985) Will Sanders – Secret Love (2024) Sakura Murakami – Fruits of Life (2024) Santino Surfers – Moondancing (1977) Pleasure – Sassafras Girl (1979) Linda Williams – Elevate Our Minds (2024) Monsieur Van Pratt – No Te Perderé (2022) Wrekin Havoc – Oh La Lover (1987) Serge Gainsbourg – You’re Under Arrest (2022) Patrice Rushen – Music of the Earth (Danny Krivit Re-Edit) (2024) The Perpetual Singers – Father Father (TBR 2025) Andromeda Orchestra – Magic Light Connection (2019) Man Friday – Love Honey, Love Heartache (Larry Levan Mix) (2024) Radio Slave – Strobe Queen (2024) Ichisan – Saturnus (2024) Crazy P – Any Signs of Love THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE It always amases me what an artist is capable of, wherever it is a writer, a composer, a singer, a philosopher, a sculpter... Listening to September Fifteenth, a composition dedicated to Jazz musician Bill Evans, I was floored because I felt the beauty of Pat Metheny's style blending into Bill Evan's musical and sonic delicacy... This track so perfectly depicts the duality of this time of the year where autumn slowly leaves the place to winter, which will ultimately arrive in a few days now, on the 21st December... Speaking of duality, which will be today's show "Breadcrumb Trail" (if I can put it that way), I found a very interesting quote from an interview Pat Metheny gave, saying "You know... the frustrating thing is every now and then you actually do get it right. It might be every 4th night or every 10th night or every six months or once a year but every now and then you do it. And that makes it worse almost because it's like you KNOW you can do it, you KNOW that you're not crazy. It's there. There is a truth there that can be found. And I think each year that you play you become more consistent or you get closer to that truth that you establish in your mind. But as you get closer to it, it also moves at the same rate higher away from where you are." There you go, only one track brings out today's show equilibrium and the associated picture! If that's not Balearic, nothing will ever be (btw, to join Classic Album Sundays, become a Patron and take part to the Album Club with Colleen on December 18th, click here) 😊 Colleen then plays Elastic (Phase II) – whose constant running rhythm allows you to picture the windy falling snow – keeping our imagination alive and well, beautifully followed by Judie Tzuke's Sukarita (an invented name meant to sound romantic and faraway) and leading to the even stronger Secret Love by Will Sanders (which you can find on "The Other Sound Of Music" Vinyl compilation although it seems to have been released around 1985 as a 45). This first windy mix ends with Sakura Murakami's Fruits of Life (for an interview with Strong Island Recording's label founder Brad Sked, click here) and Santino Surfers' Moondancing (the Moondancing LP will be released in 2025 on Music For Dreams – For an interview Colleen did with Kenneth Bager, click here). Slowly taking us towards the end of the first hour of today's episode, Colleen proposes us here an incredible mix (winning the first WOW Moment of today's episode), beautifully blending Sassafras Girl to Linda Williams' Elevate Our Minds, letting the snowy (yet solid) groove take the Whole Family away with Monsieur Van Pratt's No Te Perderé! Oh come on, you Know the song! Colleen then ends this mini mix by playing a French track, Wrekin Havoc's Oh La Lover, whose Lyrics made me laugh so much! The version we heard was issued in 2022 but the original track is from Alan Brice (L'amour King Size) and was originally issued in 1984. Alain Brice was not only a great singer but also a composer, he wrote the music for the song "Ma Gonzesse" sung by his close friend, the French singer/composer Renaud. He was also cast for the great sounding double LP "La révolution Française", playing Danton's role, (to which the band Martin Circus and other great french singers and composers, including Alain Bashung, also participated 😉). Alain, who met and worked with a lot of the well-known French singers and composers of the 70s, died accidentally in 2002. As I said, while writing the first line of today's post, this episode's requests were Off the Hook! When I saw Rob's request, I almost fell from my chair, laughs! Often considered a provoker, Serge Gainsbourg was everything but that. His sensitivity and his Intelligence always shined through, showing itself to those who Knew Exactly what to Look at (for instance, when you take the time to learn about Gainsbourg's philosophy based on his precise musical knowledge, it is obvious that his "Marseillaise" was all but a Provocation)... By the way, did you know that Billy Obam, the singer who danced around him onstage and in the clip on You're under arrest (a very close friend of Serge), did a tribute by releasing his own version of the song? (you can hear it here from 1h12min). The album You're under arrest was considered by Gainsbourg his toughest: "It's a very strong album. Sometimes when I'm depressed I despise it... but when I feel better, I find it absolutely beautiful...". And, on many levels, we can clearly understand why: Gainsbourg worked hard on the track "Mon Legionnaire" (both on the vocals and on the mixing); the album's story – of love and hate towards the yound Samantha which ultimately fails, leading Serge to reach out to eternity, remembering a youg male legionnaire he once Loved and depicting here a tremendously beautiful ode to Childhood (without eluding, in a second video clip, a delicate hint towards homosexuality, a subject he approached in the song "Kiss Me Hardy") – is closely linked to his relationship with the delicate Bambou he met in 1980 and who was a yound junkie (Hence the song "Aux enfants de la chance" which advocates children against the use of drugs) is indeed not a happpy one and can be felt in the global tonality of the songs and their order; the album dvelved into new musical genre at the time, mixing elements of rap, funk, and perfectly reproducing 90's New-York's musical groove with Serge working with renowned musicians of the scene... What's interesting in today's episode is that even though the last part of today's show is funkier, the music still allows you to see the Balearic Breakfast Family walking/dancing under the falling snow, it is very much the case when Colleen plays Music of the Earth, followed by The Perpetual Singers' Father Father! The last part of today's episode keeps the freezing funkiness beautifully present, with songs like Magic Light Connection / Love Honey, Love Heartache (Larry Levan Mix) / Strobe Queen, Colleen then ending this spacy mix with the incredible track that Saturnus is, and paying, as a Closure, a well-deserved tribute to Crazy P's singer Danielle Moore, with Any Signs of Love!

