Various Artists - Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy presents ‘Balearic Breakfast’ Volume 1

Heavenly

£29.16

Format: 2 x LP
Catalogue No.: HVNLP197
Barcode: 5400863061982
Release Date: 10 Jun 2022
Genre: Dance

Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy presents Balearic Breakfast Volume 1
Heavenly Recordings, double 12” vinyl (HVNLP197), released 10th June 2022.

An eleven track compilation of gloriously transcendent genre-hopping music inspired by one of the most listened to shows on Worldwide FM; most tracks impossible to find on vinyl.

How does one make a Balearic Breakfast?

You need to obviously start with one part blissful sunshine, rising over one part white sand, set to the sound of the sea looping back and forth. But what else - that perfect, idyllic backdrop aside - sums up that most important time of the day, specifically when spent right in the heart of the most glorious archipelago in the western hemisphere?

Luckily, DJ, broadcaster and producer Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy has perfected the recipe.

Colleen has been mixing together Balearic Breakfast shows on Worldwide FM for the last few years after starting in earnest during the first pandemic lockdown. Her shows offer a remedy to the pressures of the outside world; each is curated with the admirable aim of trying to “create a musical atmosphere for escape”, be it from bad weather or bad vibes.

Inspired by formative experiences at The Loft in NYC and on the terrace at Space, Colleen’s Balearic Breakfasts are endlessly eclectic and always inspiring, pulling together - in her words - a “hodge-podge of chill out, spiritual jazz, deep soul, percussive house, quirky disco, indie-dance and what may ‘traditionally’ be called ‘balearic’ (whatever that may be).” Basically, the kind of music you want to hear as the sun breaks over the horizon.

For her first Balearic Breakfast album (lovingly compiled for the ever-visionary Heavenly Recordings), Colleen has put together a set of songs that allow the listener to drift with her between myriad genres and join the unseen dots between them. The journey takes in shooting star ambient sounds, deep soulful hypno-house, ecstatic Neu-esque locked grooves, etherial sea-shore jazz and Southern Hemisphere starlight disco, with tracks by artists such as Friendly Fires, Mildlife, Linkwood and Lady Blackbird (a track praised by Elton John, who called it “a groove that blows my mind”) and producers such as Andrew Weatherall (under his Asphodells alias), Ashley Beedle, Coyote, the late, great Phil Asher and Cosmo herself.

Flowing together, the tracks perfectly create that musical atmosphere for escape - a recipe for daydreaming yourself into a Balearic Breakfast state of mind. Tune in and leave the everyday behind. The sun’s rising overhead and the waves are at your feet, whatever time of day it is wherever you might be in the world.

Balearic Breakfast Volume 1 tracklisting:

A
1 Joan Bibiloni - Sa Fosca
2 Cantoma - The Mountain (Coyote Remix)
3 Fragile - We've Got Tonight, Boy

B
1 Linkwood Family - Miles Away
2 P'taah - The Cosmic Laws (Phil Asher Restless Soul Vocal)

C
1 Mildlife - Vapour (Cosmodelica Remix)
2 Friendly Fires and the Asphodells – Velo
3 Lady Blackbird - Beware The Stranger (Ashley Beedle's 'North Street West' Vocal Remix)

D
1 Morenas - Hazme Sonar (Ambient Remix by Peter Vriends)
2 Caoilfhionn Rose - Paths
3 Mike Salta and Marty Mortale - Henry's Spacewalk

Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy is a highly respected and experienced musical selector and curator, founder of the album listening event and content hub Classic Album Sundays and an authority on music, sound and the vinyl renaissance. She was mentored by David Mancuso at his seminal Loft parties in New York City. Together they co-produced the compilation series David Mancuso Presents The Loft and worked together on David’s record label The Loft Audiophile Library of Music. In 2000, David told Time Out New York City “ She is very devoted and very pure about the music. She’s one of the only people I would trust, both with the music and with the equipment, to fill in for me.” She is one of the musical hosts at The Loft, the co-founder of the Lucky Cloud Loft parties in London and DJs internationally on the world’s best sound systems and dance floors.

Classic Album Sundays tells the stories behind the albums that have shaped our culture and in some cases, our lives. Colleen founded Classic Album Sundays as a stance against the increasing devaluation of music and sound. What began as a passion project is now the world’s most popular album listening event with satellites in four continents and the website and social media channels host content on classic albums and artists such as interviews, videos, playlists and more. BBC Breakfast Television remarked, “Classic Album Sundays treat our best-loved records like great symphonies.”

