Bree-Arne Manley
Location: Point Lonsdale, VIC
Challenge: Multiple Sclerosis
Website: www.reverbnation.com/breearnechamley
Growing up in the sleepy little town of Clifton Springs, Bree-arne Chamley has been playing and composing her own music for over 10 years. First starting out on the piano when she was just 3, Bree learned to play by copying her mother. Discovering the wondrous variety of patterns and tune variations to make songs, she also found that she could play tunes just by listening to them. Picking up the guitar at 12 opened up a talent for not only composing but writing new poetic lyrics about her life experiences. Blended together with pitch perfect, soulful vocals it forms the unique music she plays today.
Bree's guitar skills are equally as potent as her voice, growing up with influences such as; Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), The Tea Party and a plethora of other artists concluding that Brees ‘eclectic’ taste in music has benefited her playing skills.
Experimenting with different chord structures and alternate tunings are just some of the areas the unique artist uses for her style of acoustic/ folk music. Some of the highly skilled 'greats' that have influenced Brees vocals in her never ending quest to improve are Ella Fitzgerald, Katie Noonan and Sarah Mclachlan to name just a few.
Appearing at many different festivals including Port Fairy, Queenscliff and Apollo Bay. Bree left her permanent job as a storeroom worker to pursue a full- time career in music. Bree had currently recorded 2 EP'S and more recently unleashed her new album 'Release Me’ which was launched with a massive response. Boasting a giant double disc CD with 28 tracks, the album took a long 2 years to be completed.
At 17, Bree was a typical Australian adolescent on the go – swimming, sport, parties. But then something ominous happened. On a school hiking trip to Wilson’s Promontory, this energetic Geelong teenager collapsed on the first hill.
Bree says "The teacher called it dehydration, over-heating, but looking back, that was probably one of the first symptoms." Then came problems with her eyes. She says "It was like a migraine but without the headache, Optic problems – the vision gets blurry with black spots and flashes of light. Usually with a migraine it goes away, but I couldn't see in one eye for two weeks. It disappeared but then I got it in the other eye. That was when they began to suspect multiple sclerosis."
Bree was 19 and a year out of school when the official diagnosis of MS was made. By that stage she was working as a forklift driver at a hardware chain. She adds "I was a very physical person, so when my legs started going on me I was really disappointed." At the age of 23 Bree was barely able to walk. By the time she turned 24 last year, her hands and wrists hurt so much that she burst in to tears one Sunday while playing guitar for her mother Helen at church.
But Bree did not give up...
After joining a government funded small business project Bree began the hard task of earning a living by being a full time busker in Geelong and along the coast, gaining a reputation as far as N.S.W. After barely a year this accomplished songwriter lost the ability to walk, to drive and to carry her equipment due to her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Bree says "My hands and wrists were so bad at one stage I couldn't play without pain". Since then her level of commitment and determination to continue with her music have only been enhanced.
Bree is now constantly contributing her music to a multitude of fundraising projects such as the MS Mega Swim, Relay for life, The NDIS- National Disability Insurance Scheme and Karingal Respite Centre. Bree’s mission is now, not only, to pursue her music but to raise awareness of her condition and encourage others to see the potential in people who suffer from an illness.
Bree adds "I had some very good advice I received from a good friend who was a diabetic about blue-tacking the pick to my finger so I wouldn't lose it (my fingertips were too numb to grip a pick.)"
With the help of a $5000 grant from the MS Society, Bree produced two CDs of her own songs under the title Release Me. Now, on top of her naturopathy course, she is also training to be a singing teacher.
Bree has appeared on a multitude of Television programs and various media releases including Channel 31's No Limits, Royal auto RACV magazine, and sounds like Cafe at the very least.
Bree-arne Manley is said to be "a name synonymous in Australian music" (Melbournes Buzz Magazine).
Bree-Arne Manley - "Miss You"