THE ATLANTICS

Australia’s surf music super-group

At the forefront, leading the pack of local and international surf bands, was The Atlantics - four freshfaced teenagers with their smash hit instrumental Bombora. It was the second release for these firstgeneration migrants who had met a few years earlier at Maroubra High.

Written by guitarist Jim Skiathitis and drummer Peter Hood, Bombora surfed its way to number one in Australia and made chart impact around the world. To this day, it sits comfortably in the top ten best-ever surf instrumentals.

Interestingly, Bombora was also the first song written by and recorded by an Australian band that hit number one on the Australian charts.

Believe it or not, sixty years on, The Atlantics have just released their latest album of all newly written songs, appropriately titled “Still Making Waves”.

But back to the beginning.

“It all started with Peter, Bosco, Theo and Eddie forming the early band while still at school. I was a schoolmate and joined a little later after Eddie left the band.”

“It was fun. It was exciting. We had the songs and the sound of the time.”

“We were writing, recording, touring relentlessly. In particular, Peter and I just had this spontaneous way of creating songs together.”

“Naturally we evolved a little over time. Like all bands. And in the late 1990s, we were lucky enough to have Martin Cilia join the band.”

“In some ways, at the time, he was more Atlantics than we were. He brought a new energy and a new era for us.”

From the mid-1990s to 2013, The Atlantics toured Australia with The Beach Boys and Chris Isaack, joined Kylie Minogue and other Australian music icons in the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics, featured in the national tour of “Long Way To The Top”, kicked off the television documentary and CD “Delightful Rain: a celebration of Australian surf music”, showcased their string of hits in the DVD “The Atlantics Live At Freshwater” and toured Italy, Finland and Greece.

They also released a number of new CDs including Flight of the Surf Guitar, Next Generation, Point Zero -The Best Of and Collectibles.

Sadly in 2021, after a long-term debilitating disease, drummer Peter Hood passed away.

“Obviously it was a very sad time for all of us” says Jim. “I was feeling very down about Peter. I also have arthritis in my hands and fingers. But one day I said to myself What are you doing, you bloody idiot?”

“So, I picked myself up and started writing some new songs. I rang Martin who was very keen. He also had a few new songs. Then Bosco re-joined the band and that was three quarters of The Atlantics, so we wrote and produced this album as a sort of tribute to Peter.”

“Still Making Waves” is the end-result. A 16-track album featuring Jim, Martin, Bosco and Mental As Anything drummer Jacob Cook. As the title implies, the band has not moved far from its heartland.

Fittingly, the last track “Stranger on Mykonos” features Peter Hood on drums. It was recorded in 2013 at the very last session he ever recorded with the band.

“Still Making Waves” was released on Australia Day this year. And the reviews here and overseas have given it the big “thumbs up”.

“The unmistakable tones of the Surf Music Maestros.” Glenn A Baker.

“You guys were guitar gods to me. The world’s best Surf Band.” Ross FearAlive 90.5 FM.

“I actually had goosebumps listening to Still Making Waves for the first time…it also contains perhaps 8 songs that I would place among the best Atlantics songs of all-time.” Continental Magazine USA Feb 2023.

Exactly what you would expect from our very own surf-music super group..

“Still Making Waves” is out now –www.theatlantics.com