Strollin’ through the Fanning Dempsey National Park

PAUL Dempsey and Bernard Fanning are bringing their lauded collaboration, Fanning Dempsey National Park, to the Beach Hotel on Thursday, April 3.

Showcasing the pair’s debut album, The Deluge, the show includes additions from their collective songbooks and collections.

The lead singer of Something for Kate outlined his unique musical relationship with Byron-based Powderfinger frontman Fanning in a chat with this masthead on the cusp of an East Coast regional tour.

“We’ve been friends for 25 years and have done a lot of touring together, and there’s a long friendship there,” Dempsey said.

“We had a conversation about what we were up to, and we both had the same answer and thought it might be more interesting to do something different.

“We liked the idea of having an excuse to work together, hang out and have fun. We both like touring and travelling and making music, so, in the end, it was a no-brainer.

“The music had to be good, and the process itself had to be fun and enjoyable.

“It clicked pretty easily, and we also challenged ourselves not to sound like anything we had done before,” he said.

Rolling Stone said of the new project that it was ‘the sound of two men defying expectations, venturing into new sonic territory with gleeful abandon’.

Despite their history, creating a fresh new sound and musical soundscape out of two established musical voices wasn’t necessarily easy.

“It was challenging, but the good thing was we trusted each other enough to call each other out,” Dempsey said. “We were honest about what was working and what felt right. We didn’t have to be brutal with each other; we could read each other well enough to know when we were not feeling it.

“I am obsessively detailed, focused and quite technical. Bernard is much more broad strokes. It’s either hitting you in the heart, or it’s not. He’s very instinctive.

“I get right down into the details, whether it’s a musical structure or reading the manual for some obscure synthesizer.

“Whereas Bernard has just got this flow, this really easy instinct for what is a good song or not.

“I reckon he writes three songs before breakfast, and I’ve probably read three manuals before breakfast.”

Two shows into their 20-date tour, Dempsey is poised for a busy few months and the future of the Park remains on the horizon.

“We’re really enjoying playing these songs live. We spent two years working on this record, so it’s nice to be out there,” he said.

“I reckon we’ll probably be doing something again down the track; it feels good.”

For tickets, visit fanningdempseynationalpark.com .