When the word Balearic is being bantered around – as it often is these days – you can guarantee it’s only a matter of time before Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy’s name pops up. The US-born, NY-trained, London-based, globally loved DJ, producer and host of the popular Balearic Breakfast radio show on WorldwideFM and Mixcloud knows a thing or two (or ten) about the genre, although her route to the white isle was far less traditional than other artists.
Her story begins far from Ibiza, in Massachusetts around 1982, where a teenage Colleen was obsessed with music and radio. She and her friend Mary Caruso hosted their own show Punk, Funk and Junk: a fusion of hip-hop, electro, funk, punk, new wave and whatever else they could get their hands on that week. Hosting radio shows that led Colleen to become a DJ – not the other way round like so many of her peers – and her near-encyclopaedic knowledge of music was honed through curiosity, experimentation and a belief that nothing was ever too weird or too obscure to explore.
Working in a record shop, she soaked up everything from Charles Mingus and Bruce Springsteen to psychedelic pop to Paisley rock, her open-mindedness (and open ears!) and sense of musical cross-pollination was ingrained early. In the mid-80s, Colleen upped sticks and moved across the country to study sound and radio at NYU, becoming the first female program director at WNYU, one of the country’s most influential college stations. It was here that her syndicated show, Music View, reached over 200 stations, hosting everyone from Aphex Twin and Brian Eno to Joey Ramone and My Bloody Valentine, telling their stories while sharing their sounds.
It was also in New York where Colleen discovered The Loft, the iconic party created by musical maestro David Mancuso. Under Mancuso’s mentorship, she became one of his closest protégés, immersed in his philosophy of sonic purity, community and connection. It was an education very few have ever had – one that echoes through everything she does today, especially in her sets at Pikes, and those formative nights taught her to perfect the art of sound and helped develop the belief that music can be transcendent.
Speaking of transcendence, it’s a word she uses to describe what she considers to be inherently Balearic. “To me, it’s freedom, escape and transcendence,” she explains. Colleen jokes of originally having heard of the Balearic islands through the famous David Bowie lyric: ‘From Ibiza to the Norfolk broads’ in Life on Mars, and later on, through selling Café del Mar compilations. It was 2001 when Colleen first visited Ibiza, as a guest of our cultural attaché DJ Harvey, who invited her to play on the legendary Space Terrace. “I spent a couple of days there, off the beaten track, and realised why so many people from the 1960s onwards have gravitated to the island,” she recalls. “I was expecting beautiful nature and peaceful vibes. And then I found out about the hedonistic side!
The connection, both musically and culturally, came quickly. “I loved it and understood its attraction,” she explains. “There is definitely something special in the air. With each visit, I discover more and fall for it even more.” Back then, Pikes wasn’t the celeb-studded hideout it had been in the 80s, nor had it evolved into the social hub it is today, so it’s not surprising the hotel didn’t come onto Colleen’s radar until a few years ago,
when Hot Chip’s Joe Goddard invited her to join him and Nathan Detroit for an impromptu set. “It was so much fun,” she says. “It’s the antidote to the superclubs – intimate and joyfully bonkers.”
Fast forward to her very first All Night Long gig in Freddies earlier this season and Colleen’s performance was pure improvisational magic, which is exactly where she excels. “I was constantly on my toes,” she recalls. “I had no idea what I was going to play and often selected the next record with less than a minute to go. I always felt like I was on the fly but thankfully was in the flow. The dancefloor holds a wide mix of people from all over the world so you can go to a lot of musical places. It was sweaty, wild, intimate and fun – it was a magical night.” The night ended – in typical Pikes style – with “a very mashed-up Rockerfeller” asking Colleen to DJ on his yacht. Only in Ibiza…
Not long after, we invited her to step into the headline slot (alongside her pals Hot Chip) at our latest venture, Pikes Presents 528 Ibiza – an experience that many of our guests have described as reminiscent of the Balearic days of the mid-90s. “I had a blast playing there,” says Colleen. “I love DJing outdoors and there was such a fun mix of people from all over the world. I played an Egyptian dance song and naturally there was somebody on the dance floor singing along. It was also fun dancing to Hot Chip’s set – especially when we all had a Human League singalong!”
This weekend sees Colleen come into her own at Pikes, as she celebrates the launch of her latest compilation, Balearic Breakfast 4, with a very typically Balearic poolside set. Later on, she steps back into Freddies to keep us on our toes until the very early hours. “I look forward to where the music will take us,” she says, citing the audience on the dancefloor, the sound system and her own musical aesthetic as her only influences. As for the Balearic Breakfast 4 album, the musical journey follows the arc of Colleen’s incredibly popular weekly radio show of the same name – a tradition that began during the 2020 lockdowns and amassed a dedicated community of loyal followers. Colleen describes the new compilation as starting off as mellow, then building to a climax with a euphoric soft landing. Not unlike a Sunday at Pikes!“Some of the songs are older and difficult and expensive to find on vinyl and some of the songs are new tracks, often by up-and-coming artists, that have never before been released on vinyl (including some of my Cosmodelica remixes),” she explains. “I try to squeeze in a range of styles but with a natural flow.”
Despite her vast industry experience and boundless knowledge when it comes to musical history, Colleen still believes that musical inspiration can be endless and the pursuit of new music is one of her lifelong passions. “I look to my listeners for inspiration because the show is for them,” she explains. “They have fantastic taste that spans many musical boundaries.” She also keeps her ear to the ground for new music. “I listen to something new each and every day and never get tired of searching for tunes. There’s so much out there just waiting to be discovered.”
A typical day in Ibiza for Colleen is charmingly simple: dos cafés con leches, a walk around Ibiza town, a swim, the beach, dinner at the Fish Shack and then out into the Balearic night – most likely, onto Pikes! While she’s yet to experience the club fully as a guest, a night spent playing in Freddies is far from a busman’s holiday for Colleen, a reminder that, at Pikes, the lines between performing and participating blur beautifully. “DJing all night in the former bedroom of one of your favourite rock stars doesn’t really feel like work to be honest,” she admits. “I haven’t yet experienced Pikes as a punter but intend on doing so for the Halloween festivities as I’ll be hanging for a few days and I’m sharing the night with my friend CC:DISCO!” Ooh, have we got some surprises in store for you, Colleen!
