"It's about just breaking down barriers."

For Cherie Federico, it's the art of the matter that counts.

She's the editor of literary magazine Aesthetica - but it's music she's championing right now, as the magazine prepares to launch its first CD, re:creation, a collection of work by bands from around the area.

Partnering a literary mag with modern rock and pop might seem a little odd but, as Cherie makes clear, that's just another of those barriers to knock down.

You need to step back two years in time to the birth of Aesthetica.

New Yorker Cherie had arrived in old York ready and eager to plunge into the literary scene.

She said: "I volunteered for about 15 hours a week for a literary and arts magazine in New York.

"When I came to York, I looked to do the same, but there wasn't anything like that here."

The solution came in a blizzard of activity from Cherie and, with the help of co-founder Dale Donley ("without Dale, it wouldn't be where it is today"), Aesthetica was born. Dale continues to help with promoting the magazine and with its cover design and website.

Aesthetica magazine has been going since 2002, although the first issue didn't come out until March 2003.

Cherie said: "The basis of the magazine is bringing new writers and artists together in one volume five times a year.

"It's about breaking down the stigma that arts may have. It's about inclusion, which is why we host events which feature poets and musicians.

"Unfortunately, some people cringe when they hear the word poetry - this is what I've come across - people say that wouldn't be for me, but you don't have to have a PHD from Cambridge to enjoy poetry. It's about just breaking down these barriers which exist within the art world."

The magazine has a circulation of around 1,750 a year - but is available in ten cities across the UK from Brighton to Glasgow.

Contributions to the magazine come from even farther afield - with

submissions coming from New Zealand, Canada, Australia, India, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, America and Europe, as well as from York and all over the UK.

The idea for a CD emerged from the events hosted by the magazine at the Golden Lion in York to coincide with the launch of the latest issue.

The nights feature poets and musicians side-by-side, offering a rare platform to poets.

Cherie said: "We have done seven events and from that I've thought 'Hold on a minute, we've got this magazine which is a focal point for the arts, so why not have something for the musicians as well?'."

The CD features musicians exclusively, however. As Cherie says: "You can mess up the natural rhythm of things. If you are going to do something with poetry and music, it's got to be precise. It's got to be spot on."

Bands featured include AKP, Trickledown, Dust Bowl Central, Chu Ma Shu, Syncrownized, Just Jon, Rob Hughes with Stone Groove, customer 1000, Ant David, Simon & Ben, red:shift, Mike Newsham, Hayley Hutchinson, Joseph Alan, Numbfoot, Simon Snaize and She's Not Dead. Tracks by the artists were re-mastered at Cube Media in York.

Cherie said; "When I told people about the CD, they were delighted. My ambitions for the CD are, if possible, to get them distributed in the ten cities which the magazine goes to.

"Hopefully, if they have got the magazine, they become interested in the CD.

"Considering it is not released yet, there's been an awful lot of

interest."

The CD, re:creation, is released on July 18, priced under £9 a copy and available from the Aesthetica website. A launch gig to promote the artists on the CD will be held on July 18 at Fibbers in York. Tickets for the launch gig are £4 in advance or £5 on the door.

On July 12, BBC Radio North Yorkshire is going to feature an interview with Cherie, followed by a live performance by some of the musicians on the CD.

Cherie has one eye on the future, though. She says: "We'd like to do one CD a year. We have had some interest from Leeds bands as well."

The queue starts at www.aestheticamagazine.com.

Updated: 12:28 Wednesday, June 09, 2004