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 205th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on December 24th 2024. About this episode. – No request line for this episode and no "Best of 2024" either, but a show which is the closest one to Christmas we ever had since this beautiful adventure started in 2019. 2024 has been a beautiful year for Balearic Breakfast as Colleen streamed 46 shows all in all (2021 broke all the records back then with 51 streamed shows)! So Congratulations dear Captain for taking the helm so firmly! You know how much we all love you. I also wanted to thank personally every artist who answered my humble questions and who took part to the blog, not forgetting every member who did the written interviews with me here! You can't imagine how much hapiness this brings me, this place is our safe harbor, I do mu utmost to make everyone happy! And I am ready for 2025... 😍 As far as this episode is concerned, it is a Soulful, Funky and uplifting musical moment! To everyone... Merry Christmas... Listen back to the 205th episode of Balearic Breakfast: "Wishing you a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza, a peaceful Winter Solstice and overall seasons greetings. Thank you for your continued support of my weekly Balearic Breakfast ‘radio’ show hosted on my Mixcloud Live on Tuesday mornings and today’s show is now archived on my Mixcloud at https://tinyurl.com/mutkat2y The BB family has grown heaps since the show started over four years ago and together we become stronger and stronger. Thank you for supporting Balearric Breakfast, my Cosmodelica remixes and for joining me on discerning dance floors across the planet. I wouldn’t be able to lead a life in music without your support and am truly thankful for each and every one of you. I will not broadast on New Year’s Eve although I will be DJing that night over at @fever105 Midnight Funk New Year’s Eve shindig at Lafayette in Kings Cross in London alongside DJs Dimitri from Paris, Bill Brewster and more. And I’m also squeezing in a trip to Oslo to play at the club @jaegeroslo on the 28th December (they just did a lovely interview with me at https://jaegeroslo.no/obsessions-an-interview-with.../ ). But I will be back on the airwaves on Tuesday, the 7th January 2025. Wishing you peace, health, happiness and great music in 2025 and please enjoy music from… Wah Wah 45s Scott Ferguson DJ Terry Hunter Kerri Chandler Danny Krivit Flamingo Pier Soundway Records Salsoul Records Rush Hour and more..." PLAYLIST (2003) Alison Crockett – Like Rain (2000) Tabla Beat Science – Magnetic (2025) Robot 84 – Beats From the Far East (1975) Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (ft Sharon Paige) – You Know How to Love Me So Good (2017) Jeff Silna – Its Always Something With You (1980) Common Sense – Voices (Instrumental) (2024) Terry Hunter (ft Raheem DeVaughn) – Favorite Thing to Do (Mr K Edit) (2024) Lawne – Beta Pan (2024) Maya Blandy – It’s in You (Puerto Montt City Orchestra) (NOL) Erwin Bouterse – Voglia Disco Party (Belabouche Reshape) (2024) Phazed Groove – Sao Paolo (1999) The Charlie Rouse Band – Waiting on the Corner (2024) Orchestre Poly-Rythmo – Zo Tche Kpo Do Te (Jose Marquez Remix) (TBR 2025) Phenomenal Handclap Band – Like A Constellation (2021) Flamingo Pier – Cosmic Sunset (1998) Kerri Chandler / The System – You're In My System (1981) Salsoul Orchestra ft Jocelyn Brown – You're All I Want for Christmas (2008) Alfredo de la Fé & The Latin Jazz Ensemble – My Favorite Things’ (Live) COLLEEN'S NEWS Colleen will be featured in these forthcoming events: 28th December: Romjulsfestivalen 31st December: Fever105's Midnight Funk 15th February 2025: Horse Meet Disco 8th March 2025: La Discothèque - Albert Hall Mnachester 3rd May 2025: Queen's Park Spring Weekender '25 Also, a few days ago, Colleen shared on her socials she participated to the "Dust and Grooves" book, Vol. 2, stating : "I’ve often thought about why I began collecting records as a young teenager, especially as it wasn’t the norm for adolescent girls in suburban America in the 70’s and 80’s. I suppose the main reason is quite pragmatic in that the only way I could hear the music that I loved was either waiting for it to come onto the radio or owning a physical copy. It is strange to think about, as music is now so ubiquitous and nearly any song be accessed nearly anywhere at anytime. But back then, you had to make it a mission to track down your favourite tunes and to discover new ones. Nuggets and Planet Records in Boston’s Kenmore Square were two of my favourite places to potter around, flicking through the bins, discovering old records by my favourite artists or a checking out a band I just heard Oedipus play on his Sunday night radio show ‘Nocturnal Emissions’ on WBCN (that’s where I first heard Brian Eno - the song was ‘Baby’s On Fire). I had very open ears and surprised the clerk at Nuggets when I bought the record he was playing in the shop - Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s 1965 masterpiece ‘Rip, Rig and Panic’ (such a great name for an album and apparently Neneh Cherry and co agreed :). When you found a record that you loved or would grow to love, it felt like Christmas morning. Colleen in her Record Room with the Chuck Maglione record she's been given by David Mancuso The other big change is that even more women have become serious record collectors and gone are the days i which a record shop would have a placard on a bench that said ‘girlfriends sit here’ (yes, I spotted that at an old record shop in New York City’s East Village now gone). And the new Dust & Grooves Volume 2 features many of us along with a host of diggers into a spectrum of sounds. This afternoon, I’ll be putting on an album and reading the many stories and salivating at the record shelves. Some habits never die." COLLEEN'S PRESENTATION I Alison Crockett with Like Rain from her 2003 LP, Becoming a Woman, and that was also released as a single