Album Notes

RE: CHEYNNE MURPHY Searching for the Spaces In-Between
It has been18 months since Cheynne Murphy released his Firesongs EP at the 2009 Bluesfest and he is poised now to launch his debut album entitled Spaces In-between in a suitably spacious beer garden behind Billinudgel Hotel, Sunday December 05, supported by his some of his close musical friends and collaborators, Mark Heazlett and Cass, Inanna’s Wish, Calamity James, Andrews Brothers and other special guests. It promises to be a family friendly afternoon celebrating acoustic, celtic and folk music North of the shire in an outdoor festival setting.

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 a sailor inspired tale Hold onto Me due to Cheynne’s proximity to the ocean and lack of sound proofing. Cheynne says:“There was some discussion of whether to lose these sounds which the average listener may not even hear 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 is launching his debut album at the Billinnudgel Hotel with his friends and will be playing the album in its entirety. The afternoon kicks off at 1pm so come down for a counter lunch and a rich afternoon of home-grown music talent, Sunday December 05, 2010.