History[edit]

This style was popularized at Amnesia, an Ibizan nightclub, by DJ Alfredo^[4] from Argentina, who had a residency there.^[5][6][7] DJ Alfredo, whose birth name is Alfredo Fiorito, has been credited as the "Father of the Balearic beat".^[8] Alfredo played an eclectic mix of dance music^[7] with his style encompassing 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. Similar music was being played at other nightclubs, including Pacha and Ku.


British DJs such as Nancy Noise,^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]} Trevor Fung,^[16][17] Danny Rampling^[18] and Electra's^[19][20] Paul Oakenfold^[21][22] are commonly credited with having "popularised"^[23] Balearic beat, especially in the UK,^[24] with Fung said to be the originator of the term.^[25] In 1987, after a holiday in Ibiza, Oakenfold, Fung and Ian St. Paul^{[26][27][28][29][30]} returned to London, where they unsuccessfully tried to establish a nightclub called the Funhouse in the Balearic style.^[31] Returning to Ibiza during the summer of 1987, Oakenfold^{[32][33][34][35]} rented a villa where he hosted a number of his DJ friends, including Danny Rampling, Johnny Walker,^[36][37] and Nicky Holloway.^[38] Returning to London after the summer, Oakenfold reintroduced the Balearic style at a South London nightclub 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.^[39] It was 1988^[40] when Balearic beat was first noticed in the U.S., according to Dance Music Report magazine.^[41] Jose Padilla was an Ibizan DJ best known for his residency at Café del Mar. Also Jon Sa Trinxa, a British DJ and Producer best known for the longest residency on Salinas Beach at Sa Trinxa defines his style as being Balearic Music.


Pitchfork traces back elements of Balearic beat music to the 1982 Indian album Disco Jazz, sung by Rupa Biswas and composed by Aashish Khan. According to Pitchfork, the Bengali language song "Aaj Shanibar" from Disco Jazz contains "touches of what would now be considered Balearic beat music, with its expansive and hypnotic musical interludes." However, the album was largely unknown until its rediscovery in the late 2010s.^[42]