on Wah wah 45s which is Dom Servini's label which celebrated its 25th anniversary this past year. And I was delighted when Matt Raystrick requested this song as I love Alison. I first met her when she was singing for my friend King Britt's Silk 130 album, and I fell in love with her voice. So when Tommy Musto asked me to produce a song for his Suburban Records label back in like the late 90s, I roped in Alison to sing on the first song I ever wrote and produced, so she really holds a really special place in my heart. Good morning, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and all around season's greetings. I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy hosting your Balearic Breakfast until high noon, and hello to the BB family joining me in the chat group for the live stream, and it's wonderful to be together, and thank you for your continued support in 2024. Now I won't be broadcasting on New Year's Eve, although I will be DJing that night for Fever 105's Midnight Funk New Year's Eve Shindig at Lafayette in King's Cross in London, and it's alongside DJs Dimitri from Paris, Bill Brewster, Pauly Ritmo and more, and I'm also squeezing in a trip to Oslo to play at the club Jaeger on the 28th of December, but I'm taking New Year's Eve off from Balearic Breakfast, so this is officially the last show of the year. And you may wonder why I'm not doing a countdown of my favorite tunes of 2024, and the reason is over the years I've decided I'm generally not really into charts and top tens and listing my favorite tunes or albums, as I just can't include everything that I really want to, and I inevitably forget things, and of course my own tastes are really ever-shifting and ever-evolving plus there's still so much more music to get to in 2024, so I don't really want to do a review of the past. So there you go no best ofs for me anymore, instead I'm catching up on some requests, some new tunes, and some older songs that deserve some attention like this next one by Tabla Beat Science which is the late tabla player Zakir Hussain and producer and bassist Bill Laswell's group, and they founded it together in 1999. Sway of the Verses, or Pritpal Ajimal, made this request in light of the amazing Zakir Hussain who recently passed to the next realm, he called Hussain "a musician that's known as one of the greatest Indian classical musicians of his generation, and someone that traversed different genres with ease collaborating with some amazing musicians outside the classical world". Now, Hussain was recognized as one of the greatest ever tabla players, and he was also a percussionist composer producer and actor and he brought classical Indian music to the world through various collaborations with artists like John McLaughlin, The Grateful Dead's Mickey Hart, Jan Garbarek, and Pharoah Sanders. Here he is with his collaboration with Bill Laswell as Tabla Beat Science with Magnetic. II Jeff Silna with It's Always Something With You, and it was originally only released on a promotional radio compilation recently reissued by French reissue label Favorite Recordings. Actually, they reissued it first in 2017 and have again, and it can be found on their Bandcamp, and it looks like that's the only release by Jeff Silna; he recorded it at TK Studios in Miami, and that label at the time were pumping out disco hits and forging the Miami sound, but that one obviously has a more AOR kind of yacht rock feel to it. Really love that. Ahead of that the Gamble and Huff penned and produced You Know How to Love Me So Good by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, featuring the gorgeous soulful vocals of Philadelphia natives Teddy Pendergrass and Sharon Paige, and it's featured on the 1975 album Wake Up Everybody, such a great album, and that was requested by Dominic Mesmer. And if like me you're catching up on movies and docs and box sets over the holidays, I urge you to check out the Teddy Pendergrass documentary If you don't know me, what a voice and what a life. Ahead of that we heard Beats from the Far East by Robot 84. I've been playing his re-edits and reworks quite a lot over the last few years, and he's very creative with them, assembling many different parts into a really unique groove. The one we just heard Beats from the Far East is now out on a vinyl EP with a more up-tempo track called Let's Do It on the flip. Okay, our friend Simon Ellis recently requested Voices Inside My Head by the Police, but Simon, I hope you don't mind, I've taken a bit of creative license, a bit of creative liberty, and rather than play the police version, I'm playing the cover by Common Sense, and I'm actually gonna do the instrumental as well. Begon Cekic was born in Serbia Montenegro and he moved to Brooklyn when he was 17 years old, and he worked in construction during the disco boom. He decided to capitalize upon it by setting up a record store and then a label on which he produced what were perhaps some of the early examples of dance tracks made up of loops and reworked riffs and and hooks from earlier well known hits, along with the help of mixer DJ T Scott and keyboardist Fred Tsar from 1980. This is Common Sense with the instrumental version of Voices. III Erwin Bouterse Voglia Disco Party, and that's from the Kindred Spirits compilation. Kindred Spirits they released Suriname compilation, and with an estimate of half a million inhabitants in Suriname it has a lively music scene, although relatively unknown, but it has a very strong influence on the Netherlands, where many of these Suriname people live, and the music from Suriname is mainly known for its Kaseiko which evolved out of traditional koina music and soul music. But the Surinamese have also been active in other genres, such as pop, funk, and jazz, and just love that oneVoglia Disco Party by Erwin Bouterse, and that was a reshape by Italian producer Belabouche. Loving that one. Ahead of that we had the Portuguese and British singer, her name is Maya Blandy with in It's in you (sorry about that), she released her debut album Stardust earlier this year, and it was co-written and produced by Jake Wehrry of the Herbalizer, but the song we heard is more recent. I'm trying to find out a bit more about it in terms of a release, but it's a mix by Puerto Montt City Orchestra and has a real soulful disco vibe on that one, kind of stepping out of their usual ballearic