Beats of Summer: Tunes That Bring the Sunshine

Some days have a soundtrack. And some seasons too.

Nothing overly planned. It just happens.

Like the first warm breeze brushing your skin. Or that rogue ice‑cream drip you swear you were watching. Like the way your neighbour hangs around at a BBQ longer than the afternoon light. Leaving a little more tipsy than everyone else.

The Soundtrack of the Season

Today, that soundtrack is 'A Tribute to Summer Madness' by Figub Brazlevic. Smooth. Hypnotic. Low-key addictive. It’s been looping in the background all day and somehow, without fanfare, took me back: bare feet on sun-warmed pavement, ice cubes clinking in tall glasses, the lazy stretch of hours, idle conversations and laughter that only comes when you’re at ease.

It got me thinking... what other tracks carry that ease of summer? The songs that don’t just play but paint entire scenes. The ones you live then re-live.

The Beats of Summer Playlist

1. A Tribute to Summer Madness – Figub Brazlevic

For those golden hours. Jazzy, mellow, effortlessly cool. The exhale you didn’t know you were holding.

Tell me this didn't get you in a groove. Tell me this didn't have you shimmying a shoulder or two around the kitchen?

2. Summertime – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

I mean, this one is on everyone's playlist, yes? Windows down. Volume up. Rhythmic tapping of the fingers on the steering wheel all the way to the family BBQ. That first sip of something cold, the first real laugh after a long week. It’s all right here.

3. Electric Feel – MGMT

A little wild, a little hazy. The kind of track that smells like festivals, night air and the thrills of 'I am ready for where ever this night takes us'.

'Oh girl, Shock me like an electric eel.'

4.Summer on my Mind – Elli Eli

The vocals already sun‑kissed over a beat that is summery magic. This song is summer, nostalgia, vacations all wrapped up, a tune that truly brings the sunshine.

5. Here Comes the Sun – The Beatles

Gentle. But familiar. Like bumping into an old friend at the café and picking up right where you left off.

6. Midnight City – M83

For the nights that you can't quite remember. Those youthful days and carefree energies where all that was required of you was your presence.

7. Walking on a Dream – Empire of the Sun

This one never gets old. Psychedelic with a touch of surreal. Chilled like the glass in your hand. Here's walking on a dream.

8. Les Fleurs – Minnie Riperton

For the moments that call for a little soul. Sunlight dappled walks, the smell of something good cooking on the stove. Yep stove.. You are forgiven if unfamiliar with this one, so here it is.

9. Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap

Isn't this the heartbeat of every road trip montage. It carries motion in its bones. Do you know what else it carries? Nostalgia... whether good or bad.

10. Big Love – Peter Heller

Do you know what this song is? Dopamine as music. This one’s for sunsets that disappear into midnight. Deep, euphoric, it endlessly builds to the end of the track. Then you ask for an encore or you play it again. The kind of track that makes you feel ALIVE.

11. Dreams – Fleetwood Mac

Some songs just live on.

Dreams is one of those. It’s heartache and hope stitched into melody. The slow unfurling of a story. Stevie Nicks’ voice pulling you in with the steady roll of rhythm underneath the weight of words you feel more than hear.

It’s for summer nights with a muggy air but thoughts as clear as the skies above. Thoughts that drift past the horizon. Some songs shape decades. Others, lifetimes.

12. The Future – Motez feat. Anthony & Cleopatra (Purple Disco Machine Remix)

An unexpected gem Spotify handed me back in 2023 and it stuck. Uplifting and hypnotic. I played this on repeat while writing, night after night.

(P.S.—Want to read some of what I wrote?)

And That’s the Thing About Summer…

It sneaks up on you. Slips between the hours in half-heard songs and lazy afternoons.

Sometimes you don’t even realise you’re making a memory until you hear the track played back.

These songs don’t just fill the air, they shape memories and the stories we tell later. Both yours. And mine.

What’s your go-to summer anthem? The one that pulls you straight back there, every single time?