Poolside

Jeffrey Paradise operates under the Poolside moniker to craft an airy, sunlit strain of dance music he labels "daytime disco." Launched initially as a partnership, the act first drew notice via the 2011 release "Do You Believe," which opened doors for the 2012 full-length Pacific Standard Time on the Day & Night imprint. Low Season marked the project's return in 2020, its first collection following the 2018 exit of co-founder Filip Nikolic. Paradise followed that reflective set with the brighter High Season in 2021 before unveiling the richly textured, collaboration-filled Blame It All on Love two years later.

The endeavor originated in Los Angeles during the first months of 2010 as a joint studio effort between local musicians Nikolic and Paradise. The Danish-born Nikolic, previously a producer, DJ, and bassist for Junior Senior, had settled in California, while Paradise arrived from San Francisco, where he had worked as a club DJ and fronted the hardcore outfit the Calculators. The pair refined their shared material inside a pool house they had transformed into a basic recording space, shaping bright, submerged indie-dance pieces. Their initial public appearance came through a YouTube clip for the infectious "Do You Believe?" which quickly attracted regional and wider interest, as underground selectors began featuring the track at parties and online listeners accumulated. Throughout 2011 the duo built momentum around the style they termed "daytime disco," highlighted by a cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon" alongside fresh originals. By the following year they had completed a remix for veteran disco punks the Rapture and issued the single and video "Slow Down" to bridge the gap before their first album. Pacific Standard Time arrived that July via Day & Night.

In the wake of the debut, Poolside stayed active through remixes for Matthew Dear and Fool's Gold, rehearsals and tours with a live ensemble, and DJ performances across multiple continents. As planning for a follow-up began, the pair sensed sufficient fatigue to warrant a pause. After a year-long hiatus they resumed work, expanding beyond the mellow disco template with brisker dance numbers, additional guitar lines, and denser arrangements. Heat emerged without warning in June 2017 on Day & Night. Once the album was out, Nikolic departed, prompting Paradise to assemble a new performing version of Poolside that incorporated former members of the Rapture and U.S. Girls.

The disco-soul track "Can't Stop Your Lovin'," featuring Panama, surfaced in 2019 as the first Poolside recording created solely by Paradise and served as a preview for Low Season, which appeared in February 2020. Alongside the Panama collaboration the set incorporated appearances by Amo Amo and Ben Browning, with various remixes of its songs following soon after. High Season arrived midway through 2021 as a more energetic counterpart to its predecessor's subdued tone. Paradise returned in 2023 with Blame It All on Love, a warm and dynamic collection that emphasized live playing and direct songcraft, enlisting Vansire, Ora the Molecule, and MUNYA among its contributors.