As August is slipping away, the summer sun is gradually being replaced by the cool autumn breeze of September. And while the shift into fall may bear exciting promises of sweater weather and changing leaves, that is not to say that beach trips and rooftop raves won’t be missed.
But… who said the sunny vibes can’t continue? If you’re looking to be transported back to days of lounging by the water and grooving to chill beats, what better way to embrace it than by diving into the warm vibes of the aptly named artist, Poolside?
Dominating and completely redefining the genre of Daytime Disco, artist Jeffrey Paradise is no stranger to curating the perfect summer sound. Best known for producing music brimming with sunny synths and dance floor decadence, Poolside has not only remixed countless songs by acclaimed artists like Billy Idol and Neil Young, but is also set to release a highly anticipated fifth album, “Can’t Blame it All on Love” (preorder here) on October 20th.
When he’s not mixing in the studio, or chilling at the beach, you can find him touring around the world with a specially curated live band – even taking the stage at major festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and this year, back again at our beloved Outside Lands! Prior to both his set at the Toyota Music Den and the main Lands End stage, I sat down with Poolside to talk about the magic behind music, touring life, and everything in between:
[Note: this interview was conducted Friday, August 12, 2023 at Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco and has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes]
- You’re no stranger to taking over the main stage, from performing at high-profile festivals like Primavera Sound, Coachella, and even our beloved Outside Lands in the past – how does it feel to be back this year, performing both a DJ set at The Music Den and at Lands End?
I mean, it’s a big deal for me. I’m super excited. I grew up here, went to college here, so I pretty much started my young adult life here, and it’s pretty exciting to play at Golden Gate Park. It’s one of the best locations for a music festival, definitely up there on my list.
- Any artists you’re excited to catch while you’re here?
You know, being here, I’m pretty “go-go-go,” but I am going to try to check out L’imperatrice. I’m a big fan of theirs. At Lolla, we were backstage with each other and then we also randomly met in Mexico. We did a remix trade at one point too, which was really cool. They’re really great.
Lil Yachty also is playing right after me, so I’m just going to stay side stage, check him out too. I wanted to see Kendrick Lamar last night, but unfortunately I couldn’t. But hopefully, I’ll be able to catch some other sets as well.
- After Outside Lands, what’s next for Poolside? Any new exciting new projects?
After Outside Lands, I have a few weeks off, and then I’m heading to Austin City Limits. Both weekends of that. Then this festival called FORMAT. Really great lineup. Two weekends of that. And then playing all throughout the South. I’ve never been to, like Tulsa and Wilmington, and then there’s also cities like Austin, Atlanta, and New Orleans that I have been to. Really exciting stuff!
I also have a new album coming October 20. It’s under Ninja Tune’s sub-label called Counter Records. It’s 11 songs, called Blame It All on Love. All the songs are about our irrational choices around love, romantic and otherwise. And yeah, I’m really excited. The songs are very much from the heart. Way more songs than dance tracks. You know, I think I’ve done a lot of dance tracks in the past, so I definitely wanted to shift the focus to songs this time.
- What did the process of writing your new album look like?
So I moved to Malibu recently, and I live up in the hills near the beach. It’s a very natural, earthy environment. So I just kind of picked up a guitar, started writing songs. I was writing with a lot of friends too. We just got together and collaborated. Yeah, it’s different [than past processes]. Usually I have more of an idea, and I’ll just write a song, but this was just like, ‘let’s just jam a little bit.’ So it felt a lot more like it was coming from an internal place.
- One aspect about your live sets that I love is that you bring in a huge range of iconic artists onto the stage… how did that all come together? Who’s a part of your live set today?
Yes, so currently, my rhythm section is made up of [the band] The Rapture. Vito, the drummer, and I first played together when we met in the dorms at San Francisco State. We played in different bands together a little bit and then when Poolside started with a live band, I recruited them. Brijean is our percussionist– she has a pretty big solo project called B R I J E A N, with Doug, her boyfriend. Everyone in the band has a cool sort of backstory and sound. An all-star band.
- You’ve been making groovy beats and catchy sounds for over a decade now, and you’ve had an undeniably impressive journey since 2010 – taking it all the way back, we’d love to know how you first turned a pool house into a makeshift recording studio and began your creative journey?
