The rising Texas pop duo’s throwback mix includes tracks by Commodores, Tame Impala, Mac Demarco & others.
Welcome to #TBT Mixtape, Billboard’s series that showcases artists’ very own throwback-themed playlists exclusive to Billboard’s Spotify account. The curated set features the artists’ favorite tracks from their youth and childhood.
This week’s edition comes from Surfaces. The rising Texas indie pop duo — comprised of Colin Padalecki and Forrest Frank — released their new album Horizons in February, their third full-length record following self-produced albums Surf and Where the Light Is, and released Elliot Grainge’s 10K Projects label.
After netting more than 2 million streams in a day, per the band, their breakout single “Sunday Best” earned a highly lucrative co-sign from the NFL synch deals across Sunday and Monday Night Football and managed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 in the week ending March 14, hitting No. 98, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
To help celebrate their pop breakthrough, Surfaces put together this week’s #TBT Mixtape to highlight some of their shared sonic influences, including tracks by Commodores, Tame Impala, Mac Demarco and others.
Give the playlist a spin and check out some throwback photos of the group, as well as their personal reflection about the set, below.
“We both grew up with listening to older music that was always playing around us from a young age (Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Elton John, Earth Wind and Fire) and it molded our perceptions of what music should do for the world. Music back in those decades was so effortlessly wholesome and fulfilling, which is something we’ve always strived for as creators. Inspired by this older generation of artists, we wanted to make music that encouraged people to feel good about themselves in a world that isn’t really headed in that direction today.
We’re both usually outside a lot catching sun or swimming, so beach-y music (Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, Sugar Ray) rubbed off on us a lot when it came to creating our own palette. We’ve always tried to create our own little worlds with each song so people could really experience the feelings we’re putting into them, capturing memories and nostalgia like some of the songwriters we admire (John Mayer, Frank Ocean, Tame Impala). When it comes to nighttime, we usually jam to more downtempo, vibey artists (Mac Demarco, Galamatias, Tom Misch).
When we talk about music, sometimes we compare songs to types of food eaten at certain times of the day, so for this playlist, we wanted to curate a “meal plan” from sun up to sun down. In the morning, some light acoustic songs, followed by some oldies to get your day started. Some beach rock and more oldies kick off lunch, followed by some funk and soul to carry on the energy. The evening gets a little more vibier and scenic, with an assortment of more downtempo and nostalgic listens.”
