The Music That Inspires Us: 6 Coastline Films Playlists

We keep six playlists going. A couple are tight, forty-odd songs we'd defend to anyone. The others have been growing for years and are closing in on a thousand tracks, mostly because nobody wants to be the one who deletes anything.

They're what we put on for long drives, slow mornings and late nights in the edit. All six are public. Here's what's on each one, and when we reach for it.

Tap a cover to jump to a playlist, or hit play and read along.

Temple Hunting Tunes

94 tracks | "get rad."

The name started literally: old temples at the end of jungle roads, the kind you only find by taking the wrong turn on purpose. It stuck because temple hunting ended up describing most of what we do on our days off. Your temple might be a reef break with nobody on it, a lake at the end of a logging road, or a diner that's been open since 1962. It's whatever place is worth the drive, and the drive is half the point.

The music comes from the same kind of searching. Desert blues out of the Sahara from Tinariwen and Bombino. Zamrock from 1970s Zambia. Ethio-jazz, Nigerian funk, Thai luk thung and Vietnamese sixties pop, with some Peruvian chicha and surf rock mixed in. Most of it was recorded a long way from here, and it sounds like heat, dust and roads that don't show up on the map.

• Play it when: you're driving toward a pin on the map with no cell service and no real plan.
• Sounds like: hypnotic guitars, warm horns and a groove that doesn't let up.
• Liner note: start with "Tamalla" by Vieux Farka Touré and Khruangbin, then let it run.

Listen to Temple Hunting Tunes on Spotify

Tofino Dawg Days

976 tracks | "Louder!"

Named for those long west coast summer stretches: surf in the morning, nowhere to be in the afternoon, and a sunset that refuses to quit. The description says it all. If it's worth playing, it's worth playing loud.

That goes for most things. Half-hearted is boring. Commit to the idea, turn it up and see what happens.

• Play it when: windows down, wetsuit drying on the dash, nowhere to be until the tide turns.
• Sounds like: long summer days that never end on time.
• Liner note: 976 tracks. This isn't a playlist, it's a whole season. Hit shuffle and commit.

Listen to Tofino Dawg Days on Spotify

Mint

987 tracks | "It's pretty mint."

"Mint" is our highest compliment. A clean wave, a perfect cup of coffee, a frame that lands exactly right. Not flashy, not overdone. Just right.

This is the everyday list, the one that's always on in the background. It's the biggest of the six because it's the one we never stop adding to.

• Play it when: you need to lock in for hours and not think about what's playing.
• Sounds like: smooth, steady and easy on the ears.
• Liner note: 987 tracks and counting.

Listen to Mint on Spotify

Groovin

230 tracks

Some days just flow. Everyone is moving together, nothing needs explaining, and the whole thing feels easy. That's the groove, and it's hard to fake.

Groovin is the list that gets you there. Head-nod tempo, the kind of beat that makes loading the truck or cleaning the kitchen feel like part of the fun.

• Play it when: loading gear, cooking dinner, Sunday cleanup.
• Sounds like: head-nod tempo from start to finish.
• Liner note: 230 tracks and no description, because it doesn't need one.

Listen to Groovin on Spotify

Vintage Moto

65 tracks | "Cheeeyaaaaa"

Say it out loud. Cheeeyaaaaa is pure stoke: the noise you make when the old bike finally fires up, the swell shows up on time, or the plan actually works.

Vintage Moto is old-school, gritty and short on purpose. It sounds like a carburetor that needs tuning and a road that doesn't need a destination.

• Play it when: open road, old bike, no plan past lunch.
• Sounds like: warm, gritty and a little sun-faded.
• Liner note: 65 tracks. No filler, and no excuse to skip.

Listen to Vintage Moto on Spotify

The Soundtrack

42 tracks | "This is the soundtrack"

The description isn't lazy, it's literal. These are the songs that make a regular drive feel like the opening scene of a movie. The ones you end up remembering a whole trip by, years later.

It's also the most cinematic list we have, and more than a few of our edits started right here: hear a song, picture the shot.

• Play it when: you're dreaming something up, or it's late and you want to feel something.
• Sounds like: slow-building and cinematic.
• Liner note: our tightest list at 42 tracks. Every one has earned its spot.

Listen to The Soundtrack on Spotify

Can you use these songs in your own videos?

Short answer: not for a business. Most of these tracks are commercially licensed, so dropping one into an ad or a company post usually gets it muted or taken down. When we make something for a client, the music is licensed properly. If you love a vibe from one of these lists, tell us and we'll find something that hits the same way.

Follow along

All six playlists are public, and we add to them constantly. Follow Coastline Films on Spotify to catch the updates. Got a track that belongs on one of these lists? Send it to us on Instagram. The best ones make the cut.

And if your brand runs on the same energy, let's make something together.