SPLIT ENZ TIM FINN EXPLORES IMAGINARY KINGDOM

Tim Finn who recently toured with his brother Neil in Split Enz, talked about what life is like on the solo side.

Tim Finn, one half of the brother combination that made Split Enz a new wave pop hit in the ’80s, has once again broken out on his own. The band created hits like “I Got You,” “One Step Ahead,” and “Six Months In A Leaky Boat.” Finn has been on and off with his brother in Finn Brothers and Crowded House, and they attain their biggest following in New Zealand and Australia.

Finn has released his new solo effort, Imaginary Kingdom, and he talked about the album.

“Obviously there were no real obstacles or I would have thought of one by now. It actually flowed really easily, really well unlike some other records that I have made. The songwriting was a very organic thing that came out of a lot of touring with my brother Neil. I’d get back off the road and I’d find that new songs were coming without trying to write. I wasn’t trying to force it or really didn’t think I was going to make a record. So when I finished all that touring I just made the demos, and I made all those demos and I managed to get the song ‘Winter Light’ into the Chronicles Of Narnia. Through that I met the producer that I ended up making the album with. So one thing just led to another.”

We also asked him if he gives thought to which of his songs are meant for his solo albums, and which are meant for work with his brother in Finn Brothers or Crowded House.

“I don’t. I mean that doesn’t happen. It’s just whatever I’m doing at that time, I just give my best stuff to it. He’s writing plenty on his own, and when we work together it’s kind of fun to see what we can come up with between us. We usually bring something into the room, like one of us will have an idea for a verse or a chorus or something and join it on to something the other guy’s got. It’s very rare that a song just comes up out of nothing.”

Tim Finn has been a member of Crowded House with his brother Neil before, but this time he’s venturing out on a solo tour in support of Imaginary Kingdom while Crowded House also is in touring mode. The duo recently finished a Split Enz reunion tour, and in a few days we’ll get Tim’s thoughts on the once-in-a-lifetime event.