On this week’s episode of The New Sincerest, the show explores the dance microgenre of Balearic beat. Pioneered by DJ Alfredo at the Ibiza night club Amnesia, balearic beat is a genre with slippery definitions: DJ Alfredo’s nearly psychic, empathetic DJ sets introduced a vibes-first approach to club mixes, unmoored to any fixed genre, BPM, or style, instead driven by a sophisticated understanding of the mood and atmosphere of the Balearic Isles off the coast of Spain; in the years since its popularity, others have argued Balearic beat is a spin-off of house music and has been somewhat reclaimed by the vaporwave movement, simultaneously hazy and shimmery, reminiscent of the sunset glittering across the surface of the ocean in prismatic shards of light.
Balearic beat is a microgenre I’ve been interested in since the release of Sofia Kourtesis’ debut record Madres, which was my #1 album of 2023, although shades of Balearic beat have also been used to color the music of Avalon Emerson, Robyn, and Washed Out as well. This set aims to capture the sonic aesthetic, the intuitive feel of the sequence construction, and the sophisticated atmosphere of Balearic beat.
Featuring: Peggy Gou, Sofia Kourtesis, Washed Out, Sade, The Durutti Column, Destroyer, John Talabot, and more!
New Sincerest: 8/12/24