Heat Check 006 - Poolside Disco
A playlist series exploring music that's grounded in place, memory, or whatever's moving me right now.
90 minutes of poolside California from across my seven years there (2015-2022). Tropical house into nu-disco. Drink optional (but highly recommended).
I’d like to take you on a journey, more than to a specific time or place, but a state of mind: poolside summers in California.
Lynea and I moved to Walnut Creek in the summer of 2015. It was our first real experience of California, and we were delighted that the focal point of our new apartment complex was a pool, with loungers, propane grills, and a hot tub just steps away. We could get used to this.
It was a simpler time, when the only thing on the agenda for a whole Saturday was filling up a cooler with beer, firing up the grill, and straight lounging. Sometimes, we’d invite Lynea’s grad school friends down from Davis and make it a day party. The pool had serious gravity, and we were more than happy to orbit.
Being the twenty-teens, of course the soundtrack to these sun- and beer-soaked afternoons was tropical house. Marimbas and saxophones. Sunny hooks and soft drops. Every track expertly crafted to keep the vibes laid back and the mood elevated. Kygo at the height of his powers.
Looking back, I’m not going to pretend a lot of these records have aged into timelessness. But that was never the point. These songs were the perfect backdrop for real summers, real cookouts, and real memories. Pulling together this playlist, my mind was transported to a specific window in time and a rose-tinted slice of life. Time-machine music, warm and nostalgic.
Two years later, we moved out of Walnut Creek — partly to be closer to the UC Davis campus and partly to experience “grown-up” life in the urban crown jewel of California: Sacramento. Walnut Creek had been a nice primer. Pleasant, leafy, and suburban. But we wanted a city, with streets we could walk and a wider array of bars and restaurants to discover.
Even though Sacramento had so much more to offer, we often found it hard to leave our apartment complex. There was a brunch spot in our building, the name of which escapes me, where we ended up most weekends. Chicken and waffles for me, western scramble for Lynea. Bottomless mimosas all around. Sometimes we brought Chauncey, our pug, who tolerated outings and the attention (provided there weren’t other dogs posting up). And the best part: it was right next to our apartment pool.
As the pool stretch continued in Sacramento, the poolside music started to shift. Tropical house gave way to something weirder (and more funky). Disco bones. Deeper grooves. Vocals with a bit more soul.
It’s only in retrospect that I can see what was actually happening. The early California years were wide-eyed. I was new to the place, just rounding into the back half of my twenties, and I reached for music to match the mood: bright, immediate, designed to land on the first listen. Uncomplicated music for an uncomplicated lifestyle. By Sacramento, I’d stopped trying to figure out what California was and started paying attention to what I actually liked. The brunch spots we picked, the streets we walked, the records that stayed in rotation — an evolution in taste, subtle but real.
So that’s the story behind the music. If you came of age to these same summer tunes, I hope the sounds transport you right back to those lazy poolside afternoons. And if you didn’t, don’t think too hard about it. Just bask in the good vibes.
In my mind, I’m already back there.
Open in Spotify for the full mix.
Next up: not sure yet. The Heat Check vault is deep, and I trust that the right theme will surface based on what the moment calls for. In the meantime, a new longform essay will be out next week. Enjoy the weekend!
-Will