Darren Hayes Depot

UK based Australian singer songwriter Darren Hayes is set to release his fourth solo studio album with a new label, Mercury Records Australia / Universal Music Australia later this year.

With over 25 million albums sold worldwide, as one half of Savage Garden and from his solo works, Hayes’ new offering has the industry abuzz. Already touted as a return to form album, it enlists an alluring array of contributors.

Hayes has co-written the album with writers and producers including Steve Robson (Taylor Swift/Leona Lewis), Swedish producer Carl Falk (Nicole Scherzinger ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’), Walter Afanasieff (Darren Hayes/Mariah Carey), Brian West (Nelly Furtado) and Phil Thornally (Pixie Lott).

The album was mixed by Robert Orton (Lady Ga Ga) and mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig. Alongside a modern pop production the album also features live orchestras recorded in Sydney and Stockholm by celebrated arranger Larry Muhoberac (Elvis, Streisand) and Swedish arranger Mattias Bylund – of the family famous for putting strings on all the classic Abba albums.

“I feel incredibly excited to be launching a new era of my career with the biggest record company in the world. In the past having my own independent label was a personal milestone. The decision to join forces with Universal today has allowed me to maintain all of the creative freedom I have enjoyed but now with the support and enthusiasm of a major label who want my new album to reach the widest possible audience. As an artist, this is a dream scenario. Universal respect my past but believe strongly in my future. Their enthusiasm for my vision coupled with their reputation as market leaders makes me proud to call Universal my new home.” says Hayes.

George Ash, Universal Music – President, Australasia adds, “It is an honour for us to be able to work with Darren Hayes. There are few artists that have had the creative and commercial success that Darren has enjoyed throughout his career; his partnership with Mercury Records will bring a new chapter to his music. Darren is one of the world’s greatest songwriters, whose beautiful voice has touched us all, we couldn’t be more excited to bring Darren’s new music to the world.”

Stay tuned for further single, album and tour announcements.

Darren Hayes Records his own unique version of a Tim Finn classic for Finn Brothers Tribute album He Will Have His Way

Darren Hayes has recorded his own unique interpretation of Tim Finn’s extraordinary song “Not Even Close” for a tribute album of artists covering the songs of Neil and Tim Finn titled He Will Have His Way to be released in Australia on November 12.

He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn brings together a diverse collective of talent from Australia and the Finn brothers’ homeland of New Zealand to honour and celebrate these songwriting greats. Musical legends such as Paul Kelly, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Dempsey, Darren Hayes, Chris Cheney, former members of Midnight Oil [in their new band The Break] and Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele [here fronting his original outfit, The Sleepy Jackson] share the stage with popular contemporaries and newcomers such as Sydney acts Boy & Bear, Art Vs Science, Philadelphia Grand Jury and Angus Stone [of Angus & Julia Stone]; Melbourne artists Dan Sultan and Oh Mercy; Queenslanders Busby Marou; and New Zealand’s Artisan Guns and Kody Nielson.

Each artist brings their unique musical perspective to reinterpreting a Finn classic, along with the odd hidden gem from the brothers’ extraordinary catalogue. Darren said, “”Like most Australians my age I’ve grown up with the music of the Finn brothers being the soundtrack to my life whether I was aware of it or not. From Split Enz to Crowded House and then Neil and Tim’s solo projects the music was and remains a constant in Australian life. So much so that my mind associates the music as being uniquely Australian though actually from New Zealand. Claiming the music as my own has often led to fierce debates with Kiwis but one fact remains–t is music that reminds me of home. When I was asked to record Tim’s incredible song “Not Even Close” I was of course daunted. How do you face off against your peer and do it justice? The truth is I didn’t have to. The song wrapped itself around me in my tiny London recording studio and I found myself singing the words as though I’d written them myself. The instant I lay down the harmonies I felt as though I were a Finn brother. There is something in the DNA of the songwriting–perhaps the intervals between the notes that is instantly recognisably ‘Finn.’ And I was instantly homesick. It’s a tremendous, layered and heavy monster of a song and I’m honoured to have been given the rare treat of recording my own tribute.”

From the cerebral to the surreal, the delicate to the chaotic, the jovial to the soulfully tortured, the artistry of the Finn brothers’ work shines through in each of these 16 re-imagined versions of classic cuts from their incomparable song catalogue, all recorded exclusively for inclusion on He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim & Neil Finn.

He Will Have His Way: The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn, for release on November 12, 2010:

1. “I Feel Possessed” – Oh Mercy
2. “Distant Sun” – Chris Cheney
3. “Fall At Your Feet” – Boy & Bear
4. “Four Seasons in One Day” – Paul Kelly & Angus Stone
5. “She Got Body, She Got Soul” – Glenn Richards
6. “Addicted” – Paul Dempsey
7. “Message To My Girl” – Jimmy Barnes
8. “I See Red” – Art Vs Science
9. “I Got You” – Philadelphia Grand Jury
10. “Better Be Home Soon” – The Sleepy Jackson
11. “Private Universe” – Artisan Guns
12. “Not Even Close” – Darren Hayes
13. “Shark Attack” – The Break with Dan Sultan
14. “Poor Boy” – Perry Keyes
15. “Better Be Home Soon” – Busby Marou
16. “Kiss The Road To Rarotonga” – Kody Nielson
17. “Angels Heap” – Perry Keyes [Bonus Track for iTunes]