Premiere: Trippy cinematic surf music reissues from 1960s-70s Australia

In 1971, Australian filmmaker Paul Witzig released his fourth surf movie Sea of Joy, celebrating the rise of the short boards. To score the film, Witzig enlisted Sydney band Tully, best known at the time as the backing band for the Australian production of the psychedelic musical Hair. Now, the good people at Anthology Recordings have reissued Tully’s “Sea of Joy” soundtrack on vinyl. Here’s what they say about the release:

Like many surfers and non-surfers alike, Witzig had been mesmerised by Tully’s concert performances. By the time he finished filming his latest surfing epic, Evolution, the sound of Tully had changed though. Gone was the organ-dominated sound (the group was reputedly the first Australian band to use the Moog synthesiser), replaced by more gentle melodies, many with spiritual significance.

Recorded at EMI’s Sydney studios, Tully’s soundtrack material was subsequently edited for the album release into cohesive musical interludes. As such, they are held together in the album sequence by a magnetic musical flow that starts with “Sea Of Joy (Part 1)” (above) and ends with “Sea Of Joy (Part 2).” Vinyl edition features booklet liner notes by Aussie surf historian Stephen McParland and other-wordly ephemera.

Along with Tully’s “Sea of Joy,” Anthology Recordings have also reissued Tamam Shud’s glorious soundtrack to Witzig’s prior surf film, “Evolution.”

Pitted. So pitted.