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MUSIC INTERVIEW

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Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey

FANNING DEMPSEY NATIONAL PARK

The Deluge by Fanning Dempsey National Park is out August 2 via Universal

It’s the bromance we didn’t see coming. But Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey have delivered one of the albums of the year. Words Jeff Jenkins WAITING FOR THE DELUGE

PD: We gave ourselves lots of reasons and excuses to play with different toys and get out of our wheelhouse. It’s always fun if you can surprise yourself. BF: Instrumentation-wise, it’s pretty different. It’s essentially a rock band, but the synths are pushed to the front and the guitars are pushed to the back. There’s still guitars all over the record, but they’re just not as up front as they would be on a Something for Kate or Powderfinger record. AFTER THE DELUGE PD: We can’t wait to get into the rehearsal room with a band and turn it into a show and go on tour. As long as it’s fun, and we don’t utterly exhaust ourselves, then I’m sure there might be a mood to keep doing more stuff. BF: We wanted to make it a band – it’s Fanning Dempsey National Park, it’s not Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey. We want to be a new band. Of course, we know we’re a new old band, and that’s fine; we’re not trying to live down our respective pasts. But we are excited about the immediate future and then we’ll see what happens.

BEFORE THE DELUGE Paul Dempsey: We first met on a tour in 1999, 25 years ago. Something for Kate went on the road with Powderfinger, who’d just put out Internationalist , and we’d just released Beautiful Sharks . We had played together before, but the first show on that 1999 tour – at Bombay Rock in Darwin – was the first time I can actually recall meeting Bernard.

Bernard Fanning: Because previously I was in my private dressing room – Mr Fanning wasn’t allowing any visitors at the time. THE DELUGE BF: We wanted to push ourselves into different territory. There was no point in doing an album of campfire songs with perfect harmonies; we wanted to go somewhere new. And it was a lot of fun doing that.

HUNTING HIGH AND LOW David Bowie was a touchstone for Fanning Dempsey National Park. So what’s their favourite Bowie album?

BF: It changes all the time. Traditionally, it’s been Hunky Dory , but recently it’s been Low , which had a pretty heavy influence on us. PD: When you’re

talking about Bowie, you’re talking about 15 different artists. Scary Monsters is up there for me. Ashes to Ashes is one of the first songs I can remember hearing

and it certainly grabbed my attention. I thought it was fascinating and strange and it messed with my little head. BF: And that video... for a kid, mind-blowing.

PD: It scared the hell out of me. I was six, and it really got under my skin and creeped me out. But I couldn’t get the music out of my head. Also, I have

to highlight Bowie’s more recent output. I think The Next Day is a phenomenal record. He was making incredible stuff right up until his departure.

12 JULY 2024

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