She has been a radio host and DJ since the age of fourteen and today hosts Balearic Breakfast, Cosmodelica and Classic Album Sundays Worldwide on Worldwide FM. She also wrote, co-produced and hosted the Classic Album Sundays series ‘This Women’s Work’ for PRX, ‘Sounds of a City’ series on BBC 6 Music and ‘Turntable Tales’ on BBC Radio 4. As a producer Colleen has remixed Roisin Murphy, Mildlife, The Rapture, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Beardyman, Candi Staton, Two Bears, Phenomenal Handclap Band, Cantoma, Horace Andy, Chaka Khan & more under her Cosmodelica moniker and as DarkStarr Diskotek with Ashley Beedle. Along with former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, she recorded and produced as Wild Rumpus.

A1) Joan Bibiloni ‘Sa Fosca’

Each Balearic Breakfast radio show opens up with a reflective song to ease the family into our collective musical journey and what better way to open up this compilation than with Balearic musician Joan Bibiloni. This contemplative song named after the famous canyon in Mallorca immediately presses the reset button so we can get ready for take-off.

A2) Cantoma ‘The Mountain’ (Coyote Remix)

Cantoma’s music characterises the modern spirit of the Balearic sound and the man behind it, Phil Mison, has an impeccable pedigree having had a two-year residency at Ibiza’s Café del Mar where DJ Jose Padilla took him under his wing. You can’t get more Balearic than that!

A3) Fragile ‘We’ve Got Tonight, Boy’

A rare 1986 single from German duo Fragile who let loose a funked-up groover perfect for steamy summer nights. The vinyl 12-inch costs a fortune on Discogs, so it’s inclusion on the comp is a little gift from us to you.

B1) Linkwood Family ‘Miles Away’

This slow burner conjures up the spirit of the famous trumpet player and aside from the dub remixes, hasn’t been released on vinyl until now. It’s a heads-down trance-inducing number that will have you lost in music in no time.

B2) P’taah ‘The Cosmic Laws’ (Phil Asher’s Restless Soul Vocal)

In January 2021 our community was shocked to lose the soulful DJ, prolific producer and all-around good guy Phil Asher. I have been a fan of his work for a long time and wanted to commemorate him through music. This Restless Soul remix of Chris Brann’s P’taah project sees its first vinyl release on this compilation.

C1) Mildlife ‘Vapour’ (Cosmodelica Remix)

A shameless Cosmodelica plug under the Balearic Breakfast umbrella! I was thrilled to be asked to remix this Australian band as their sound ticks some of my favourite stylistic boxes – psychedelic, jazzy and soulful. I think of it as a ‘roadtrip’ song, and imagine cruising around hairpin turns on a cliffside road with the aquamarine sea below.

C2) Friendly Fires and the Asphodells ‘Velo’

The late Andrew Weatherall was one of the most important producers of my generation – his sound was pioneering, transformative and inspiring. He also had a long and strong relationship with Heavenly Recordings so it is fitting to pay tribute to him. Plus, he was the first person to comment on the ‘dulcet tones’ of my voice. Bless you Andrew.

C3) Lady Blackbird ‘Beware the Stranger’ (North Street West Vocal Remix)

The human voice is my favourite instrument and I’ll never forget when I first heard the visceral and emotive sound of Lady Blackbird who is now one of my favourite contemporary singers. This end-of-the-night hands-in-the-air Ashley Beedle remix was my favourite dance song of 2020 and at the time of writing, this is the only vinyl release.

D1) Morenas ‘Hazme Sonar’

This has been a firm favourite of mine since I picked it up when I was working at New York City record store Dance Tracks. The 12-inch vinyl of this 1993 ambient remix by Peter Vriends is hard to track down. Until now that is! Allow it to carry you away with its spacey Balearic goodness…

D2) Caoilfhionn Rose ‘Paths’

I try to champion new music and contemporary artists on Balearic Breakfast and Matthew Halsall’s record label Gondwana doesn’t disappoint. I love Caoilfhionn’s ethereal voice and her lyrics really hit home during the pandemic, reminding us that even though life can be dark that we mustn’t give up.

D3) Mike Salta and Marty Mortale ‘Henry’s Spacewalk’

This compilation’s coda is a Pat Metheny-sounding song that concludes our sonic story, easing us back into real life. But do remember to keep the spirit inside you and to ‘just be Balearic’.