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BOTW Vol 18: Poolside
Poolside’s dreamy synthpop makes me recall summers I’ve never had.
They call it “daytime disco.” It’s a slow, languid pop, part groove and part funk, an easy sound that evokes memories that do not belong to me. Somewhere (possibly in a film whose name I will never remember) there’s a scene in which 13 year old girls strut around concrete that sparkles mirage-like in the heat. They apply lip gloss from a tube attached to a lanyard. They are wearing short-shorts with piping around the edges in hot, horrible colors like neon yellow or pink. Sometimes they sit on the porch steps and eat Popsicles. Sometimes they flirt with boys mowing lawns who are far too old for them. And although, I never really did any of these things, this is how I remember summer. This is how Poolside makes me remember summer.
Poolside consists of Filip Nikolic, who is also the bassist for Ima Robot, and Jeffrey Paradise, formerly known as DJ Jefrodisiac. While the two have known each other for years, it was only recently that they were able to take the time from their various other projects to finish their debut LP, Pacific Standard Time. The project was, at least initially, never intended to do anything more than give Nikolic and Paradise a much needed break from their other musical interests. But a serendipitous turn of events involving Soundcloud and James Murphy changed all that, a bit of musical fate much appreciated by those of us with ears to hear and legs to dance. Not too hard, though. This ain’t no rave. This is music to lean back against, to float on, and sink down into. When you hear it, you will–like me–start to dream of summers you never had, sweethearts you never loved, and smile fondly in recollection.
It’s nearly Halloween. The leaves have changed. People in the Midwest have turned on their heat and drained their pools. Summer is gone. But we can relive it with blissful equanimity through all the coming winter months. We’ll lie back on our wall-to-wall carpeting, dreaming of beaches and ocean waves. And you’ll remember summer exactly like the lazy, hot, slow pop that Poolside plays.
9 Questions with of Poolside
BEACON: First concert you attended?
Jeffrey: The Beach Boys would play once a year at Padres baseballs game in San Diego and my family would often go. I think that was the first time I saw a “band” play music in a concert setting. I loved it.
BEACON: All time favorite album?
Jeffrey: Neil Young – On The BeachBEACON: Favorite musician?
Jeffrey: Brian EnoBEACON: Favorite restaurant?
Jeffrey: Sebo (a sushi restaurant in San Francisco)BEACON: All time favorite movie?
Jeffrey: Rubin and EdBEACON: Vinyl or MP3?
Jeffrey: Vinyl if I want to listen to an album. Digital music is great when I’m traveling or checking out new music on spotify.BEACON: Dylan or The Beatles?
Jeffrey: Impossible question. I love Nashville Skyline and Blood on the Tracks (Dylan albums) and The Beatles wrote so many great songs. I don’t think it’s possible to make an either/or decision with these two.BEACON: Stevie Wonder or Bob Marley?
Jeffrey: Stevie Wonder.
BEACON: Most bizarre location that you have written a song?
Jeffrey: I think Poolside has written all our songs in Filip’s studio, which could be considered a bizarre location, it’s a converted pool house next to our friend Anne Lee’s pool and it’s how we decided on our name Poolside.
The Sounds of Poolside