I’d love to know how you first found your love for music? What was the first song that caught your ear?
What was the first song that caught my ear? I haven’t got a clue. But I do remember the bands I was first obsessive over and bought everything and knew everything. It probably started with NOFX. Moving on into bands like Tool and discovering off that bands like Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd before getting into the cure – this was all still in High School years. I remember my dad heard I was listening to The Cure – and I’d been into Bowie and Elvis Costello and stuff – and he said if I liked that I should listen to The Smiths. He gave me a cassette of The Smiths first album, which had The Smiths on one side and Cab Calloway‘s Hi De Ho Man on the other side (laughs).

A friend of mine had this old Volvo, and as a punishment for him losing his license his dad gave me the car. So we put this cassette in there and it never came out – it got jammed in there. So for a while all we listened to was The Smiths’ first album and Cab Calloway. The two would just repeat and that really spoke to me – that’s how I developed my insatiable love for Cab Calloway.

When you started playing music of your own were there any musicians that had an ethos and attitude to performing that resonated with you?
I don’t know – I expanded out and just starting grabbing on to anything. It’s hard for me to pinpoint anyone in particular. I was really into The Damned and Captain Sensible. There was something about the theatre and the absurdity. It was so tough and raw and honest but completely theatrical and unique as well. I think that The Damned – I haven’t really thought about this to be honest – were a big thing. I have always approached music from a very emotional and quite sincere place, I think. If not, it’s earnest. Echo and the Bunnymen were big, Pavement as well. I was into indie guitar music, basically. That being said I really got into Swedish House Mafia and David Guetta too (laughs). I can’t say that there has been one pivotal moment and I think that kind of shows in my output, there isn’t really much of an aesthetic consistency. I feel like I relate a lot with millennial or nineties generation where you take from everything and pick and choose. You don’t align yourself with any style or sound. It’s all at our fingertips.

I saw you play in Brisbane not too long ago and you’d just debuted a new track and you played another new one in the set. What are you working on at the moment? Are these new songs leading up to your new album?
Yeah, after this interview I’ll be heading back into the studio. I’m currently wrapping up a bunch of songs. For the most part these songs I’ve been sitting with for a couple of years, kind of off the back of Embracism coming out. I got the opportunity to get back in the studio and work on songs only for them to get to a certain stage and before other things came up. We made and released the Jack Ladder album and I’ve been doing a few other things here and there – the Mark Ronson stuff and a lot of other things. It’s kind of dragged on and I lost a bit of momentum. Also, in a way everyone works at their own pace. It has taken this time for the album that I am going to release to come into focus. There are a lot of these raw songs but it’s starting to make sense to me now. So there will be a record coming out eventually.

What is the key difference between what you are making now and what you put out on Embracism?
There are plenty of differences, which is exciting for me. At the same time, in a way I feel like I am making exactly the same album. But the main difference is that I was genuinely lost, Embracism was funny to me and I think it was funny to other people. Some of the lyrics were hysterical and the delivery – the hyper-masculine delivery – was funny to me. At the same time, there was at its core an angry or hurt place or feeling. I can’t say I have that now – not like I did. The past few years have been incredibly fun and silly for me and absurd. I’ve been doing funny things and meeting amazing people and having a good time, generally speaking. That’s what I have drawn from – I think that this record is a bit more fun. Only because anything that wasn’t ringing true I don’t have the heart to see through. There are a few collaborators on the record – ‘The Teacher‘ already came out and that’s got Connan Mockasin singing, not to mention the other people involved in that like Aaron Couples the producer or John Kirby on the piano. It’s been a good time.

You mentioned that you connected with the theatrical aspects of the bands that you grew up with. You’ve got an interesting dichotomy with your music and how you present yourself in your online and stage presence. What are your thoughts on putting yourself out there in such a way and reconciling that with the music that you create?
I think ‘presenting’ is the key word. In an everyday scenario you just are – being yourself and not putting any thought into it – and then all of a sudden someone points a camera at you and now you are presenting. It changes a little bit – I think I do that inherently when I go on stage or when I post something on the Internet or on a recording, for that matter. There is this character there that on one hand is a character but the other hand is giving more as well and is more revealing and vulnerable. Presenting is the word. I think the idea of the honest artist is a really boring one. I don’t want to know what you had for breakfast or whatever else. I’m putting on a show.

Is being able to do that – that presenting aspect – something that makes the experience of being an artist exciting for you?
Maybe. I was thinking about that before, about how a bunch of artists – including people I know – don’t do interviews or don’t like to do them. It’s a bit of a chore but I love it. I’m having a great time right now – where else do I get to talk so much about what I’m doing and myself. I put a lot of heart and effort into what I do and to have someone ask questions about it – printing it or recording it or whatever – that’s very flattering. I love all the extra curricular presenting I am doing – it does make it worthwhile, I guess.

You’re coming to Brisbane soon for The Blurst of Times Festival soon, is there anything in your show now that would be a bit different from when you played here last? Are there any new songs in the set list?
I think so, I’m going to try. I’m not sure what sort of set time I have at this stage but I’ll get to the bottom of that. I’d like to be doing more songs from the new record. They kind of come into focus live – what they are, what their strengths are. So it’s good to be playing them live while in the process of making the album. The songs of Embracism I didn’t do that in the process really. I think any band would reiterate this – the songs get better as you tour them. In an ideal world you’d write these songs and tour them and then record them but less and less that’s how it works I think. People work the songs out in the studio first and then they release them before letting them come into their own on the road. I want to try a few more ideas live. Who knows, maybe there will be a little bit extra.

Kirin J Callinan will be performing at The Blurst of Times Festival – taking place at The Brightside, The Foundry and The Zoo – on Saturday April 16. Other bands performing include Dune Rats, Bad//Dreems, WAAX, Methyl Ethel and Polish Club. Click here to buy tickets.