Outside Lands 2023: Poolside Crafts the Perfect California Sound

California native Jeffrey Paradise who is Poolside crafted his sound to excel in the quiet moments of California life, from backyard barbecues in perfect weather to a day out on one of the state’s many gorgeous beaches.  Poolside took to the main stage of Outside Lands offering an ideal vibe in the midst of a rager of a music festival. 

California.com caught up with Poolside at Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park to talk about the upcoming record “Blame It All On Love,” how the band’s sound evolved, and the songwriting process.

How has your experience at Outside Lands been so far?

It’s one of my favorite festivals in the world. It’s beautiful. It’s not a too crazy influencer vibe like Coachella became. Good food, good location, and places you can kind of dip in and out of. It’s a big festival, but it’s not overwhelmingly big. It’s well organized and in a natural environment. It’s a really good place to experience Poolside, for sure.

Your sound is very “California”. It's the perfect vibe for a beachside party or drive through the state. How did you develop your sound?

I’m from California. I went to college in San Francisco and I moved to L.A. I’ve been to all the major cities. It’s just like laid-back music, which I think is quite Californian. I’m from San Diego. Being at the beach, there’ll be a big lowrider culture. That kind of old soul seemed really cool to me as

When I started dubstep was popping off. I thought it was kind of interesting production-wise, but the vibe was too much for me. We’d be at a backyard party and they’d be bumping some robots-having-a-war vibe. I’m like, yo, we’re barbecuing.

I wanted to make music I’d want to hear at barbecues and pool parties in L.A. backyards. Here we are 10 years later. It’s beautiful talking about it. The sound is daytime disco. It has the elements of disco, but it’s slower, and more chill. It’s perfect for these daytime festivals.

Do you sense any differences in audiences across California?

I don’t really tailor anything to a city, but Southern California is way more laid back. They’ll mess with reggae and stuff way more. That sound is so ubiquitous in places like San Diego, Orange County, and L.A. I think when you’re in the Bay Area, you can do some more stuff in that Grateful Dead vibe, stuff like that. A little more hippie. 

What was the writing process like for your newest single “Float Away” and your upcoming album “Blame It All On Love”?

I wrote a lot of the album in Malibu, like the hills. I just picked up those organic vibes from the area—a little more acoustic guitar. I collaborated with the band Vansire. They picked up that yacht rock vibe. It’s one of the things I really like about that sound, the production is super clean. It’s a little bit different from the normal Poolside sound. It combines that bedroom pop organic sound with that crispy production. It’s unique.

Do you surprise yourself when working on a record and experimenting with sounds?

A lot of times I don’t even know what’s gonna happen. I’m just working on something and thinking, there’s something here I just don’t know what it is. It’s a little bit like mining for gold. I know there’s some good stuff in here, but you have to listen and figure it out. You’re sculpting the song, trying to make something beautiful out of the elements you have.

Check out Poolside and be on the lookout for the new album “Blame It All On Love” releasing on October 20.