Chatting About Beer and Balearic with the Compilers of the Summer's Best Compilation | US | Translation

Here at THUMP we're absolutely bananas about balearic. We quite simply can't get enough of it. Which is why we got really excited when we found out that balearic dons Chris Coco and Jim Breese were releasing another edition of their Balearic compilations. Featuring material from the likes of Ruf Dug, Horsebeach and Faze Action, it's the perfect accompaniment to an evening in Binibecca, and it's left us seriously considering sacking off England forever and starting a new life as a pool cleaner somewhere in Mallorca.

Not just content with putting together a silky smooth collection of balearic soothers, the lads have even brewed their own special beer to celebrate the record's release, and, quite frankly, if there's a better combination in this life than cold beer and balearic music then we've yet to find it. THUMP had a quick chat with Chris and Jim about the record, the beer, and all things balearic.

THUMP: Firstly, and it's the big one guys: what's the first record you remember hearing and thinking, "fuck, is THAT balearic?"
Chris Coco: For me it was the 1985 hit "The Captain Of Her Heart" by Double. I remember obsessing about the little piano riff, not knowing what it was and not being able to get it out of my head for ages. It's one of those really dodgy tunes that you might hear on Heart FM, but at the right moment, in amongst some much more eclectic music, it still works a treat. It's one of those tunes that you think, sometimes, oh dear, did I really play that. Weird, uh?
Jim Breese: Thats got to be Maze's track "Twilight". It sounds like Ibiza as soon as it starts; spacey pads, squelchy acid bassline—one of the best ever written—followed by those tropical plinky marimbas and perfect synths doing little rhythms and hooks. I played this track every afternoon at Cafe Mambo for years and it never tired. Ibiza reveals this secret hidden layer on tunes that disappears the instant you land home.

Is it ever possible to define Balearic as a genre? Or do you see it as a more of a mindset?
Chris Coco: I think the whole beauty of balearic is that it is indefinable, that's what attracted me to the idea, cemented the first time I heard Jose Padilla playing a wild mix of music around sunset time at Cafe Del Mar. It's a certain devil may care attitude, mixed with a deep love of music. It's sometimes mistaken for the horrible 'guilty pleasures' outlook, but it's not about playing a load of shit tunes that people know and pretending they are cool, it's about playing a mix of music, electronic, organic, downright weird, with a few hits and hooks thrown in to take people on the proverbial musical journey. A bit of sea and sunshine helps too, whether that is there in front of you or just in your head kind of doesn't matter.
Jim Breese: Without the mindset there wouldn't be the genre, so for me it's definitely a worldly outlook, one that is loose, loving and free.

The compilation spans an extensive set of sounds. Are you trying to teach the masses that balearic doesn't just mean "I Just Can't Wait" by Mandy Smith.
Chris Coco: If you like, yes. We're keeping that vibe but bringing it up to date, balearic isn't about nostalgia and a load of old tunes, it's about new stuff with the right vibe, so there are echoes of the past with the beachy cover of the Inner City classic "Good Life," and leaps into the future with Kenneth Bager's dub of Ruf Dug, for example.
Jim Breese: When compiling, I listen to tunes and see if they make me feel good or provoke a positive vibe. I visualise what I'd play at sunset at Ku De Ta Bali, Mambo or Hostal La Torre so there's a proper setting to soundtrack. I'm more concerned with the listener loving the album for what it is and reaching for it for years to come. If we expose that person to a new world of music in the process then that's really fantastic.

Where's your absolute favourite part of the Balearics? I want an exact location.
Chris Coco: It's a bar on Playa De Migjorn on Ibiza's little sister island Formentera, called Kiosko 62. It's basically a shed on the beach, with a few stools at the makeshift bar and a few tables under a shady awning. It's raw and beautiful, like the people who go there. The perfect place for a sneaky caña, an aperitif, or a sundowner, the best place to begin an evening out, or end a beautiful day.
Jim Breese: This has changed a lot over the years but currently I'm back onto Es Vedra. As long as she's in eyeshot, I'm feeling pretty bloody tip top. Specifically, you cannot beat a lazy afternoon at Es Boldado especially after a boat load of rosado.

Describe the taste of your Balearic beer. Please be as wanky and florid as is possible. The wankier the better actually. Is there a hint of Harvey? An undertone of Ku in there?
Chris Coco: We wanted something floral and sunny that brings the fizz and sparkle of a Balearic afternoon to even the dullest English summer day. We toned down the essence of Space at closing time because it was a little pungent, but added a hint of Salinas beach early afternoon, so there's a salty, grilled prawny, exotically perfumed note at the finish. We played the album to the beer while it was brewing, so if you put your ear to the can and listen really carefully you can hear the sound of the sea lapping on the rocks and the distant strains of Sacha Puttnam's closing sunset tune "Abraham's Theme." Go on try it, you know you want to. Jim, over to you for more on that one…
Jim Breese: 5.6% Acid House in a can! Its brewed by Time and Tide, a couple of fellas who make very, very tasty beers.

Balearic 2 is out on July 1st via Balearic and you can pre-order it here.