Surfing Stingrays

Surfing Stingrays are an Amsterdam-based psych-rock band known for their immersive blend of feel-good riffs, blissful harmonies, and odd-time grooves. United by a love for weed and psychedelic rock, four high-school buddies — Iwan Haensel, Arthur Ermakov, Nemo Breukhoven, and Petya Bouianov — started jamming in early 2015 under the name Black Mamba. This was mostly an electronic, sample-based project to fool around and explore different sounds. As soon as they graduated high school in 2016, they started a real band: Surfing Stingrays (after rejecting the already-taken name Stevie & The Stingrays, which five other bands were using). Through jamming they developed their sound — a blend of pointy garage rock, indie, and ’60s psych-rock fuzz. The band made their debut with The Surfing Stingrays EP (February 2018), a raw introduction to their swirling garage-psych style. It was recorded at Mad Murphy’s studio in Zwanenburg, a decked-out garage stocked with vintage gear. The EP was well received, and many gigs around Amsterdam helped them refine their sound. They followed it up with their first full-length album, Guilty Pleasure Dream Car (March 2019), entirely self-recorded and produced at Helicopter Amsterdam, capturing their DIY spirit and creative independence. During this time they met Spike Barton, then an SAE student interested in recording and producing their music. They hit it off instantly, and for the next few years he served as the band’s main engineer and producer. After a couple of years of experimentation, their sophomore album Red Pill Society (June 2023) delivered a satirical take on contemporary culture, showcasing the band’s evolving sound and playful spirit. Writing began in late 2019, with initial recording that December, but the pandemic forced repeated delays. Recording became fragmented the following year, and mixing stretched on. The album was finally launched with a release party at Cinetol featuring SMÖLLPÆP and DJ Gucci Libre. During the pandemic, and between recording Red Pill Society, the band released several singles to keep their audience entertained and morale high: “So Far Away (Feels Just Like Yesterday)” “Living Without Consequences,” written during the curfew lockdown “Trevor & Michael,” inspired by marathon GTA V sessions “Cold Skin Swimming Pool,” written and recorded during a summer break in Otterlo These tracks were later pooled into the EP Feels Cold Without Trevor. In 2021 the band retreated to a 700-year-old mansion-turned-studio in Verdon, France, to begin writing and recording their third album. Fueled by cheap booze and creative freedom, they rediscovered their smooth, funky indie roots. The result, There’s Always Something in This Town (due January 2025), is brimming with golden nuggets that capture those laid-back, hazy days. Sadly, in 2022, Nemo left the band for personal reasons, leaving a noticeable gap. Fortunately, Petya’s younger brother David Glotzbach stepped in, adding the needed “sauce” with his unique and creative piano parts. While exploring this new synth-based groove, they felt another record waiting to be uncovered. In late 2022 the band began writing Sonoma Castle, their most ambitious project to date. Right before the release of Red Pill Society they wrote 35 demos, of which 15 were chosen. They set up a recording bunker in Bad Berleburg, a quaint German town with beautiful yet dark scenery—an ideal backdrop for this horror-themed album (still unreleased). Recording lasted 12 days. During his exchange in China, David shot a brilliant music video. Unfortunately, in 2023, beloved bassist Iwan left to pursue academic goals, leaving Petya, Arthur, and David to proceed with a long-gestating side project. Over the winter of ’23-’24, Arthur, David, and Petya recorded this project, called Snooze Button. The concept: capture the essence of work in a cold, post-modern corporate world. Basic tracks were laid down over New Years, and mixing was finished in April 2024. The resulting album, Business Casual, is set for release on 25 July 2025.