Today, London-based folk/Americana singer-songwriter Merrick Winter announces his evocative sophomore EP, The California Zephyr due out May 9 via Tone Tree Music and available for pre-save now. Alongside the announcement, Winter shares the gripping orchestral version of “TheCalifornia Zephyr” with Lockeland Strings(Live At British Grove Studios) out nowwith a matching live video.
On The California Zephyr, Winter paints sonic portraits of love, loss and the human condition through masterful instrumentation and stirring lyricism. Winter shares, “‘The California Zephyr’ is really a travelogue of longing. It’s the feeling that most often yields a song for me. A chronology of bygone eras; a homesickness morphed into fantasy. I find comfort in making that feeling permanent through songs.”Influenced by Randy Newman, Jackson Browne and Tom Waits, the project captures extraordinary accounts of ordinary lives with vignettes of American life, mixed with the memories of the artist’s childhood, leaving for the UK at age 12.
The EP, produced by Matt Zara (Teddy Swims, Lola Young, Niall Horan), Patrick James Fiztroy and Adam Lee, takes its name from the cross-country Amtrak train Winter boarded while writing it, pulling inspiration from conversations with strangers across the U.S.–everyone from an Amish family from Illinois, an ex-Hippie from Berkeley, to a mother and daughter from Tennessee. Throughout the body of work, Winter keenly examines a wide range of topics and emotions while weaving varied sounds together–from grief, to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, to the millennial and Gen Z approach to spiritual connection with meditation apps. Plus, pulling from Buena Vista Social Club and the storytelling of Paul Simon and Ernest Hemingway, Winter taps into the rich culture and Latin music of Cuba in his Flamenco guitar-driven track with Spanish multi-instrumentalist LauNoah.
The latest addition to the collection is the title track featuring Nashville’s orchestra collective, Lockeland Strings, recorded at London’s British Grove Studios. Owned by Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), the studio is packed with music history including Beatles-era EMI consoles, one used on Paul McCartney’s Wings records. UK artists Birdyand Katie Gregson-MacLeod also recorded tracks in the studio that day, and a week after recording, Winter performed with them and Union Chapel London. On the unforgettable recording experience, Winter says, “We tracked everything live in about an hour. I played my Gibson ES-340, which I’d just bought in New York, and used a Benson Vinny Reverb in an iso booth. Playing with the orchestra felt like flying—my songs had never sounded so alive.”
Watch “The California Zephyr” (Live At British Grove Studios) With Lockeland Strings
Merrick Winter was raised in a small Midwestern college town in Iowa–home to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Transcendental Meditation University–to an Anglo-American family within an alternative spiritual community. While earning a degree in English Literature from King’s College London, Winter began writing and producing, working with artists like half·alive and Ivor Novello Rising Star winner Victoria Canal and grabbing the attention of leading tastemakers like NOTION, The Line of Best Fit and EARMILK. Winter’s unmatched intimate live shows have earned him a following across the U.S. and UK, sellingout London’s iconic St. Pancras Old Church in November 2024, and recently toured globally supporting Bastille. Now, Winter aims to expand his sonic universe with a captivating, cinematic body of work that proudly puts his singular artistry and narrative-driven resonant storytelling on display like never before.
The California Zephyr, Merrick Winter’s absorbing sophomore EP officially arrives on May 9 via Tone Tree Music and is available to pre-save here. The enchanting live orchestral version of “The California Zephyr” featuring Lockeland Strings is out now and can be watched here. Connect with Merrick Winter via Facebook and Instagram, andstay tuned for more from the poignant singer-songwriter. |
