Meet the crew behind summer 2015's most sought-after re-edits and Balearic refixes as they drop their first-ever 'official' single
Given
that we're no nearer finding an agreed definition for 'Balearic' some
30 years on from DJ Alfredo's first White Isle explorations, it could
be quite some time before the world comes to terms with "Balearic
gabba".
Seemingly
proud of his efforts, Marco 'Pee-Doo' Gallerani - Hell Yeah!
Recordings boss and the DJ who first coined the term - chuckles. "If
you say that you play a style that's well-known or clearly defined,
at some point it will become a bad word," he says. "So I
thought that I'd come up with something that has no boundaries.
That's Balearic gabba!"
While
it was gabba that first excited Gallerani as an young raver in Italy in the early 1990s, it should be stressed that the music
of his Balearic Gabba Sound System collective has little in common
with the notoriously fast, intense style of Dutch hardcore. With the
assistance of a growing roster of DJs and producers - notably
in-house re-editor/producer Enzo Elia, Templehof man Luciano Ermondi
(AKA DJ Ca$h), and Norwegian mentor Bjorn Torske - Gallerani has
spent the last few years re-defining Balearic music.
"Balearic
is about playing what you want while respecting the enivornment
around you," Gallerani says. "Before I went to Ibiza to DJ,
I don't think I understood that. What you see, smell and feel around
you is hugely important, and you have to select records for the
environment."
Whichever
way you look at it, the Balearic Gabba Sound System's musical output
is most definitely White Isle-friendly. The collective's fame
initially grew out of a series of celebrated re-edits of obscure,
dreamy and deliciously loved-up old Italian deep house records, which
Gallerani selected and Elia reworked. Recently, they've gone a step
further, releasing their first original productions on New York's
celebrated Golf Channel Recordings imprint.
The
eponymous EP, which was mostly produced by Elia and Ermondi, with
'executive production and additional addiction' from Gallerani ("I
bring the drugs, the records and the concept," he laughs),
effortlessly joins the dots between woozy ambience, classic trip-hop,
tactile electronica and low-slung dub disco/deep house fusions. As
debut singles go, it's quietly impressive - and it definitely follows
the Balearic script of ignoring the rules.
So
how would Elia, who co-produced three of the EP's four tracks,
describe it? "I used to say the Balearic Gabba sound was
like a kaleidoscope of music styles. Now I like to say that it's a
rich salad, full of fresh vegetables. New music dipped in a very
polished olive oil - which is the harmony that you can find mixing
different music genres - and finished with cured vinegar. That's
old music with that special taste!"
The
collective's next "rich salad", another collection of
sunrise-friendly re-edits, is due to drop on Hell Yeah! Recordings
later in the spring, and we can expect some more original music later
in the year. "We have more music we could release, but it's very
different to the Golf Channel EP," Gallerani says. "Right
now, we're into breakbeat house a lot. I can't wait for the revival!"
Words:
Matt Anniss
The
Balearic Gabba Sound System EP is
out now on Golf Channel Recordings. Below, you can hear the Balearic Gabba take on Soft House Company's 1990 Italo-house classic What You Need.
Tags: re-edit, Balearic, Balearic Gabba Sound System, Golf Channel Recordings, Marco Gallerani, DJ Ca$h, Enzo Elia, Luciano Ermondi, Bjorn Torske