Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson is working with Lana Del Rey and Zooey Deschanel on new songs.

The legendary Beach Boys singer and composer had started writing material to record with the group before he and fellow founding member Al Jardine were ousted in 2012 by Mike Love, so he has turned to other vocalists to help him complete the songs.

He told Rolling Stone magazine: "It was a shock. I was so proud of how the Boys were singing. Then it just ended. I was writing for the Boys, so I thought, 'What am I gonna do without them?' "

Singers recruited by Brian also include Kacey Musgraves, Frank Ocean and Fun's Nate Ruess, whom he says "sounds a little like my brother Carl."

The centrepiece of the album is set to be the track featuring Lana, which is about the way The Beach Boys broke up.

Co-producer of the album, Joe Thomas said: "It started out being about lost love. But after the tour fell apart it became more about a missed opportunity for Brian and the guys to ride into the sunset together."

There are currently two versions of the song recorded, one with Lana on lead vocals and another with Brian singing the main vocal line.