Description
Colleen Murphy comes heavy from the psychedelic tradition. In her world, music is more than a background, it drives motion through dance, and emotion via alterations of mood and feeling. Through the long running Classic Album Sundays sessions, numerous festival and club gigs and radio shows (where it all began) she has more than proven her selector chops. The knowledge is deep and musical curiosity unending. All the time honouring the legacy of her mentor, David Mancuso, while very much cutting her own path.
Vol.4 of any series feels like a big number, but the Balearic Breakfast series just keeps getting better and better. Testing the boundaries of style, rhythm and tempo of what can work together musically to create a satisfying whole but at the same time holding true to the ethos of the show from which it takes its name. Genres arent really a thing in this world, its more about feeling, building connections between the music to pull it all together into a single experience.
The low rumble and cosmic reel of Pazs Kandeen Love Song makes for a perfect starter. Its petals opening and expanding before the ears, in a mix of flutes and forest sounds. In terms of laying down a marker, 13+ minutes of 70s UK jazz fusion is the way to do it. Slowly evolving and enveloping the listener as it traverses some serious playing and solos to a hallucinatory close.
Santino Surfers Freedom Surfers is centred by a heavy guitar riff and surrounded by pounding drums. Sounding like something from the times of freak out, but bang up to date, appropriately via Music For Dreams. Kenneth Bagers label another brother with his own take on psychedelia. Saint Etienne are kind of in do no wrong territory with whatever they do, and Cosmos take on Alone Together (Cosmodelica Remix) is a respectful but shapeshifting beast. It lifts the originals almost lullaby feel and evolves it into a more upbeat bossa-esque slice of sunshine music.
Paqua are another act who know their way around a twisted guitar led odyssey and Akaliko is them at their best. Motorik, dense, exotically twisted and very much at home here. In a more deeply emotional place is Tar Blanche and Iguana. That Balearic feel, naturally, is at the top. Acoustic picks and subtle tabla cover the sunset bases nicely. Murphy remixes again on Moving Forward (Cosmodelica Mix) by Bryony Jarman-Pinto. The Tru Thoughts singer has her compact modern groove taken into an outersoul location.
New Zealand next, for Troy Kingi with Chronophobic Disco, more soulful music with a contemporary take on a classic vibe. It would be remiss to not include some actual disco and Ilya Santana comes up with the goods on the inevitable Cosmovision (Disco Version). Searing synths, the odd lazer and some spacey funk. Finally, Gloria Ann Taylors Love Is A Hurtin’ Thing (12″ version) rounds off the set. Bridging the gap between the heartstring pulling power of a Northern anthem and the more cosmic end of the soul spectrum inhabited by the likes of Rotary Connection.
Incredible music that hits, right there. (viaTest Pressing)
The sun has finally come out. Its the first time something like this has happened for months and months; the first glow of an approaching summer, whatever date the calendar is currently saying it is. If youre reading this, were assuming that youre the kind of person who views summer as a state of mind rather than a good looking day on the BBC Weather app. With that in mind, we reckon you already know all about Heavenly Recordings series of untouchable, utterly essentialBalearic Breakfast compilations, each one lovingly compiled by visionary DJ, producer and broadcaster Colleen Cosmo Murphy – the genius club legend whose radio show of the same name (broadcast 10am to high noon every Tuesday via Mixcloud) began as an escape route from the pandemic before rapidly building a global community of dedicated Balearican listeners.
Each Balearic Breakfast album has provided a spiritual getaway from the greyness of the everyday through a handpicked selection of glorious, psychedelically coloured, expansive music. It doesnt matter where on the planet the music hails from, or when it was made, it just matters that it fits like a jigsaw piece into the musical whole. Be it off world jazz music or vocoder led robo-disco music; whether decades old or pressed to vinyl for the first time, everything on these flawless Balearic Breakfast collections just needs to flow together and bring the listener into the sunshine, whatever time of year theyre listening.
Due for release August 2025, the fourth Balearic Breakfast compilation sees Cosmo take this head trip further than ever before. This Balearic Breakfast offers the perfect soundtrack to the summer, whether its actually happening outside or just taking place in your head. After all, they dont call breakfast the most important meal of the day for nothing. (via Label)
Label: Heavenly
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation
Released: 2025
Genre: Electronic, Funk / Soul
Style: Balearic, House, Downtempo
File under: Electronic // Downtempo
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