sound. Ahead of that Lawne, which are self-confessed music nerds like them already Joe Nicklin and Joe Martin. They got together in 2019 to forge a sound that melds dub, electronics, hip-hop, psych, jazz, post-punk, Afrobeat, all things that I love, and it's no wonder that I love their debut album Attic which came out on Wawa 45s last year, and the whole LP is great. Matt Raistrick over on the chat group agrees it's really varied; and I've been playing it a lot while I was doing my end of year accounts. How lovely, it really kept me going. We heard Bait Up Pan again from Lawne's debut Attic, and ahead of that we heard the Chicago DJ and producer and label owner, Terry Hunter and the Grammy-nominated Washington DC soul singer Raheem DeVaughn with Favorite Thing to Do. It came out last year on Mirabal Recordings but I played the Danny Krivitt edit. Okay this next one I don't really know too much about, but it really sounded great when I played it in New York City at the Subculture NYC party in which Francois K and I played back-to-back, so I wanted to share this one with you on the show. It's called Phazed Groove with Sao Paolo on Tropical Disco on Balearic Breakfast. IV Zo Tche Kpo Do Te by Orchestre Poli Ritmo the Jose Marquez remix. And that's from the first of a two-part series on Canopy Records documenting the work of the Beninois supergroup T.P. Orchestre Poli Ritmo. They were responsible for an astonishing multitude of records numbering well over 250 releases, and while the group underwent numerous personnel changes over the course of their 40-plus years. The founder, composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Clément Melomé remained the constant, and he's the singer on the song we just heard. It's sung in phone by the band leader, and it translates as "my fire will not go out", and we heard the remix by Los Angeles DJ and producer Jose Marquez. Ahead of that we had the late American saxophonist and flautist and Thelonious Monk collaborator Charlie Rouse with his Charlie Rouse Band with Waiting on the Corner, and it's from the Charlie Rouse Band's only LP Cinnamon Flower released in 1977. Although he released many many albums from the late 1950s through to the late 1980s as band leader, and before his passing, I believe it was 1988. And I have to thank another saxophonist for that one Scott Towers from Fat Freddy's Drop. They were just touring loads of sellout shows in Europe and he came over and had to offload some of the records that he bought because he couldn't fit them in his luggage going back to New Zealand. So thanks for offloading some of your records here Scott, you might get it back one day, but yeah thank you for that. Another great record he left was by Ahmad Jamal 7 really jonesing and listening to a lot of that recently as well. Okay, Daniel Kala of Phenomenal Handclap Band has sent me a very tasty exclusive, it's not even out as a digital promo yet, so muchas gracias to Daniel, but I'm just loving it. It has a very cosmic vibe and a very cosmic title to match. Here is Phenomenal Handclap Band with Like a Constellation. V Oh... It has to be done, thank you so much to David Sautter for that request. Salsoul Orchestra featuring Jocelyn Brown You're all I want for Christmas, and it's a Patrick Adams production and that's found on the Christmas Jollies volume 2 from Salsoul Orchestra. Had to play a Christmas carol for you. Ahead of that we had Kerri Chandler as The system You're in my system, and when it came out on Ibadan Recordings Jerome Sydenham's label in 1998 and Greca Mac requested it. She said it was "a highlight from the Hacienda night at WHP in Manchester earlier this month", she said "the night was very unexpectedly epic" and she also sends love to the Balearic Breakfast family. Ahead of that a lovely request from Askush for Cosmic Sunset by Flamingo Pier from New Zealand and one of my best memories of 2024 was, you know, hanging out in New Zealand going to New Zealand for the first time, and to Australia, and we played for Flamingo Pier is really cool cool festival called the Waiheke Festival in February, so thinking about that where I was going. We left I think on the 27th of December, we're gone for six weeksn so it is on my mind. Gotta make our way back down there at some point in the near future. Well it's about time to wrap up another year's worth of Balearic Breakfast. We've been going for over four years now. I can't believe it and I just want to say thank you for listening and for all of your support, thank you for being part of the Balearic Breakfast family. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Winter Solstice and Happy New Year's and overall season's greetings, and I'm wishing you all health, happiness and a lot great lot of great music in 2025. I'm going to leave you with one last song which does fit the season's mood. It's not a... It's not a Christmas carol, it's non-secular, but it's often lumped in with Christmas songs. It's a cover of My Favorite Things, a beautiful beautiful song as you know from the Sound of Music and you know, covered by so many different jazz musicians including Alfredo de la Fe who is a really, is a very interesting violinist. He was born in Cuba lived in New York but he also lived in Colombia for a decade and a half, and he adapted the violin to Colombian traditional music, and he was the first solo violinist to play with a salsa orchestra, and he's played with loads of different great artists Latin artists like Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, The Fania all-stars, it goes on and on and on and on. And in 2008 my friend, David Mancuso, started a record label called The Loft Audiophile Library of Music which I helped him out, wich only had one release but this was the release, and it's Alfredo de la Fe and the Latin Jazz Ensemble with a live version of My Favorite Things so here it is, sending you off with this. Thank you again for joining me, and remember, if the holidays get a little bit too much, just be Balearic... Sadly, a few hours after today's episode, we learned about DJ Alfredo's passing. Here is Colleen's tribute to him, she published on December 26th, on her socials. May you rest in peace Alfredo 😢 Rest in paradise DJ Alfredo. I didn’t know Alfredo well but I was lucky enough to DJ back to back with him three years ago in Ibiza for Beat Hotel. Of course, as I host a show named ‘Balearic Breakfast’ I knew a lot about Alfredo, his huge influence on the Balearic and acid house scenes and the musical eclecticism he transmitted at his Amnesia residency. So yes, I was a tad nervous to play alongside him as he is a true legend. Before our set, we had dinner together and what struck me was how humble and gracious he was - soft-spoken but strong. I wondered if he truly understood the extent to which his DJ style and his musical selections had influenced so many people including some who went on to become global superstars. His sweet and gracious manner was the antithesis of the fist-pumping, glory-seeking attitudes that we sometimes see in the upper echelons of commercial dance music. But yet, whether they know it or not, DJ Alfredo influenced them because of his impact on global dance music culture. Alfredo and I had a lovely time DJ-ing together and turning each other onto tunes. I am so thankful for that experience and you can listen back to an hour of our set on an archived Balearic Breakfast at https://tinyurl.com/36ph4afy Sending my condolences to his son, his family and to those who knew him well. Thank you for the music Alfredo.

Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 206th episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on January 07th 2025. About this episode. – There's no better way to start a new year than listening to Balearic Breakfast with Colleen behind the decks and the Balearic Breakfast Family on the Mixcloud chat. When Colleen streamed the last episode on December 24th, 2024, we were all sad to hear that there would be no show on December, 31st! Even with the best of efforts, Colleen could not have streamed the show as she was playing that very night at Lafayette London alongside other great acts, such as Dimitri From Paris, Bill Brewster etc. Sadened, we said to ourselves that the pleasure would be even greater on January 7th and we thus eagerly waited for the request line to open, which ultimately happened this Saturday when Colleen wrote on her socials "Good morning! On the brink of a new dawn - or at least we hope! What would you like to hear this Tuesday on Balearic Breakfast? Which song will set us up for the new year ahead? Please join in the live stream this Tuesday from 10am to 12 pm on my Mixcloud Live for the show and family chat. I look forward to your suggestions and enjoy your weekend" Today's episode was a peaceful musical trip with a beautifully rhythmically evolving soul, always keeping an open and relaxed spirit! We were all so happy to be together again, sharing bits of happiness and sadness of our lives, supporting one another, and the chat was bouncing from hapîness indeed! We'll discover more of that in the listening experience part of this post but for now, let's give Colleen the final word: "This morning’s Balearic Breakfast is now archived on my Mixcloud at https://tinyurl.com/5nwxny8v (and please give me a follow while you’re over there). It was lovely to see so many members of the BB family from all corners of the globe on the chat group this morning and thank you for sharing your new year’s resolutions. This week’s show is mainly your requests for songs that will help us start the new year on the right foot. Once again, thank you for sharing your musical discoveries. And of course we close the show with a tribute to the DJ Alfredo as our friend Uncool jag said of the late Argentian DJ who made his name in Ibiza: “Without this beautiful human being none of us would be here today celebrating the beat that is balearic.” Word. And please excuse my proud mum moment, but the latest edition of my daughter Ariana Dewhurst’s Pirate Material radio show on The Boatpod is up on Mixcloud: I’ll be back streaming live on my Mixcloud next Tuesday and will get to more of your requests – as always there were so many great ones that I was unable to squeeze them all into one show. Here’s to another year of shared musical discoveries with the Balearic Breakfast community. Thanks for being part of it and thanks for listening." THE PLAYLIST (1959) Bill Evans – Peace Piece (2009) Jonathan Jeremiah – Happiness (Morgan Geist’s Port Authority Remix) (1985) Sheila Chandra – The Awakening (2024) God Colony ft Roy – Loss is Not Infinite (1978) Sonya Spence – Peace and Unity (1980) Dennis Brown – Sitting and Watching (1991) Ryuichi Sakamoto & David Sylvian – Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II) (1984) Everything But the Girl – Each and Every One (1973) Marlena Shaw – The Feeling’s Good (1981) Marti Caine – The Way You Love Me (1980) Rockie Robbins – You and Me (1993) Paris – Assata’s Song (Remix) (1983) June Millington – Don’t Be Careless with Your Love (1976) Ananda Shankar – Cyrus (2007) Uyama Hiroto – Windspeaks (1980) MFSB – Mysteries of the World (1992) Cajmere ft Dajae – Brighter Days (Masters at Work Remix / Kai Alcé Edit) (2022) The Style Council – Promised Land (Juan Atkins Remix) (1973) First Choice – Love and Happiness (2022) Deniece Williams – Free (Dave Lee Rework) (1981) Mike Post ft Larry Carlton – Theme from Hill Street Blues THE LISTENING EXPERIENCE Starting the show with Bill Evan's "Peace Piece", as always, Colleen perfectly set the tone for today's show, but, for me, this episode shines even more than some of her best ones because this feeling of Belonging There, in the calm moment, will linger on throughout the rest of the show. Also, Colleen will allow the Balearicans to share with her a few of their resolutions for the new year, something she didn't do for quite some time during the last episodes, and something I missed as it is another example of how greatly she's able to craft that intellectual unity with us, her listeners... As you can see, today's show is all about enjoying the calm moment, both musically and Intellectually, the sense of unity is here immaculate and bringing the warmth we all need in these frozen times... The peaceful musical moment will accompany us for quite a long time during this episode, with tracks like Happiness / The Awakening / Loss is Not Infinite. Even with the rhythm slightly stepping up with Sonya Spence's Peace and Unity perfectly followed by Dennis Brown's Sitting and Watching, the feeling is very relaxed because of the time Colleen took to let the music sink into our souls... Of Course, with Colleen behind the decks, there's never anything you can take for granted, and ending the second mix of today's episode with the great Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II), tends to show you how much crafting a vibe is always about the Intention... Colleen ends the first hour of the show with a groovy/sexy little mix, letting the sunshine in our brains, it's all about those "Peaceful Grooves", ain't it? 