Let’s go surfin’ now! Surf music, indie surf’s parent genre, started in sunny southern California in the late 1950s. The genre captures the essence of surf culture, with cheerful, dance-worthy melodies, which are often accompanied by lyrics about having fun under the sun.
But what does surf music sound like? Well, early surf music can be divided into two categories: vocal and instrumental. Instrumental surf music, like The Ventures, was often stylized by its heavy use of reverb and twangy guitar sounds, while vocal surf music, like The Beach Boys, concentrated on creating harmonious, lyrical melodies. Regardless of a song or band’s category, surf music as a whole is characterized by some distinguishing features and sounds. Electric guitars, bass guitars, and drums are found in almost all surf songs; instruments like the saxophone and keyboard are sprinkled throughout the genre. As for the surf’s style and techniques, reverb effects and the “surf beat”drum pattern are both very popular.
In more recent years, the indie surf subgenre has emerged, emulating some of the same elements of old-school surf music. Most new indie surf artists and bands are not in and of themselves surfers, nor are their songs always about surfing and living the surfer lifestyle. Still, indie surf artists utilize key elements of surf music, like reverbing, to recreate the warm, beachy sound of surf music. Bands like Beach Fossils, Summer Salt, Real Estate and Surf Curse carry the torch of surf music in the twenty-first century.
