Damien Rice, Kurt Vile and Dermot Kennedy also appear on the brushfire relief compilation.
The National have contributed a cover of INXS' "Never Tear Us Apart" to an upcoming all-star benefit album for Australian brushfire relief entitled Songs for Songs for Australia. The compilation, organized by Australian singer/songwriter Julia Stone — of duo Angus & Julia Stone — is due out digitally on March 5 and on CD/vinyl in June.
Also appearing on the album in which artists cover well-known Australian tunes are Kurt Vile (covering Nick Cave's "Stranger Than Kindness"), Stone (Midnight Oil's "Beds are Burning"), Damien Rice (Sia's "Chandelier"), Martha Wainwright (Cave's "Ship Song"), Dope Lemon (the Go-Betweens' "Streets of Your Town") and Dermot Kennedy (Matt Corby's "Resolution").
"I’m so so happy to announce a project i’ve been working on over the last few weeks," wrote Stone on Instagram. "The video/song I posted earlier of ‘Beds Are Burning’ got me started… inspired I reached out to artists I had a connection with. I thought we could do more, with more of us. I asked if they would cover an Australian song for an album that would raise money for the bushfire crisis. The response was immediate and immense."
The collection also includes tracks from Joan as Police Woman (Gotye's "Hearts a Mess"), Paul Kelly (Archie Roach's "Native Born"), Sam Amidon (Gang of Youths' "Let Me Down Easy"), Dan Sultan (Cave's "Into My Arms"), Pomme and Petit Biscuit. "All money from this record will go to organisations that are doing amazing things to build a better future for Australia and also to respond to the needs during and following this period of bushfires," added Stone. You can pre-order the CD/vinyl here.
The album will benefit a variety of charities, including The Firesticks Alliance Indigenous Corporation, Landcare Australia, SEED: First indigenous Youth Climate network, Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, and WildArk. “I received the most heart-warming replies from the biggest, busiest artists in the world,” Stone said in a statement. “Most of these artists have toured here, have family here, friends here, have lived here or spent time here. Everyone has such great memories of this country and to see it in flames was breaking everyone’s hearts.”
The album is the latest effort to help then nation recover from a devastating brushfire season that has taken at least 33 lives and killed more than a billion animals. A Fire Fight Australia concert on Sunday (Feb. 16) raised more than $6 million thanks to sets from 23 acts, including local lads 5 Seconds of Summer, as well as Queen, Alice Cooper and K.D. Lang, veteran singers Olivia Newton-John and John Farnham, local hip-hop stars Hilltop Hoods, and a guest appearance from Oscar-winner and sometime rocker Russell Crowe.
Watch Stone's cover of "Beds are Burning" below.
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