😉 Listen to how Colleen gradually steps up the rhythm today, still keeping the open and free spirit alive and well, Assata's Song (along with Ananda Shankar's Cyrus) being a wonderful example of that and also perfectly fitting to today's post title! Today's show is such a musical wave! The last 40 minutes of today's episode made us all lose our minds, both because of Colleen's selections and because of Colleen's mixing, winning undoubtedly the Wow Moment! COLLEEN'S PRESENTATION I Peace Piece from the album "Everybody Digs Bill Evans". And that may actually be true. The late pianist, composer, and arranger is beloved due to his unique use of harmony and melody, block chords, chord voicing. He influenced so many musicians and many of his songs have become jazz standards, including the one we just heard, Peace Piece. In fact, you've probably heard the motif in the opening notes to Flamenco Sketch's Miles Davis's album Kind of Blue, the seminal jazz LP on which Bill Evans also performed. Miles certainly had an ear for the best collaborators. And I really feel the sentiment of "Peace Piece", and it was a great way, I feel it's a great way to launch Balearic Breakfast in 2025. And thank you to Artur in Paris for that request. Good morning, I'm Colleen Cosmo Murphy hosting your weekly Balearic Breakfast on my MixCloud Live until high noon, and greetings to all of the fam over in the chat group. It's great to be together as we embark upon a new year and a new journey. I hope you had a restful and restorative holiday season. I certainly did. Catching up with my nearest and dearest, taking some forest walks, baking an array of Italian goods and sweets, reading, listening to music, watching films, eating and drinking too much. I even had an uninterrupted eight-hour sleep last week, which is rather astonishing as that only happens a couple times a year. So my manifestation, what I want to manifest this year is to make an effort to not overschedule myself and to get more sleep as I've really overscheduled myself for most of my life. So I'm going to try to make a change this year in 2025. And if any of you in the chat group have a New Year's resolution you would like to share, please write it out and please post. Now today's show is all of your requests and most of them are songs that are pertinent to new beginnings. And of course, I couldn't get to all of them. So many will spill over onto next week's show. And in fact, some of them are from last month anyways, as I felt they were more relevant to listen to in the new year, like this next one, which is a request from Dalfredo for London singer-songwriter Jonathan Jeremiah, who has five studio albums under his belt. And this is a remix of the title track of his debut 2009 LP, Jonathan Jeremiah with the Morgan Geist Port Authority remix of Happiness. II Well, I think that may be my new favorite song. Love that one. London Liverpool duo God Colony. They founded the label Crack Copies and that featured Liverpool writer Roy, who released his debut collection of short stories, Algorithm Party, which is a view of Liverpool through different characters' eyes. And Loss is Not Infinite, which is the song that we just heard. It's also a short story from that collection. And we just heard the production by God Colony and all digital sales of that song in 2024, or in 2024, maybe still 2025, I hope, go to Damien John Kelly House, which is a center in Liverpool for men recovering from addiction. I absolutely love that one. And thank you to Matt Raistrick for that request. Ahead of that, former Monsoon frontwoman and celebrated solo artist Sheila Chandra with The Awakening from her 1985 LP Nada Brahma, Sound is God. And it's also found on the Naya Beat Vol. 1 compilation. And if you don't know Naya Beat, you should. It's a great label that's reissuing and releasing music from the South Asian subcontinent and diaspora. And this is the label that were behind all of the recent Asha Putli remixes. That was a request from Gareth Bratman, who wrote "Thanks, Colleen and everyone for all the great music I've discovered via this community in 2024. And this song, The Awakening by Sheila Chandra, seems appropriate for a New Year suggestion. And wishing everyone a healthy and happy 2025". Also, Ana Sancho in Barcelona resolves to "listen to more music in 2025". Very worthy, Ana, I'm with you. And Terry Fincham, we send condolences to you. He lost a dear friend this past weekend, totally unexpected. And his resolution is "to not take anything for granted and to appreciate everything I've got". And that... those are definitely amazing words and something we should always, always remember, no matter how tough things may seem to be, try to look for the beauty in life. Name three things that happened good today. That's what we try to do before we go to sleep. Okay, this next one is a request from our friend Kieran McCann up in Glasgow, who hosts the Coorie Doon parties. He requested this one. It's a great message. Peace and Unity by Sonya Spence on Balearic Breakfast. III Wow, thank you to Carl Banatov in Canada for that request. I just absolutely love that song. Ryuichi Sakamoto and David Silvian with Heartbeat, Tanai Kaiki 2 from Sakamoto's 1991 LP Heartbeat. And that was a very poignant request for me because I actually interviewed Sakamoto for that album that year when I was hosting and producing syndicated radio shows in the USA. And I had been a huge fan of Sakamoto since seeing him on Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, because I was a huge Bowie fan. And then I went down that hole and went through all of his solo work and down the rabbit hole of Yellow Magic Orchestra. Such a beautiful song. And David Silvian was formerly of the band Japan. And in fact, while David was working on the single, he met Ingrid Chavez, who is also on the album. And she's a singer and actress who had been a member of Prince's inner circle. And that same year, Silvian and Chavez married and moved to Minneapolis where they had some children. So a beautiful, beautiful