Is This Balearic?

Is This Balearic? it’s more of a question than an answer. So what is Balearic music exactly? Does anyone really know? I know what is was once upon a time. Folklore mostly. Google will do a better explanation than me, but all I do remember from being a spotty seventeen-year-old in an underground club in Playa Den Bossa (the club was literally under the hotel, not as in underground that only the cool kids knew about it) was that it sounded genre free. I came back with a handful of Spanish 12”s which found their way into my collection. Sitting amongst a sinful amount of Northern Soul, film soundtracks and electro records. Apparently this was uncool in a cool, odd kind of way. Although I never knew. I wasn’t (and am not) that cool. For me, Balearic is un-snobbish. It’s approachable and sometimes weird. Always emotive though. It’s a cliche to say that is always has to go down along with the sun, as it works equally well as the sun rises. So here’s to the first of hopefully many (monthly?) shows that showcase new and old music alike, of many different genres and styles. But to start with, let’s ease you in nicely. Enjoy.

Mixed, unmixed, faded, blended, whisked, whatever. Have recommendations for tracks for future episodes? Email me: blueazuremusic@gmail.com

Is This Balearic

Is This Balearic? Episode 01 - April 2020

So, here we go, another month of lockdown and it's time that we once again ask the question, Is This Balearic?. You decide. It's all about you, right? A little bit more up-tempo this month, just the vibe I'm in seeing as I should have been in Ibiza right now. Hey-ho. Rona put that one to the ground, but we're safe and we're happy and we have the time to enjoy the glorious weather that the UK is bestowing upon us right now. So, without further ado, enjoy...

Mixed, unmixed, faded, blended, whisked, whatever. Have recommendations for tracks for future episodes? (No acid-skiffle or Turkish Steps tributes) Email me: blueazuremusic@gmail.com

Is This Balearic? Episode 02 - May 2020

Welcome one and all to another episodal incident where we ask the life-affirming question, "Is This Balearic?". A right old mixed bag for you this month; from jazzy vibes, deep jams and the inclusion of a classic A Man Called Adam track called The Longest Day. I mean c'mon, it is June. So, pour yourself a cheeky tipple, sit back and let someone else do the housework. Till next time...

Mixed, unmixed, faded, blended, whisked, whatever. Have recommendations for tracks for future episodes? Email me: blueazuremusic@gmail.com

Is This Balearic 

Is This Balearic? Episode 03 - June 2020

Welcome one and all to another episodal incident where we ask the life-affirming question, "Is This Balearic?". So, how are we all? Another eclectic curation of sounds for you this month. Theres a liberal smearing of Ennio Morricone, in honour of what the man gave to music, not just film soundtracks, but how his methodology seeped across genres as well as influencing the birth of many others. RIP Sir, I salute you. Other noise includes an Andrew Weatherall mix of Moby, a forgotten Ian Brown gem and a 2014 remix of Serj V's White Magic with my good self on remix duty, thats just been re-released. Enjoy and please keep your comments coming, its all about you, right? Till next time...

Mixed, unmixed, faded, blended, whisked, whatever. Have recommendations for tracks for future episodes? Email me: blueazuremusic@gmail.com

"Music is an experience, not a science"
Ennio Morricone • 1928 - 2020

Is This Balearic Episode 4

Is This Balearic? Episode 04 - July 2020

August, already. Really? Another rummage through the crate and look whats happened. You know the score. Enjoy.

Mixed, unmixed, faded, blended, whisked, whatever. Have recommendations for tracks for future episodes? Email me: blueazuremusic@gmail.com

Is This Balearic? Episode 05 - August 2020

A true story. 

March 16th was the first day of lockdown in the United Kingdom. People across the country were being furloughed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We ran out of toilet rolls. Everyone decided to eat pasta. The world nearly fell off its axis. The only thing good was the weather. And of course, the downtime. A time to reflect. Which we did. We grew vegetables, we laughed, we clapped (remember that?). 

We’re pretty lucky where we live. Our little street is full of kindred folk. We can be pretty thirsty at times. But It’s always been a support network. This year we took it to new levels. Our houses back onto a huge field. Past that, sand dudes. Past those, the Atlantic ocean. As I say. We’re lucky. And we’re humble enough to realise it.

Now, I’m not a DJ. (Mic drop!)

Discgogs.com has me down as a producer of a genre they call house music. And let’s be honest, the internet never lies. And so, with that accolade comes the (massive) assumption that because you produce, you must also be a DJ. I mean yes, thanks to lockdown I have a monthly podcast, and (sometimes) I can put noise together in a sequential fashion. But standing in front of real humans, jogging the wheels of steel. Nah, mate. To introverted for any of that nonsense. 

And so it began. The community. Our neighbors held backyard bingo sessions, shouting the numbers across the gardens. Other folk joined in. All pertaining to the social distancing rules. There were quizzes. There were prizes. There were barbecues and of course, the partaking of the occasional drink. :)

Originally, we were all supposed to be in Ibiza during lockdown number one. Us and a few of the neighbors. So if we can’t go to Ibiza, let’s bring Ibiza here. So went the unwritten brief. And that’s what we did. What started with a request to play a few records in the afternoon turned into much, much more.

One afternoon, we stuck a PA system in the lane behind our house and the rest is (blurred) history. Folk would come past and say ‘hi’ as they walked their dogs around the fields. Others would whoop and cheer over the fences. We even had shout-outs on Facebook. The sun shone and for a while, time slowed down.

As already mentioned, there was no brief, but I always started and ended the sessions with the same tracks. The last track, ‘Light Through The Veins’ by Jon Hopkins, coupled with watching the sun dip on another day, just felt right somehow. The selected tracks contained in this mix are indicative of what was played during these lockdown sessions. I hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed our summer.

Peace. X

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Support for musicians is really important right now, so if you hear something you like, go check out the artist(s) and make a purchase. :)

Lockdown Sessions 2020

BlueAzure is the pseudonym of musician and producer Jamie Bridle, based in the South West of the UK. His music blends sun-drenched melodics with electronica — somewhere between deep house, nu-disco, and chilled-out Balearica.

His tracks are made for daydreamers, early risers, night walkers and balcony drifters — music with heart, for moments that don’t need a name.

BlueAzure has released on labels including Nang and Real Balearic, and hosts the monthly show Smiling at Strangers on London’s Totally Wired Radio — a soft-focus trip through oddball grooves, happy accidents and lo-fi tenderness.

He is also one-third of the long-distance project Editoric, formed at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios alongside lifelong collaborator Tim James and Toronto-based artist Lavinia Maria.