We spoke to singer-songwriter Dave Curl, who released his new single ‘Riders’ on October 10th via Running Wild Records. The single is a vibrant and impassioned surf-rock ballad which he wrote about his love for surfing and surfer culture. Dave currently boasts over 1.5 million streams on Spotify and has carved a distinct space for himself in the music industry. In the interview, we chat to Dave about his love for surfing, his creative process and what’s next for him.

Stream ‘Riders’ while reading the interview below: 

Congratulations on the release of ‘Riders’, can you tell us about how surfing and the surfer community has impacted your life and artistry?

I have been a “holiday surfer” now for 20 years and the impact on my life and artistry has been profound. Connecting with the sea lets my soul open up and there’s a magic in surfing – after countless hours of frustration and pain – that I haven’t found in other sports so far. I guess it also connects me with my inner child, though I spent a good part of my youth at my grandmother’s place in the south of Portugal playing in the sand and running in and and out the shore break. As an artist, spending time by the sea lets my creativity flow. Many of my songs have been written by the sea or have been revised!

Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?

First comes the inspiration for a song, this can be a melody or even the chorus that I record on my Iphone. Later I will listen to this “song idea” again and check if it moves me or not. If I think it’s worth pursuing, I will write it down and then start the process of finding the chords that fit, brainstorming lyrics, finding the theme of the song, writing and rewriting until I think it fits… classical songwriting I guess 🙂

What are or were some of the challenges for you in producing or performing while keeping true to your vision of your music?

Well there is a big difference between the humble, sensitive world and craft of songwriting for myself in my four walls and the very harsh world of music business that often just follows the money…I often remind myself, that first of all I am creating this music and these songs for myself, it completes me as a human being!

Is there any “non-musical” ingredient that is essential to crafting your sound?

I think there are a lot of “non-musical” ingredients that help create my songs, from different emotions to different places that let me find inspiration.

Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you in the near future?

More songs! I am very happy to tell you that I my release plan is already set for 2025 🙂

Follow Dave Curl:

Website – Facebook – Soundcloud – TikTok – Youtube – Instagram – Spotify