Something For Kate frontman Paul Dempsey is busy ensconced with snakes, birds and horn players on coastal NSW recording his "debut" solo album.

When we saw Dempsey play solo at Splendour in the Grass last August, it was apparent he wasn't intent on becoming Something For Kate: Unplugged.

"On the cusp of releasing his first solo record it’s curious to hear the difference between the SFK catalogue and those slated for his new project. And they are different. With over half the set consisting of new “solo” songs, it appears Dempsey is stripping back some of the complexities of SFK to reveal a more organic folk-pop base; not to mention a change in vocals, regularly breaking into a full falsetto. Which serves his sweeter, more direct wordplay well."

The multi-instrumentalist is currently laying down such tracks with producer Wayne Connolly in a house on the New South Wales coast. And to make things a little interesting, he's started a blog about it, featuring videos, pics and the odd horn/wildlife update:







It won't be his first solo album as such. In 1998 Dempsey released an album under the name Scared of Horses. On that album he played and recorded every instrument himself, before recruiting a collection of singers from likeminded bands of the era to perform vocal duties. As any rabid SFK fanboy worth his salt will tell you, before linking back to this very article to prove it.

The album will be coming out via EMI, whom recently signed Dempsey as a solo artist. Those hankering after a new Something For Kate album shouldn't despair; the band have also signed on with the label.