BIO

That was then

 Cheynne picked up an old nylon string guitar in his final year of a marketing degree in Sydney much to the dismay of his parents.
Upon discovering three chords (or 4) and the truth through a diet of old delta blues, Bob Marley and old skool Cat Stevens, Cheynne set about writing his own simplistic versions of ‘songs’ and discovered he had a knack for melody and emotional authenticity.
His second gig saw him perform to 1500 people at a College ball on campus. Three years later he had signed a world wide publishing deal with Warner Chappell, had performed on national television and had started getting radio airplay... A meteoric rise into the heady world of the music industry, it was during this time that Cheynne emerged as a front man for seminal indie acts Mama Bird, Spinifex and later, Wingspan.
An album was recorded in 2003, with the band Wingspan. Management, record contracts, and touring commitments unfolded in quick succession due to the commercial strength of this material but ultimately the band imploded like all good rock and roll clichés in a haze of scandalous deals, legal battles, hidden agendas, dodgy managers and a band dynamic akin to the krakatoa. This was an ambitious beginning described by reviewers at the time as “ a special orchestral rock record of rare songwriting genius”….Drum Media. See Other Projects for the reformation of Wingspan as Wild Horse.
Upon moving to Byron Bay in 2006 Cheynne recorded his follow up EP- Return to the Source which received national airplay on ABC and great support locally with Bay FM. Supports with Tex Perkins, Pete Murray kept him in good company and set the stage for his latest offering Firesongs For The Soul EP.

A little later
FIRESONGS FOR THE SOUL was Cheynne's first EP release. 2009 marked a successful year for Cheynne with significant radio airplay, performances at multiple festivals including Bluesfest and a local North Coast entertainment industry award for the EP.

The EP was inspired by the idea of sitting around campfires and singing songs with nothing but a few friends, the crackle of a fire, the stars and perhaps a drink or two. Good for the soul for sure but the lyrics of this music explore a deeper, spiritual aspect of our journey as individuals.

“The EP was written and recorded immediately after the separation from a long term relationship. Obviously this was difficult, especially because there were young children involved. This music became a meditation, a therapy. I had incredible support from my local music friends who added harmonies, banjo, mandolin ,trumpet and an erray of interesting sounds to colour the soundscape and bring it to life.”

The artwork for the EP is stunning. A childlike representation of someone playing guitar around a fire. Cheynne explains ‘ a special aspect to the CD artwork was the contribution of my 5 year old Orion who did all the drawings. In fact he did a 40 card set of figures, some of which are over the fire on the cover, during the transition of the separation which are fascinating to look at close up.

The recording process involved a lot of spontaneous unrehearsed performances from guitarists, singers, violinists, flute players and also trumpet helping capture a rich organic tapestry. In fact this is a totally home-grown production right down to the mastering and artwork.
“It makes sense to do things locally. Byron Bay is such a magical place and as such the recording process was full of these magic moments. One day the engineer and I were driving in the hills picking up some overdubs mobile style at friend’s houses. We went around to record a trumpet player in Possum Creek, John Hoffman. EJ plays drums and couldn’t believe John was in Buddy Rich’s band for 15 years, and played with Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald amongst others he was blown away… John has this amazing house in Possum Creek and we set him up blowing his horn out to the green hills. We were going for a wild-west sound in one of the songs Wild Lonesome Feeling…Daniel Boone style. He really nailed it.”

The final piece to the puzzle occurred when local engineer and producer Anthony Lycenko (Pete Murray) heard the rough mixes and came on board to help produce the final mixes. His contribution really shines through on the recording and raised the quality to an international level.

This is now

We all need a little space. Space from our partner, space from our children, or simply the wide open spaces of nature. Or as Cheynne discovered through producing this album, space from your own mind and the tendency to over control things. As Cheynne recalls: “When we set up for recording drums at my place in South Golden Beach, there was some discussion between the engineers and drummer about the best acoustic space to record. The drummer chose somewhere quite different to the engineers. He also tuned his drum kit unusually and was playing a small bebop Jazz kit. This was the first important production decision I had to make so I deferred to the musician in this case which set the tone for how I produced the whole record. I simply created an atmosphere in my home for musicians to come in and freely express whatever they had in mind with little direction or limitations. I even cooked roast dinners to make it more homely. Creatively the key to the production was in selecting the best bits from this free expression.”

The album was recorded almost entirely at Cheynne’s A-frame beach shack with a steady procession of musicians coming and going which included Irish pipes and whistle, bansuri flute, harpsichord, mandolin, strings, piano, and guitars embellished with layers of harmonies. You can even hear the sound of waves in the romantic ocean tale ‘Hold onto Me ‘ if you losten closely largely due to Cheynne’s proximity to the ocean and lack of sound proofing. Cheynne says:“There was some discussion when mixing of whether to lose these sounds which the average listener may not even hear such as waves, kids laughing or the odd car but it really adds to the ambience of this kind of home recording situation.”

As locals of Byron shire are well aware there is a reservoir of talented people of all kinds of strange and interesting instruments. Cheynne tapped into this sound and the result has been a very eclectic folk rock record full of ambience and honesty. Cheynne’s love of hooks and melodies also gives it a strong pop sensibility. Lyrically the album focuses on the concept of space in-between. As Cheynne explains: “All the tracks embody the concept in some shape or form. The title track for example looks at the need for healthy space in relationships for individuals to flourish, Hold onto me on the other hand explores the powerful love connection we feel and sometimes we need this expressed and we can’t let go, so its kind of like a romantic yearning to be close. Even when we tuned the Tambora for one track we discussed how the sound, which is similar to a sitar, creates this amazing sound due to some kind of vibrational frequency between the strings. Some say we put love into food. Where? I think it’s the space in-between. Qantum physics is all about this.”

Cheynne will be touring and sharing the album Spaces in Between all over in 2011 and is currently working developing new material for Firesongs III so prepare the bonfire.