Surf Mesa

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Territory: North & South America

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Surf Mesa

about the artist

BOILER

Surf Mesa's music has always been healing. From the lo-fi warmth of the DJ and producer's double-Platinum 2019 single "ily (i love you baby)" to his celebrated 2023 dance-pop EP Come True, his take on electronic music has been uplifting and escapist. Now, he's focusing even more clearly on that sound with his new music — making what he calls "aloe vera house," a euphoric yet low-key take on house music that leans heavily on soothing synths, calm melodies, and upbeat drums. Registering a sound that's indelibly his is the 24-year-old's top priority. Surf chooses to ignore the hype…

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BOILER

Surf Mesa's music has always been healing. From the lo-fi warmth of the DJ and producer's double-Platinum 2019 single "ily (i love you baby)" to his celebrated 2023 dance-pop EP Come True, his take on electronic music has been uplifting and escapist. Now, he's focusing even more clearly on that sound with his new music — making what he calls "aloe vera house," a euphoric yet low-key take on house music that leans heavily on soothing synths, calm melodies, and upbeat drums. Registering a sound that's indelibly his is the 24-year-old's top priority. Surf chooses to ignore the hype and trust his process. This approach shone through when he connected with then-unknown Selah Sol for the 2023 single, "City of Love." The piano-driven anthem bursting with kinetic energy and glistening California vibes has earned 7+ million Spotify streams to date. His instincts have also helped create stunning collaborations with pop-R&B singer-songwriter Madison Beer ("Carried Away (Love to Love)") and international hitmaker Gus Dapperton ("Somewhere").More recently, Surf has spent a good deal of time performing nationwide as a DJ. He's carefully building his sound while creating eclectic collabs with the likes of SUPER-HI, Whethan, and WILHELM ("Fighting for You"), Griff Clawson (2023's "Run"), and forthcoming singles with collaborators all across the dance space. Surf manages to incorporate his ethos of sunny seaside days and unforgettable nights into every track. There's little doubt it's just a matter of time before everyone's heard of aloe vera house.

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FULL BIO

Surf Mesa's music has always been healing. From the lo-fi warmth of the DJ and producer's double-Platinum 2019 single "ily (i love you baby)" (which has garnered over 1 billion streams) to his celebrated 2023 dance-pop EP Come True, to stunning collaborations with pop-R&B singer-songwriter Madison Beer ("Carried Away (Love to Love)") and international hitmaker Gus Dapperton ("Somewhere"), his take on electronic music has been uplifting and escapist — the sort of music that eases the strain of everyday life. Now, he's focusing even more clearly on that sound with his new music — making what he calls "aloe vera house," a euphoric yet low-key take on house music that leans heavily on soothing synths, calm melodies, and upbeat drums. As the name implies, it's a style that's soothing and rich, a bold new direction for one of electronic music's most dedicated producers.

Registering a sound that's indelibly his is the 24-year-old's top priority. "The goal is so clear now: It's to make music that feels like me," he says. "Going through the industry after a few years, you understand what's working and what's not working." He is determined not to follow trends, but to instead focus on what sets him apart. "Releasing music takes so long," he says. "So if you are hopping on a trend, it's gone by the time you're tweeting and saying, 'Hey, out now.'"

Instead, Surf chooses to ignore the hype and trust his process. A perfect example of his insight is 2023's "City of Love," featuring Selah Sol. Before he created the track, the singer was a completely unknown artist — though he'd already started to hone his staggering talents as a producer and songwriter. The piano-driven anthem bursting with kinetic energy and glistening California vibes has earned 7+ million Spotify streams to date.

When Surf approached his 2021 collaboration with Madison Beer, he chose a guitar lick whose melancholy chord progression made "Carried Away" a moody sensation, amassing more than 60 million streams on Spotify. The six-string departure from Surf's usual piano and synth was an intriguing addition to his repertoire. He used a mysterious synth arrangement to infuse 2020's "Somewhere" featuring Gus Dapperton with a menacing, laissez-faire sensibility. Yet again, Surf keeps his production smooth and effervescent — while adding that sometimes there's trouble in paradise.

More recently, Surf has spent a good deal of time traveling and performing nationwide as a DJ, including numerous festival stops. He's carefully building his sound while creating eclectic collabs with the likes of SUPER-HI, Whethan, and WILHELM ("Fighting for You"), Griff Clawson (2023's "Run"), and and forthcoming singles with collaborators all across the dance space.

"I think the artistry I want to pursue is just a bit more profound," Surf says of his aspirations while considering the current musical climate. "I want to play stuff I'm excited about, stuff I've been working on, and then just develop hard bedrock fans."

Surf is learning from his DJ performances about what connects with audiences, and applying that knowledge to his new music as well as his upcoming sets. "You're like a brain chemist and you're curating the vibe and you're directing so many beating hearts and what to feel," he says, adding, "You're holding the largest amount of gravity in the room so that things orbit around you, because that's how the solar system works. The more mass you hold, the more things orbit around you."

The drive to create something lasting is written in Surf Mesa's creative DNA. Born Powell Aguirre in Seattle, he grew up in a musically inclined household and listened to Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, and deadmau5 in his formative years. His older brother introduced him to music software, upon which he began building his ethereal, cathartic tracks that have garnered the love of millions.

Surf's dad is also a musician. "He plays the saxophone, and he's been in a jazz orchestra all his life," he says. "He's always had this record player in the living room, and just crates of jazz records. There's always one playing before eating dinner." The dynamic, unbridled essence of jazz finds its way into Surf Mesa's music — an ebullient sense of the unexpected.

Despite the occasional minor chord, Surf manages to incorporate his ethos of sunny seaside days and unforgettable nights into every track. "Just trust your gut and just have fun doing it," he says, when asked about advice he'd offer his younger self. "If you want to tell yourself, 'I'm going to have fun once I've made it,' that's chasing a green light." There's little doubt it's just a matter of time before everyone's heard of aloe vera house.

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