Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Car Stuck Surfer

Introduction of the project 

Car Stuck Surfer is a project that aims to take music from the early 2000’s and rethink it into a new form. Is a project that blends Pop Punk, Indie Rock, and Surf music to make something that feels like the beach boys with 20k grams of caffeine. 

What is your earliest memory connected to music? 

When I was like 7 or 8 years old I had a friend that was really into music, like a lot, he played the piano really well and we used to pretend that we were Daft Punk and had little shows to our parents. 

One day I went to his house to watch some movies, the first one was Yellow Submarine I think, and I immediately fell in love with the songs in the movie. I remember humming the yellow submarine on and on for the next few days. 

But the real moment that changed everything was when we watched this bootleg recap CD of Dragon Ball GT, and the intro song “Mi Corazón Encantado” came on. That was the first song that actually made me feel something. It’s so emotional and pretty, and hearing it just kinda flipped a switch in me. I think that’s when I truly fell in love with music. 

How did your passion for creating music begin? 

When I was like 14 years old I fell in love, to not say that I got obsessed with indie RPG games, like Undertale or Lisa The Painful. I tried to make my own RPG maker game, and when I had to make the OST, I looked up on google “How to make Pixel music” 

And one of the first results was Anamanaguchi’s track from the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game soundtrack — I think it was “Another Winter.” And hearing that song basically unlocked a whole new universe for me. 

1. I got obsessed with the scott pilgrim movie and its soundtrack. 

2. I got really into chiptune music. 

3. And the fat passed happy sounding feel of the song made me look back to the old blink-182 songs I used to love a few years prior but ditched cuz i thought they were lame. 

At some point of this obsession, I got my first heartbreak and so I decided to learn how to play guitar. And when I first picked it up I knew that I would do anything I could to use this instrument to make my own songs. And that combined with my chiptune phase led me to try to recreate Anamanaguchi songs in GarageBand. And that’s about the time that I fell in love with making music. 

What’s the story behind your current music project?

I used to have another music project called Happy Landfill,which in retrospect is really bad, like white boy rapper beat kinda bad. But one of the last things I published on that project was an indie rock album, and I remember that recording that was some of the most fun I ever had with my guitar. 

So I decided to ditch the whole project, re-think my way of making music, and start something new. At first, Car Stuck Surfer was really inspired by bands like The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys, trying to be one of those band that would of been called as saviors of rock and roll back in the early 2000s 

And at one point along the way I re-discovered Pop Punk , with bands like blink 182,Sum 41, and Wavves, and decided to leave the indie rock phase behind and start making music that would fit into the American-Pie soundtrack. 

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before? 

I would say my music sounds like if The Beach Boys and Blink-182 got into a car crash .It’s beachy, fast, kinda-nostalgic, and caffeinated. 

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? 

I’ve learned that making a “good” song is literally impossible — because every song is someone’s favorite song. So instead of trying to make “good songs” or trying to impress everybody, I just focus on making music I would like to have on my playlist. If I enjoy it, that’s all that really matters, and anyone who connects with it is just a bonus. 

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process? 

To write a song I really just need my Jazzmaster paired with my Zoom pedal to come up with riffs and chord progressions, plus the GarageBand drummer function. When I’m giving a song its final shape, I use my Donner bass to add rhythm to the low end. The synths and other sounds — which I love — usually come in at the very end as extra layers, not during the main writing stage. 

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now? 

I’m obsessed with “Bodies” by Car Seat Headrest. It is such a fun song to listen to with that drum machine intro and acoustic bridge, and the part when he screams “When we danceeeeee” it makes my ears transcend. 

But also is such a beautiful song in its lyrics, I cry every time I hear the part that says “These are the people that I fell in love with”. 

It is truly a great song.

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision? 

My songs are always rooted in things I’ve actually lived — I’ve never written something that didn’t have a real story behind it. I also spent most of my childhood alone, so I guess I grew up with this sense that whatever I create has to come from me, for me, and not for anyone else. I really believe that if there isn’t a piece of your own life or heart in what you make, it ends up feeling kinda dull. 

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work? 

I hope that anyone who listens to my music can feel a little lighter about the problems they’re dealing with.life, as most of my songs are lyrically depressing and instrumentally happy, I want people to be able to feel like their problems can be affronted on a better way than just being depressed. Also I try to make my music as nostalgic as possible so it can also make people think about the better times they have. I hope I’m achieving that — though honestly, I’m still not totally sure if I am. 

What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far? 

That no one should take themselves so seriously. Being yourself in music is way fun then being serious, and at the end of the day, making music should be something fun. 

I’ve always dreamed of playing at the Movistar Arena in Bogotá, my hometown. My first concert ever was there, so getting on that stage myself would feel surreal. It would mean so much to see people from my own city enjoying what I do, especially because growing up I was always called weird for the way I was. 

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? 

Damon Albarn. He is the most talented and creative musician alive and he has always been a great inspiration for me musically and artistically, I aspire to be like him and if I could ever collaborate with him, in any sort of way, it would be a dream come true. 

Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) 

Spotify: 

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6qrN1TNg6MZOwMq2Kf2ftU?si=Hid_ZFxgSDi10Tt_XrwPdg Bandcamp: 

YouTube: 

Instagram: 

Tik Tok:

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey? 

I hope to make more music videos and use my music in other mediums. I have tried to make web comics for my music and music videos like Jack Staubber but due to time limitations is nearly impossible. I hope to use my music in other forms and also explore more sounds to experiment with my Pop Punk sound. 

What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way? 

That I’m a nerd that spends his time at home playing Yu Gi-Oh, that is trying too hard to be cool. 

If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂 

Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmMSchtJtyc