There seems to be one in every musical generation of Australian music -a deft player of energy and adaptability able to fill a hole in a range of bands who might have folded otherwise or who need to give themselves a new market presence.

Though sometimes even his skills are not enough to save a classic entity from grinding to a halt. To wit his position in Mental As Anything, replacing Martin Plaza. Once Greedy Smith died it was plain that the Mentals had reached the end of their run.

However, Martin Cilia’s role in The Atlantics allowed that legendary outfit to have a new breath of life. He not only looked just right but he sounded just right. All of a sudden they became a forceful new act, with a string of new albums that he wrote for, produced and shaped.

At age 14, Cilia became a professional musician. He played in various bands in and around Perth before spending a year in London in 1979. In 1982 Cilia joined Invasion Force where he met locals Alf Demasi and Lloyd Allanson. Together they formed the Perth band The Flying Fonzarellis which released several recordings and toured Sydney in 1984. The band released the studio album Having a Party, which peaked at number 58 in Australia in 1984. Singles Honey Bee and Stay peaked inside the Australian top 100 in 1985.

After the Fonzarellis, Martin went on to play with Midget & the Farrellys who were extremely popular in Fremantle throughout the America’s Cup. Already his passion for that stinging surf music guitar sound was obvious. He then went on to tour and record with Dave Warner’s From The Suburbs. Cilia moved to Sydney in 1989. He played & recorded with The Brookes then toured W.A. in 1993 with the Big Land – Big Heart tour. That band contained Dobe Newton of the Bushwackers, Ernie Dingo, Dave Warner, Greg Macainish (Skyhooks), Paul Hitchins (Sports) Dave Clarke and Cilia. They toured Vietnam with a similar concept in January 1994.

Martin is now generally billed as The King of the Surf Guitar. He has been phenomenally prolific with a series albums under his own name, many released on his Surfersaurus label (not unlike Kevin Borich, he has found a way to cut out the middle man and control his own destiny on record).

It all began with Revenge Of The Surf Guitar in 2007 and went on to include:

The Odd One Out (2009)

Surfersaurus (2011)

Going to Kaleponi (2013)

Electric Christmas (2015)

SleepWalk EP (2017)

Espresso Martino (2018)

Shadowman (2019)

another 6 Track EP (2022)

Dawn Of The Surf Guitar (2023)

The last one included a track that featured writing and drums by the late Peter Hood, the Atlantics founder who was such a driving force on Bombora.

He was included on the third volume of Steve Flack’s Guitar Heroes, a sign of his rise into the upper ranks of Australia’s string benders. I introduced him on stage when Steve and a number of ace axemen performed at A Drum Roll For Colin Burgess tribute concert a couple of month’s back.

In 2021 Martin joined The Radiators and continues to tour with them. You can’t keep a good man down …. And believe me Martin Cilia is a helluva good man!

The latest album from Australian guitarist Martin Cilia, best known to us as the lead player with The Atlantics, packs quite a punch. Martin recorded all of the guitar parts himself but was joined by his Mental As Anything bandmate Jacob Cook who drives things magnificently on drums. Don’t be misled by the title as this is not a full-on surf music album because Martin’s aim was to reflect the history of instrumental electric guitar, resonating from the early ’60s surf sound but with a modern twist.

With its fast double-picked lead and tasty twangs, the opener Rising Surf represents the surfiest track while bubbly damped picking behind a James Bond-style melody are a fine combination throughout On the Rocks. There’s an intensity to Riding the Wave as its strident damped phrases repeatedly drill into your head, but the similarly intense Horror on the Beach does provide relief in its bridge. Splash and Run has elements of both The Atlantics and ’80s Shadows about it, while Space Station is a deeply satisfying twanger with a four on the floor beat and Wallabi Point comes across as a ’60s spy theme.

A stinging lead over a driving beat makes Tube Tone an in-your-face one-two while the title track Dawn of the Surf Guitar features a more focussed version of the melody of Wallabi Point over a chunky backing. Things get slow and moody with the rich, pleasding echo guitar on Lowdown Guitar before we hit the outstanding Terminator. This is a collaboration with the late Atlantics drummer Peter Hood who also plys on it and is very much in the style of that band. It’s a fabulous track and one not to eb missed by their fans. The album finishes with its one laidback piece in Gordon’s Bay which has an Hawaiian Islands atmosphere to it. This collection will not disappoint Martin’s many fans.

This 2024 release by Australian guitarist Martin Cilia, despite the title, is really a journey from the beginnings of surf and instrumental rock instrumentals all the way to today’s modern surf sound. As you listen to the album you’ll hear the influence, and occasional melodies, reminiscent of The Chantays, The Shadows, The Ventures, Dick Dale and the compositions of Ennio Morricone. It goes without saying, you’ll also hear a sound reminiscent of the most recent recordings of celebrated Australian band The Atlantics, as Cilia was a member of the band for the last 24 years of their legendary run. If you are even a casual modern day surf instrumental fan I’m sure you have one or more of his albums in your collection at this point – this release contains, without a doubt, some of his best songs ever. It also contains what is likely to be the very last recording featuring the powerful, tribal drumwork of Peter Hood (original drummer of The Atlantics, who sadly passed away in 2021). All of the songs are originals, and all worthy of their addition into your surf instrumental collection!

Tracks: Rising Surf – On The Ricks – Riding The Wave – Horror On The Beach – Splash & Run – Space Station – Wallabi Point – Tube Tone – Dawn Of The Surf Guitar – Lowdown Guitar – Terminator – Gordons Bay

Original: https://www.doublecrownrecords.com/martin-cilia-dawn-of-the-surf-guitar-cd/

Listen here: https://2ser.com/episodes/dirt-music-100pm-2nd-mar-2024/