We wish it was possible to package up whatever it is about California that’s been steady bringing out some of our favourite American music as of late. If any San Franciscans or Los Angeles natives want to let us in on what makes certain West Coast members of the Friends of Friends or WeDidIt crews tick, let us know, because trying to stay fresh 2 death with sea salt body scrubs isn’t cutting it on this end. Trite platitudes aside, we wonder if the returning evocations of summertime and better days along with the use of achingly simple sounds might be a conscious or not rebuff of the otherwise incredibly fast-paced, artificial and high-maintenance world these producers exist in on the day-to-day – or maybe they’re just as chill and genuine as their releases suggest. Whatever it is, we’ve started relying on their music to take us somewhere where we can’t go ourselves.

The latest breath of fresh air straight from Venice, CA comes our way via Jasper Patterson, the man who may be better known as Groundislava. We already had our preconceptions about the young producer from seeing his name here and there, but we definitely didn’t put two-and-two together when we first heard the single “TV Dream feat. Clive Tanaka.” The second track on his EP of the same name, it also serves as a preview for Groundislava’s forthcoming full-length entitled “Feel Me” due out this August. It’s so charming it’s almost unfair, capturing the same qualities we loved about Tomas Barfod’s “Broken Glass” which also came out via Friends of Friends in May.

Stream: Groundislava – TV Dream feat. Clive Tanaka (Friends of Friends)

After getting hooked on the single we had to listen to the whole EP of course, which just happened to end up our soundtrack to a recent heatwave. We wouldn’t have had it any other way. There’s probably nothing else that could’ve made our time eating popsicles more enjoyable than dreaming away to the sounds which were, at a time of sweat-induced pessimism, seriously invigorating. The EP’s opener “Weekend in the Tropics” takes you somewhere way nicer than where ever you are, without the risk of sunstroke but just as wavy. The next four tracks of pure class continue on in this fashion: the “TV Dream” EP excels in creating lush dreams out of an accessible palette, using sounds we all know and love to paint pictures of memories of places we’ve never been. Recommended for poolside, bedside, car ride, coastline, or otherwise – if this is a taste of things to come, we’re very excited for Groundislava’s next release this August.

Download: Groundislava – Weekend in the Tropics (Friends of Friends)

Groundislava’s “TV Dream” EP is out today on Friends of Friends and can be purchased digitally here.