Cheatahs

Originally conceived as a solo bedroom project in 2009, Cheatahs is the brainchild of Nathan Hewitt (guitar, vocals). Having left his birthplace of Morinville, a small town on the outskirts of Edmonton, Canada, Hewitt ended up in London, where he spent some time as guitarist in Little Death. The lo-fi ethic of Little Death carried over into his solo project, which began with the nostalgic sound of "Warrior," released on 7" by Young and Lost Club, before Hewitt put Cheatahs on hold to concentrate on being the touring guitarist for Male Bonding.

Having apparently named the project due to him "cheating" on his previous band, Hewitt managed to bring others along for the trip. John Arthur Webb (Male Bonding) and Nell Eu (Screaming Tea Party) both "cheated" on their respective bands to bring Cheatahs to the live setting, before James Wignall of Weird Dreams (guitar, vocals), Dean Reid (bass, vocals), and Marc Raue (drums) cemented a four-piece lineup in 2012. The slacker sound of the Coared EP, released in June of the same year on Marshall Teller Records — whom Hewitt had helped by designing their first logo in 2010 — blended the sonics of Dinosaur Jr. with the melancholic nature of Elliott Smith. In 2013, eight years after Cheatahs were formed, they released Extended Plays, a collection of their two prior limited-edition EPs, Coared and Sans. A mere five years later, they completed their first full-length album, a self-titled set engineered by Reid and produced by the group; the set was released by Wichita Records in February 2014. Heading out on a European and U.S. tour in support of their debut, the band wouldn't re-enter the studio until later that year. The result, the EP Sunne, was announced in November, and was released in early 2015.