Michael McDonald - Sweet Freedom - MCA Records - Balearic

Information on the Balearic Genre

Balearic Beat or Balearic House is an eclectic blend of DJ'd dance music that originally emerged in the mid-1980s. It later became the name of a more specific style of electronic dance music that was popular into the mid-1990s. Balearic Beat was named for its popularity among European nightclub and beach rave patrons on the Balearic island of Ibiza (Spain), a popular tourist destination. Some dance music compilations referred to it as "the sound of Ibiza," even though many other, more aggressive and upbeat forms of dance music could be heard on the island.

History

UK disc jockeys Trevor Fung, Paul Oakenfold, and Danny Rampling are commonly credited with having "discovered" Balearic Beat in 1987 while on holiday in Ibiza. Reportedly, they were introduced to the music at Amnesia, an Ibizan nightclub, by DJ Alfredo from Argentina, who had a residency there. DJ Alfredo, whose birth name is Alfredo Fiorito, played an eclectic mix of dance music whose style encompassed the indie hypno grooves of the Woodentops, the mystic rock of the Waterboys, early house, Europop, and oddities from the likes of Peter Gabriel and Chris Rea. After visiting other clubs on the island where similar music was being played, including Pacha and Ku, Oakenfold and his friend Trevor Fung returned to London, where they unsuccessfully tried to establish a nightclub called the Funhouse in the Balearic style. Returning to Ibiza during the summer of 1987, Oakenfold rented a villa where he hosted a number of his DJ friends, including Danny Rampling, Johnny Walker, and Nicky Holloway. Returning to London after the summer, Oakenfold reintroduced the Balearic style at a South London nightspot called the Project Club. The club initially attracted those who had visited Ibiza and who were familiar with the Balearic concept. Fueled by their use of Ecstasy and an emerging fashion style based on baggy clothes and bright colors, these Ibiza veterans were responsible for propagating the Balearic subculture within the evolving UK rave scene. In 1988, Oakenfold established a second outlet for Balearic Beat, a Monday night event called Spectrum, which is credited with exposing the Balearic concept to a wider audience. It was 1988 when Balearic Beat was first noticed in the U.S., according to Dance Music Report magazine.