Wes Coast music quiver. Photo: Nicole Cartolano / @wildflyme_
From Dick Dale to The Growlers, surfing and the music surrounding its culture have always shared a timeless, inextricable relationship. And as with most symbiotic relationships, surfing and music have undeniably facilitated one another’s growth.
We are currently witnessing the demise of hard copy surf magazines. Instead of sprinting out to the mailbox to grab the latest copy of Transworld Surf, frothing groms are whipping open their Macbooks to see the latest John John edit. But what exactly has this revolution done to surfing’s music culture? It depends on who you ask, really. Viral surf edits are flooding in from every corner of the world—without a doubt the progression of high-performance surfing is a huge contributor to the success of these videos—but people often fail to recognize the other vital component of these videos: the music.
Film beautifully unites music and surfing. When the right song is paired with the proper surfer, it produces a harmony that may as well have been contrived by the cosmos. Yet the reverse principle can also produce a disastrous result. Imagine Ozzie Wright surfing to Taylor Swift’s latest hit. You would either assume they hired a Kardashian to do their edits or think it was some kind of sick joke.
Since my musical talent equates to that of a goat wailing in the shower, I’d like introduce a fellow surfer and adept ukulele player who can attest to this phenomenon: Wes Coast. He just dropped one hell of an album (see video below) for you to jam to on your way to surf. I caught up with Wes to get to know a little more about the creative noggin behind the tunes.
Wes Coast Music. Photo: Nicole Cartolano / @wildflyme_
Growing up in the highly surf-oriented community of San Clemente, California, what is your take on the evolution of surfing and music as an art form? Specifically, how has it changed in film?
Surfing and music go hand-in-hand. I’m always playing or writing in between sessions. When I was a kid, I played jazz tunes with some old-timers down at San Onofre while waiting for the right tide. The two have just been a natural fit in my life. These art forms are growing as we see insane amounts of progression and tasteful revival. Classic surfing styles and music genres are floating back to the surface. In aerial surfing, we have also witnessed the emergence of EDM and its vast spiderweb of forms. Its dynamic nature accentuates the unbelievable maneuvers these guys are pulling off.
In surf film, we see a wide variety of musical and visual pairings. It’s difficult to generalize this broad of a topic, but different styles of surfing flow better with certain genres of music. For example, it seems that cutting-edge surfing from guys like JOB and Koa Smith pair very well with more progressive genres. Whereas more classic styles of longboarding from the likes of Tyler Warren and the entire Canvas team pair well with instrumental music, including The Allah-las and The Growlers.
Photo: DJ Gallegos / @djgallegos
Then you have the guys like Dane Reynolds whose playlists directly affect the way they would surf that day. Ranging from smooth flowing lines to inverted airs, Dane’s style undoubtedly correlates with his choice of pump-up music each session. Ozzy Wright really does it for me because he combines his surf style with the Goons of Doom and his visual art. Everything seemed to operate under one hood for him and I love that shit. I figured I could work a different approach to that. Hats off to all the surfers, musicians, and editors bringing this all together.
Produced: @mico_sauve
How has the development of surfing manifested effects on musicians like yourself?
As with many others, surfing gives me a chance to disconnect and put things into perspective. It usually cures my writer’s block. The presentness of being on the water does wild things to my creativity. A melody will come out of nowhere, or I’ll realize I’ve been singing a certain verse real stupid.
I like to compare my board quiver to my instrument collection. Depending on the conditions, you ride a certain board. The same goes for producing a song. Certain songs call for specific sounds and tones, which means I have to have an arsenal of instruments at my disposal to meet those needs. Fuck, I even have a ukulele made out of broken skate decks and a chili can.
Photo: Nicole Cartolano / @wildflyme_
I’ve noticed that a lot of your recent music, including your newest release Sunset Sessions, specifically Sirens, features some ocean-oriented inspiration and traditional Hawaiian instruments like the Ukulele. Can you run me through this?
My family raised me in a household full of Hawaiiana collectibles and ukuleles so naturally I took a liking to the little thing. Sunset Sessions is an attempt to fit my style of ukulele into a grungy format. Call it what you want; it’s music for the salty. I came up with the chord progression for Sirens after a marathon session at Churches. We all know that feeling when you’ve been out on the water for too long and your eyes start playing tricks on you. I ran with that idea and linked it up with those killer mermaids from stories. They sang a song so sweet that a man had no choice but to follow it. Even if it killed him. Plus, you’d be lying if you said mermaids weren’t hot. It depends on who you talk to, but Hawaii is accepted as the birthplace of ukulele and surfing. Thus, I believe this is an appropriate angle to work. That’s why I keep going forward with the ukulele. It’s different, portable, and it stokes me out.
Check out Sunset Sessions and the rest of Wes Coast music here!
