Lee Kernaghan and producer Garth Porter unveil ANZAC album project

ABC Music has teamed with country music artist Lee Kernaghan and producer/Sherbet backboneGarth Porter to pay tribute to Australian and New Zealand diggers on the 100th Anniversary of the ANZAC’s landing at Gallipoli.

Spirit of the ANZACs, released next February,was sparked by a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberrawhere letters penned by diggers to their loved ones at home, spanning World War I to the present day, are kept. The LP features 16 tracks, each inspired by one of the letters and sang by Kernaghan and a host of yet-to-be-named Australian artists.

Porter, who produced the record at Rancom Street Studio in Sydney, literally used the phone book to get in touch with the families of those who inspired the record. The album was recorded with the consent of those next of kin.

"In this album [Kernaghan] sets to music some of the most profound and moving stories, first-hand accounts of Australians touched by the horrors and tragedy of war,” said Robert Patterson, ABC Commercial. “Lee Kernaghan is perhaps the only artist who can craft an album that will resonate equally with all Australians, from the cities to the bush, men and women, young and old. These are our stories and they continue to shape who we are.”

“This is some of the most powerful material that I’ve ever had the privilege to record in my career,” said Kernaghan. “The album takes you on a real journey, from the trenches of the Western Front to the bombing of Darwin, Kokoda, Long Tan, and the dust of Uruzgan Province in Afghanistan. It is a project that goes to the heart of who we are as a nation.”

It's believed acharity single will be released on January 23 before the album’s release on February 27. The release will also be available as a deluxe edition featuring copies of some of the letters.

At a listening session held on Monday at Universal Music in Sydney, it was suggested that Kernaghan will also perform at theNationalAnzacDay Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial inCanberra on April 25.

Pre-order the album here.