song. Ahead of that, the 1979 single from my favorite Jamaican singer, Dennis Brown, the song Sitting and Watching, as requested by Josh Halsell, who said he discovered the song on the show. And he says it brings him joy and happiness every time, but it also makes his loudspeakers dislike him. So I think I can understand that sentiment. Nice, heavy, heavy bass there. We have a few more resolutions from the family on the chat group. Dancing James's resolution is "to keep clearing up while he cooks and to declutter the kitchen". My husband, Adam, you might want to take a few... No, just joking! I just got the finger! Ha ha ha ha!! And Poppy Shepard says her New Year's resolution. This is a really good one! As well as decluttering the kitchen, James. But this is another good one! Poppy Shepard's is "to pick up the phone and make phone calls, not WhatsApp messaging, actual speaking conversations. It's much more personal". And I have to say, as a Gen Xer, I do that quite a bit. And every time I suggest this to a Gen Zer or a millennial, they look like it's shock and it's like, no, pick up the phone, have a conversation. It's so much nicer. Okay, now a lovely request from Paolo Corsalini for the English duo comprised of Tracy Thorne and Ben Watt, Everything But The Girl. And this is their second single, which came out a staggering 40 years ago. And the couple are still going strong today, having released their 11th album, Fuse, in 2023. And of course, Tracy Thorne has written four books. I absolutely love Bedsit, Disco Queen, how I grew up and tried to be a pop star. And next on my list is My rock and roll friend, which focuses on her relationship and friendship with Lindy Morrison of The Go-Betweens, and reflects upon the experiences of female musicians in the male-dominated music scene. And speaking for myself as a DJ for nearly four decades, I'm sure I'll find some shared experiences there. In any case, let's get on with the music, Everything But The Girl with Each and Every One. IV Oh my goodness, I'm getting into a blue light mood, Bert. That's Minneapolis soul singer Rockie Robbins with his biggest hit, You and Me, the title track of his 1980 LP. And it was the singer's only big hit, and it reached the R&B Top 10. It was produced by Bobby Martin, who worked with Billy Paul on Me and Mrs. Jones. And thanks to our friend Bert Francois in Brooklyn for that blue light special request. Ahead of that, the late English singer, writer, comedian, actress, and presenter Margie Kane with her 1981 single, The Way You Love Me. And that's a Balearic Breakfast favorite. And yes, I've played that one before. But Emily Pictures Paradise wooed me with her request, stating, "Thank you for a great Christmas Balearic Breakfast show. So wonderful and uplifting. I hope you play in the Northwest this year, Colleen. The Golden Lion in Todmorden is a wonderful intimate venue. Crazy P and Richard Senn did some great DJ sets there. And maybe we'll be lucky enough to have you play there one day." So let's try to manifest that, okay? Ahead of that, we had The Feeling's Good as performed by the late American singer Marlena Shaw, who sadly passed away at the beginning of 2024. It's from her 1973 LP, From the Depths of My Soul. Shaw launched her career in the jazz clubs of New York City and Chicago. And it was there where she was discovered by Chess and Cadet Records, and her career really began to take off, especially with her version of the Ashford and Simpson penned California Soul. And thank you to Sue Forrest for that contribution. Okay, we have a few more New Year's resolutions from the fam. Matt Raistrick says he "resolves to listen and to make time to listen to more albums". And that's probably what he tries to do every year, though. But just keep trying, Matt. Just keep trying. Ahead of that, Terrence the DJ says his or her "New Year's resolution is to re-record a mixtape I had back in 1993. I've tracked most of the records down and need to record them as I lost that tape years ago." Well, good luck with that. And Dancing James, along with Trying to Clean Up the Kitchen Atom, he also says "he wants to take some dance classes". And I think that's a really great idea. I've always wanted to do that as well. I tried taking one dance class once. I lasted for one class because I'm left-handed. And every time I just kept getting the directions, you know, wrong. They'd go right, I'd go left, because that's my natural way to go. You know, just, you know, always contrary, what can I say? So I like that resolution. Okay, let's move on with the music. This is a request from Luca Ospitone in Sardinia for the San Francisco socio-political rapper Paris. It's his 1992 single, Assata's Song, from the LP Sleeping with the Enemy. And Paris, aka Oscar Jerome Jackson, is also the founder of Gorilla Funk Recordings and Scarface Records. And he also mentored artists such as DJ Shadow and the Conscious Daughters. And here he is with Assata's Song. V Ananda Shankar with Cyrus, and that's from the LP Ananda Shankar and His Music, released on Mr. Bongo. And that's the Indian sitarist, composer, and musician, who was the nephew of Ravi Shankar. And Ananda's musical family was very, very prestigious, and his upbringing led to a deep respect and love of the wealth of music that emanated from his birthplace. And his travels to the West Coast of America in the late 1960s saw Shankar immerse in the full swing of psychedelic rock. So there's a lot of different covers on this album. Highly recommended, and I hope you like that one here on Balearic Breakfast. Ahead of that, we had the Filipina-American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and educator, June Millington, with her 1983 single, Don't Be Careless With Your Love. Good advice for the year ahead from our friend Christina Da Souza. And Millington was the founder of the groups Svelt and Wild Honey, before becoming co-founder and lead guitarist of the early 1970s all-female rock band Fanny. Millington has been called a godmother of women's music, and she's also the co-founder and artistic director of the Institute for the Musical Arts in my native Massachusetts. And I look forward to investigating her more, because she sounds like a really incredible woman. Ahead of that, we have Paris with Assata's song, the remix, as requested by Luca Ospitone. Okay, this next one is a great request from