Track 8 – Nalin & Kane – Beachball (1997)
Another tune that was on the long list and got bumped up today as a friend of mine sent me a What’s App with a link to the tune with the message “This one goes out to the Boy Lard”
My fondness for this tune goes beyond it being a stunning example of 90s Balearic house music.
Back in 1998, myself and 30 or so others from the University of Birmingham Geology department were on a field trip in a small coastal village in Spain during the tourist offseason. This place was quiet and we took over the local nightclub one night. The tunes were not up to much and a friend of mine convinced the DJ to put on one of my mixtapes on. Yes, a cassette. CD Walkmans never took off and we were still 3 years away from the first iPod. Mixtapes were still made on cassette tape (at least by me).
The mixtape was a wondrous selection of 90s house and trance and contained Beachball by Nalin & Kane. My friend who knew my love of the tune, and was now MC’ing on the mic gave me the shout out “This one goes out to the Boy Lard*” as this tune dropped.
It was one of those marvellous impromptu evenings, where no one was expecting anything and it went off, everyone was in a great mood and there was plenty of stories the morning after.
It’s also a great tune to run to which is obviously why it’s on this list. The beat is fast and steady from the off to keep your legs moving and the soaring vocals “Get ready to fly” to keep you pushing. A couple of short drops to keep the momentum.
Providing the energy to float through the miles and have you dreaming of white Ibiza sands, it’s the German duo Nalin & Kane with Beachball.
*My attractive nickname at university was Lard. I was carrying a bit of weight, not too much, maybe around 12 kgs more than now, but the name stuck and I couldn’t shake it.
Track 1 – Right Here, Right Now – Fatboy Slim (1999)
Track 2 – Levels – Avicii (2011)
Track 3 – The Greatest – Sia (2016)
Track 4 – Around the World / Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – Daft Punk (2007)
Track 5 – Big Love – Pete Heller (1999)
Track 6 – Catch – Kosheen (2001)
Track 7 – Lose Yourself – Eminem (2002)
Track 8 – Nalin & Kane – Beachball (1997)