“This feels like new ground. The production doesn’t reveal itself on the first listen – that was very intentional. I see this album as simply a collection of songs I’ve written at one point in time; I’m not going for some big ‘reinvention’. It’s more a reset.”
Recorded in Oct/Nov 2012 at Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound (the birthplace of legendary hits from Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Tom Waits, Neil Young and more), Fanning was joined by producer Joe Chiccarelli (The Raconteurs, Augie March, My Morning Jacket) and some of LA’s top session musicians. That includes drummer Matt Chamberlain (Regina Spektor, Kanye West), bassist Sean Hurley (John Mayer), guitarist Lyle Workman (Sting, Beck), and keyboard whiz Zac Rae (Fiona Apple, Lana Del Ray).
The music came first, but lyrical themes are here: death, the future, home. Losing his father, having a second child, the end of the ‘Finger, being away from Brisbane… Departures is a release. Learning a new language also helped. “When you’re unable to communicate it teaches you to observe. You realise how much can be communicated without knowing the exact significance of words. And so I concentrated on moods, textures. My demos were actually much smaller, and I’d grown quite attached to them, but I love how muscular this record ended up. It’s a really big sound.”
Departures best moments deliver intimacy, energy and soul. Widescreen in scope and closely felt, this is an album worth waiting for.