our friend Ralph Odafred in New York. It's for Japanese saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Uyama Hiroto, and the song is Wind Speaks. It's from the compilation Hideout Productions' second collection, which is mainly a hip-hop compilation featuring mainly the late Japanese hip-hop artist Nujabes, with whom Hiroto and Uyama collaborated. And Uyama also has four solo albums, which I look forward to researching further. And thank you again to Ralph Odafred for this one, Wind Speaks. VI MFSB, or Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, with Mysteries of the World. Absolutely love that song. And gosh, what a lineup with MFSB. I guess they were kind of like the studio band for Sigma Sound Studios, and put together by Gamble & Huff for their Philly International to back a lot of the different artists they had performing on the label. But gosh, if you take a look and see who performed, it's incredible. You have Ronnie Baker, Tom Bell, Bobby Eli, John Davis, Norman Harris, Leon Huff. Good God. Vince Montana, Dexter Wenzel, Earl Young, you know, the drummer from The Tramps. So just an all-star lineup. And that was a request from Steve Wakley, who said he just absolutely loves that song, the title track to their 1980 LP. He said, it's been going around his head these past few days, and it's as exciting to his ears as when he first heard it. Always great to dance with its relentless bassline, floaty keys, layers of guitars and strings, and that spooky opening and gentle strings into the bass, a superb track. Ahead of that, we had a great tune from Yama Hiroto, Wind Speaks, and that's a request from Ralph Odafred. Okay, this next one is a request from our friend Barry Zerr, or Bear Nitz, in Washington, D.C. And I'm really excited as I'm heading to Washington, D.C. Well, I'm not excited for who's going to be in the office at that point in time, let me just say. But I'm very excited to actually be DJing there. It's the first time, I think it's the first time I'm DJing there ever. It's going to be on Valentine's Day, the 14th of February, and I'm playing for For Your Pleasure at 618 D.C. And I'm going to meet Barry for the first time. And he has this request here. First of all, I should say he has a resolution, is "to save as much money as possible to cover the cost of shipping all the amazing records I buy, thanks to all of the great selections Colleen and the Balearic Breakfast community shares". So yeah, maybe I can bring some records over for you, if I have room in my record bag. Also, I should say James Bilderguy has a really good one too. His resolution is "to try and see more live music. We have a lot of fantastic clubs here in Glasgow, but I'm ashamed to say I can probably count on one hand the amount of live events I've been to, and I need to do more exploring", and I share that sentiment. But back to the clubs, this is a request from Barry Berenitz for a club classic, Cajmere, featuring Daje with Brighter Days, the Masters at Work remix, and it's the Kai Alsay edit on Balearic Breakfast. VII Deniece Williams with the song Free, the Dave Lee rework, as requested by Real Trini Food, which is Franka Phillips. She's a food writer in Trinidad and Tobago, and gosh, the food from Trinidad and Tobago is top-notch. And such a beautiful song. I played that as my last tune at Coorie Doon Party, Kieran McCann's party up in Glasgow, and somebody took a little video, and I posted it up, and that Reel got some traction, so that really encouraged Franca to request that song. She said she watched that Reel over and over and over again. Ahead of that, we had a request from David Stoddard for First Choice, Love and Happiness, and that's from their debut LP, 1973's Armed and Extremely Dangerous, and they began singing in high school as the Debonettes, and then performed in clubs after school in Philadelphia, and then they were introduced to Norman Harris, who produced that song. Just absolutely love that one. A great way to start the year. As was the song before, Paul Weller's Style Council's cover of the 1988 Joe Smooth classic, with a remix by Juan Atkins, and that was requested by Love Vigilantes, and Smooth got the idea for the original song, Promised Land, while he was on tour in Europe with Farley Jack Master Funk, and he saw how house music was doing here in Europe, and he wrote that song with inspiration from classic Motown songs, and he had a hit. He had a classic song, and he had a hit over here in the UK, at least. And starting it off with Cajmere, featuring Daje, Brighter Days, the Masters at Work remix, and the Kai Alce edit. All right, this is Colleen Cosmo Murphy signing off another week's show of Balearic Breakfast. I will be back next Tuesday, finishing up some more requests. There were so many great ones, I couldn't get to all of them, but I had to leave this song for last, in memory of the late DJ Alfredo, who passed in the next realm in December, just before Christmas. This is a song he was known for playing. The Argentinian-born DJ made his name in Ibiza, especially at his residency at Amnesia, where people from all over the world gathered, and he had to please so many different ears, and he did so with aplomb. A really eclectic mix of music, everything from new wave to all different things, movie soundtracks and dance songs, all different things that he wove together into a great journey, a musical journey for his dancers, and this is one that he's really known for. It was requested by both Steve Clark and Uncle Jag. And Uncle Jag said, "without this beautiful human being, none of us would be here today, celebrating the beat that is Balearic". And I was very lucky and privileged to meet him, and play with him, actually, back to back at the Beat Hotel in 2021. And you can find that mix, I think it's on Worldwide FM, I had it on a Baleric Breakfast show. He was a lovely human being. We had dinner before we played. It was the only time I got to meet him, and he was so humble, such a wonderful man. And it was just kind of interesting, all these different DJs that he inspired, you know, some went on to become global phenomenons. And he was just a, you know, lesser known, but we and the Balearic community celebrate him and his legacy, and we thank him. And this is just a beautiful way to remember him. You know the song. And remember, if you're feeling down this week, just be Balearic.