The four piece make shimmering soundtracks inspired by the beach and laid-back coastal culture: the name Zephyr Bones derives from the Zephyr surfboard shop in Santa Monica and the Z-Boys skate crew that emerged from it, in the 1970s.

Formed in 2015, The Zephyr Bones release their debut full-length album Secret Place, this Friday, November 10 via La Castanya, and it’s one secret you’ll want to share with everyone.

On Secret Place, the band invites listeners to explore their musical landscape and allow the notes to take them away to a place of their own. A place of solitude, joy, love, or adventure.

“It’s not the place itself that is important but that it should be kept personal – it should be your own secret place, which can be anywhere, physical or non-physical – a place or a feeling that is kept close to heart,” says the band. “It could be special memories of love – with partners or friends, separated by bed sheets, miles or light years.”

Tracks like “Juglar Child on the Carousel” and “The Arrow of Our Youth” summon feelings of nostalgia and the blissful care-free days of adolescence, while tracks like “I’ve Lost My Dinosaur” and “Las Olas” feel like a fantastical daydream that invite the listener to stay a while and soak in every layer.

No doubt you’ll want to do just that.

Listen to the premiere of The Zephyr Bones full-length debut album Secret Place now, before the ‘secret’s out’ this Friday, November 10.  And read on to learn more about the making of Secret Place from songwriter/guitarist Jossip Tkalcic below. The band will celebrate the release of Secret Place with multiple UK dates, including an in-store at Rough Trade East, followed by dates in Madrid & Barcelona before making their North American debut at SXSW in March 2018.

---

Culture Collide: Easiest song to arrange on the album in terms of writing lyrics, coming up with melodies and all that good stuff, the track you were like, BOOM this is flowing.

Jossip Tkalcic: I remember when we were working in the track “Juglar Child on the Carousel” the guitar licks and all that good stuff came by surprise, the song existed for years but the bending guitars and the punchy bass gave the track a different twist.

Most used guitar on Secret Place:
JT: All the guitars on the album were recorded with a Japanese Fender Jazzmaster.

Do you listen to music while you’re creating music:
JT: It depends. Sometimes when I’m listening to music and the song is insanely good, I feel the irrational need to figure out the chords and in some cases something new comes from it. But in general, when I’m creating my own music, I try to stay focused and away from other music.

Is there an album you’re playing on the way home from the studio to wind down:
JT: No, because I’ve got no music on my mobile. I usually listen to music at home when I’m doing stuff and I always try to make new discoveries. Currently I’m listening to Shlomo “Asleep on the 22”. If I would listen to music on my way back home from studio though, it would probably be some jazz.

Longest day/night spent recording Secret Place:
JT: There was a whole week where we came home from the studio around 5-6am. Brian (Silva) has the record though of being at the studio for 24 hours recording.

Top food delivery order when in the studio:
JT: We don’t order delivery food while we are in the studio. There is a gas station that’s nearby, next to a McDonalds. At McDonalds we just order take away coffee and at the gas station we get the good stuff… chorizo sandwiches, hot pizza, cold beers and sangria.

What did you drink the most in the studio:
JT: Tap water, Colacao (chocolate milkshake), cheap beer and sometimes, sangria.

Top 5 must haves in the studio while recording Secret Place:
JT: The swallows that live at the studio rooftop, the microphone that Santi Garcia from No More Lies and Ultramarinos Costa Brava Studio lend us for the recording, a burger shaped grinder, a picture of our first gig and Marc, our drummer.

What city inspires you musically:
JT: Any city by the sea, because I grew up in a coastal city. It’s really inspiring to take a walk by the seaside in winter when the waves break on the rocks and you can hear the distant sirens of ships coming into the port.

Weirdest place you’ve ever written a song:
JT: There is a really small place that’s between the mechanical stairway at Sants train station in Barcelona. We used to play on the trains to earn some money busking and inspiration would come to us once in a while while waiting for the next train. Songs like “Back Lips” and “Jugar Child on the Carousel” were born in that odd place.

City you are looking forward to seeing on tour:
JT: Valparaiso in Chile because Brian and I come from there. It would be great to come back home touring South America and play the city where the band somehow started.

City you are most looking forward to eat in on tour:
JT: Probably Budapest because a friend told me that in Budapest they make soup in a bread and that sounds like heaven to me.

Venue you are most looking forward to playing:
JT: It would be a challenge to play in a Japanese temple right next to Fuji mountain.

What’s in your rider:
JT: M&Ms, lots of beer, a ventilator, lipstick, glitter, a cigarette before starting the show, friends, and the desire to make people dance.

Songs you will for sure play in the van:
JT: We listen to lots of different things in the van: classics from the seventies, punk, slow pop, friends’ bands, comedy and openings from anime series. It’s like a musical Russian roulette.