I mean, the first song I wrote, I just didn’t know anything. I didn’t know what would happen with it. But it got picked up by some blogs, then we put it out on the record label. It was like a minor indie dance hit. But I never suspected anything more. I just thought the music was too “not mainstream.” So I was just kind of making music for my friends and I. Music that we liked. I just never thought it would keep growing.
And I always wanted to pursue music, but it never seemed to stick at the start. So I thought I was gonna be a fashion designer – that’s what I went to college for. But I abandoned it pretty immediately. And then I started DJing in college, and that was kind of like one of the few things I felt like I was immediately a natural at. Usually it’s like, ‘F*ck, it’s hard for me to learn sh*t.’ But this was like, ‘Oh, I’m good at this. This is cool.’ So I always thought I would be a DJ in some way, but having a producer and a live band as well, I mean, it’s a big challenge every time. But I’m just glad to be getting better and excited to have something to challenge myself with everyday.
- When it comes to writing songs and being a part of the whole creative process, I know it must be a whole journey… With that, how do you decide when a song is fully “done?”
It’s funny, there’s a saying I relate to – ‘An artist never finishes their work. They abandon it.’ And I definitely relate, where it’s like ‘Alright, it’s not done, but you know what, it’s done.’
But I’m getting better at deliberating over it, because there’s kind of a magic that you’re going for, but sometimes it goes past it and you can’t get it back. That’s always pretty sad. So I’ve made that mistake enough times to be like, ‘Okay, that magic is there. Don’t go too far with it!’
It is a struggle sometimes, especially with computers. You can always change and go back, and not commit. So that’s definitely another saying I keep in mind, like ‘Don’t go too far past the magic.’
- So banking off of that – With your new album, have you decided if it’s “done?”
Yes, it’s kind of for the world now! That’s the other thing I think about. You have an idea of what your art is and what your music is, but other people actually decide what it is. So you can kind of like, go that way. Sometimes, when they decide what it is, I’m like ‘Wow that’s even better than what I thought.’ It’s usually, luckily enough, a better experience.
- You’ve been traveling around recently, and you’re now here at Outside Lands! How has touring been so far?
Don’t get me wrong, I love playing shows, and I love music enough that I’m always excited to play. But truthfully, touring is a b*tch sometimes. You know, the lifestyle is really hard, like it’s sometimes very “go-go-go” and also sometimes, it’s very “wait,” if that makes sense. And I’m not trying to complain, like it’s genuinely all the things I want to do. But I’ve been in [the industry] enough that I understand how tiring it can be, but I still love what I do of course.
- With that being said, when you’re not in the touring or writing mindset, what do you do in your free time to let yourself have a moment and take a break?
I just like doing “home-y” stuff, like cooking. Things that are just the opposite of tour life. Cooking a meal, walking my dog, going to the beach.
- Out of curiosity, you said you’re in Malibu now and with all the LA chaos, do you often get recognized and stopped and things like that? How do you react to it?
It’s starting to happen a bit more. Not really in Malibu, but I went to an art exhibit the other day, and got recognized like four times. It was crazy. In Mexico, where I’m pretty popular, it also happens a lot. But weirdly, it happens at airports a lot too, and also on the streets sometimes. I’m always pleased to meet fans, but it’s always more special when they genuinely care about music and not when it’s like, ‘I just want my social feed to look better.’
But I genuinely love what I do at the end of the day. I’m here because people love my music. And when I started this, I didn’t even know if one person would like my music. You know, it’s surreal sometimes. I can’t believe it. I really want to just stay true to what I love. The worst thing would be playing music you don’t love.
And music is genuinely my main passion. I started playing trumpet when I was like seven, so I’ve always been drawn to it. So I think I’ll be making music my whole life. I love it. Whether it gets bigger or smaller, I want to keep doing it.
- Wrapping things up, it is UCLA Radio, and one of the things all our DJ’s who have a radio show first do is pick their DJ name – aside from your established moniker Disco Lines, I just wanna know what would your DJ name be?
Well, I have a solo project called Jeffrey Paradise. I DJ under that name. But I’ll tell you a secret I don’t tell a lot of people… my very first DJ name when I was in the dorms was “Jeffrodesiac.”
Sorta embarrassing, but it honestly stuck for a long time. I thought it was just going to be one gig and it was just a funny name. But it stuck for several years. Then I switched to Jeffrey Paradise and then Poolside after that and then the rest was history.
