VALLEY CROSSING: Singer returns to Freestone for first album
REFLECTIONS on regional Queensland have inspired Warwick-born songwriter Rohin Power to record his first album on the remote Freestone property where he grew up.
Mr Power's four-piece band Sunny Flynn Hugo is about to release its self-titled debut album, a project now two years in the making.
He said the Freestone Valley was a fitting place to record the album, which features themes of regional Queensland and a gentle disdain for "the big city”.
"The places (the album) was recorded in are also the places a lot of the song writing it centred around,” Mr Power said.
Full of scenic descriptions of regional landscapes, the album grapples with tensions between rural and city life.
Retreating to a rural property gave the musicians the chance to switch off from the technology and external stimulus.
"Quietness is really important in recording,” Mr Power said.
But that didn't stop the birds and cicadas of Freestone from lending their melodies to the songs.
Mr Power said natural sounds from around the bush featured on the album, adding to its ambience.
Living on a rural property strongly influenced Mr Power's musical career while he was growing up.
Narrowly escaping the social media generation, the 28-year-old songwriter spent his childhood with a guitar in his hands.
"If you are a kid growing up on a farm you end up having a lot of time to yourself... I spent a lot of time playing music.”
Performing at the Warwick Hotel, the RSL and local festivals, Mr Power got his first taste of the spotlight in Warwick.
Now, he is set to release his first album, which was written collaboratively with other members of the band.
Sunny Flynn Hugo will be launching its album at The Junk Bar in Ashgrove on June 10.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.