He’s been a constant on the Australian music landscape for a decade, but his ability to evolve and re-invent himself has assured an ongoing relevance that eludes most artists. Paul Dempsey is a once in a generation talent; the Something For Kate front man and recently confirmed solo star has made his fair contribution to the Australian soundtrack and he’s done it with quiet humility and a wry smile.

The lanky songsmith’s words can break your heart in a second, but the power of his uplifting melodies will fix you just as quickly. The subjects he trips about are universal but Dempsey is unique in the manner in which he can speak to a listener, almost as if alone in a room with them.

After his highly successful solo debut last year with Everything Is True, Dempsey has been spending time in New York, immersing himself in the city, the people and the cultural goulash. It is a fertile environment that has fed numerous artists and it’s clear to see why Dempsey would be drawn to it’s lights.

Paul Dempsey put the guitar down recently to have a chat to RedHotPie about his current place of residence, his music, and the weight he once carried…

Hi Paul, thanks for chatting with us, now you’ve been spending a lot of time in New York, is it an attempt at cracking the big American market or did you just want a change of scenery?

I harbour no delusions about ‘cracking’ the American music ‘market’. It’s a much more simple ambition. I like to play as often as possible and being in a city and country as populated as this means that I can play in different places as often as I like without it being overkill and potentially I can slowly and steadily build an audience in a much more organic sense.

And of course the change of scenery is nice as well and really good for working on new material, I find that when you’re in fresh and unfamiliar surroundings your antennas always seem to be raised up just a little higher… you’re a little more aware and alert to what’s going on around you and that is generally good for ideas.

And having been a big fish in Australia, what’s it like going back to the smaller venues and crowds overseas?

Fantastic. It’s like playing your first gig all over again. Every time I play I am trying to win over an audience that for the most part don’t know anything about me which is fun and challenging and especially liberating… everything is new again… for the audience and somehow, weirdly, for me as well. I can behave like any sized fish I like.

And what are you seeing the big American fishbowl? What are your impressions of the country and its people?

I think that America is similar to Europe in that you can drive across a (state) border and feel like you are in a completely different country with completely different cultures and attitudes. So I wouldn’t like to generalize by saying Americans are ‘like this’ or ‘like that’ but I will say that there is definitely a reason I chose New York.

This city seems to be more like a city of the world than just an American city. It’s a true melting pot of cultures, languages, ethnicities, arts, cuisines etc etc. It’s a bit like every city on earth rolled into one.

I think of New York as being a fascinating experiment… ten million people on a tiny little island.

And are you drawing musical inspiration from your time there? Are your surroundings finding their way into your new music?

I am writing a lot and I guess I can’t help but be influenced by my surroundings but I’ve always tried to keep things non-specific enough that people can still form their own interpretations and relate the lyrics in some way to their own lives and experiences.

That’s always been more important to me than making blank descriptive statements that can’t evoke anything for a listener who isn’t standing right next to me and seeing what I’m seeing.

Now after the incredible success of the debut album, where is your focus right now? Are you working on more solo stuff or are you writing for Some For Kate again?

I’m working on loosely formed ideas that Steph and Clint and myself will eventually bash into shape as a new Something for Kate record. I’m just trying to gather enough material that I can bring to the group so that we can then take it to it’s full conclusion together as a band.

Is Steph living in New York with you? What’s she up to and what’s Clint doing between SFK records?

Steph is in New York with me. We work on music together sometimes and other times I write lyrics alone and she pursues her photography. She has taken a ridiculous number of photo’s which I’m sure will form the basis of album artwork at some point.

Clint owns a bar in Melbourne which he loves doing and which keeps him pretty busy. He also sits in on drums with some friends now and then and he’s heading over here shortly too to hang out.

You had a really honest piece on Triple J a while ago describing your battles with depression and writers block, you had said you felt like you lost years to it. Do you feel like you’ve conquered it or is it something you’ll always need to keep your eye on?

I have not since experienced anything as prolonged or severe as that particular period. It changed me profoundly. I feel like that’s about all I can say about it without boring you with personal contemplations.

Do you think that weight was a fuel for your writing on some level? If you could somehow remove all traces of your depression now and forever but it meant that you could no longer write great music, would you do it?

I don’t know how much I could say that it fed my music and if it did – was it for the better? I’m as proud of my last record as I’ve ever been of any of my/our musical output and I didn’t have to go through any particular hell to complete it… which was refreshing.

Perhaps my writing post-2006 is informed in some way by becoming uncomfortably close to a certain part of my mental make-up but I will say that I wouldn’t wish the experience on anybody and I wouldn’t suggest that it is worth going through for anything. Let’s not forget that a lot of lives just end because of it.

I don’t think that can or should be romanticized on any level –for art or otherwise.

When you get through an album cycle is there a period where you move away for music or is it a constant for you?

There is a period where I lay off my usual writing regime for a bit, just to sit back and enjoy playing the new music and enjoy being on tour and travelling around and seeing the new songs grow in recognition with the audience. That is probably the most fun part. Which goes back to what I said above – it’s great being here and playing all the songs to people who are hearing them for the first time.

Do you have anything that you would call a hobby outside your music?

I guess it would be reading and trying to learn new things. Having been a musician my whole adult life I have a few misgivings about never having gone on to University.