After Savage Garden's 1997 self titled album sold 10 million copies, Darren Hayes' relationship with fellow Gardener Daniel
Jones became strained.

Jones stayed in Brisbane while Hayes moved to America, writing much of their second album Affirmation via e-mail. The two were in Japan preparing for the album launch in Australia when Jones declared the need to return home to his dogs and girlfriend, unwilling to go through it all again. Through much deliberating, the pair settled on a deal. Hayes became the face of Savage Garden, with Jones taking a
back seat.

The group parted after and emotional filled concert in Cape Town in December 2000.

Now, 14 months on, Hayes has re-entered the music world, launching a solo debut album Spin on Monday. It's a record he began writing in October 2000, with American Producer Walter Afanasieff, who guided Affirmation. He describes the writing as one of the happiest moments in his life.

"I think it just helped me access joy", he says, "I'm turning 30 this year and I think the biggest thing that I've learned is that
happiness is a choice.

Its not luck, it's a conscious decision that you make every day. More than anything, I wanted this to be an up recorded. I wanted it
to be romantic and optimistic and fun. I didn't want to take
myself too seriously."

But Spin is a sexier record, pumped with much, much more testosterone than his Savage Garden albums. Hayes is keen to show a more erotic sound and use more suggestive lyrics, shown on his first single Insatiable – "we move together up and down, we levitate, ourbodies soar…"

"I think it's a sexy record," says Hayes. "A lot of the sex comes from the rhythm sections. I think you an tell that I've been a
huge fan of Prince, and R&B and Marvin Gaye and early Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. Working with different songwriters and producing this record myself, I had the ability to really access that inside of me and have fun with it.

"With Insatiable …… I'm talking about commitment and the sacredness of that and how spiritual it can be making love to someone
opposed to having sex with someone."

Was the Darren Hayes of Savage Garden too nice to produce sexy music? "No, there was sex there if you wanted to find it," he says.

"I think on that first record it was sensual, I've always been comfortable with sensuality."

On thing that has changed since the Savage Garden days is Hayes' image. Doing yoga and cutting out the black dye hair has meant Hayes has discovered a more spiritual existence.

"I fell like I've dropped the artificiality," he says. "I think I used to a have a persona because I thought that's what you had to be." "I think more and more I've allowed myself to be just who I am".

Spin (Sony) is in stores now.