The band named Windsurf

Windsurfing
Windsurf: they might not actually windsurf

Bands often have curious and extravagant names. But these electronic music artists were quite explicit.

Meet Windsurf, a San Francisco-based duo comprised of Daniel Saxon Judd and Samuel Milton Grawe.

Judd is a multi-instrumentalist that started making music and releasing songs as Sorcerer. He is a fan of warm atmospheres, and maybe the name Windsurf comes from those inspirations.

Grawe served as the Editor-in-Chief of Dwell, a modern furniture and design magazine, and was the sole composer of Hatchback.

Both musicians joined efforts in Windsurf, a laid-back, California-influenced, slow-disco groove band with electronic music as their main driving force.

Windsurf released one album - "Coastlines" (2008, Internasjonal) - and two EPs - "Windsurf EP" (2008) and "Weird Energy" (2012).

Coastlines: the album by Windsurf released in 2008)

Beachy Pop Sound

Interestingly, one of them - "Windsurf Ep" - featured not a windsurfing kit but a hang glider on the album cover. Was it purposeful? Or did they mistakenly swap both wind sports?

Their most important release - "Coastlines" - received above-average reviews, and they all underline the fact that it is a record for the summer days.

"A product of California, but of its beach culture more than its surf society," the Resident Advisor wrote.

Pitchfork alerted listeners to "just try to keep it off of the turntable when the sky goes gray," and Pop Matters underlined that "Windsurf's beachy pop sounds were born on California shores."

We don't know whether Windsurf actually windsurfed or windsurf. But they sure picked a rather peculiar and attractive band name.

This is was not the first time sailboarding got mixed inside the musicians' creative lab. In the late 1970s, a Dutch band called The Surfers released a hit song appropriately entitled... "Windsurfin'."

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