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It’s possible that Irin J Callinan is cursed. On a January Friday afternoon, the 38-year-old musician and well-known instigator of controversy is relaxing on a rocky area near Bondi beach when a wave unexpectedly rises and rushes towards him at an alarming rate. He braces for the unavoidable collision. And then – thud! We are soaked with saltwater and sand.
“I have a belief,” he admits after a moment. “Whenever I enter the water or come close to it, it appears to swell. It’s as if Poseidon is angry with me, or acknowledging me – or perhaps it’s a sign.”
The sound of the water continues loudly. At times, it provides relief as the temperature rises – we happen to be at the beach on a controversial public holiday, resulting in a chaotic mix of people. Crying infants, tourists and groups of young men off duty all add to the noisy atmosphere. Twice, our discussion is interrupted by a rescue boat saving a struggling swimmer from the harsh ocean.
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It sets the perfect scene for Callinan’s latest album If I Could Sing, marking his return to full-length releases since 2019’s cover album Return to Center and his first album of original songs since 2017’s Bravado.
If You Could Sing is a record of duplexity, bulging with rhapsodic highs that soar towards the firmament, only to be struck down into the pits of despair mere moments later. It buzzes with cosmic glitches and ascends with sudden gusts of strings. It is esoteric, operatic, oracular; figuring into its universe are references to super yachts, vehicular accidents and medieval torture devices. In its superlative melodrama, it is like everything else Callinan has ever released.
However, a sense of exhaustion and disillusionment also permeates the text. The album contains a poignant sorrow, intertwined with the effects of a drug-induced dreamland – a ketamine overdose before a London show in 2018 that Callinan recalls as a never-ending hallucination, complete with an elevator to heaven and “giant turtles … dictating the laws of existence”.
He states, “My world wasn’t completely shaken, but looking back, I realize I have different aspirations in life now.”
Callinan describes the new album as his most authentic, marking a change in direction for an artist known for his wild and eccentric performances that have often disregarded conventional standards of taste. Throughout his 20-year career, he has gained both admiration and notoriety for his outrageous antics, both on and off the stage.
Callinan explains that his earlier music, such as the popular 2017 track Big Enough featuring a memorable appearance by Jimmy Barnes, was driven by a desire for ugliness and unconventional aesthetics. He aimed to be seen as a true outsider artist, drawing inspiration from a wild and unfiltered mindset. However, he found that intentionally trying to achieve this led to overthinking and self-doubt. He is now striving to let go of that analytical and strategic mindset.
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He often mentions his commitment to honesty as his own “personal mission”, which is evident in the album’s emotional songs that are not quite ballads but more like raw outbursts of heartache. In one of the tracks titled “Personal Mission”, he sings breathlessly about the paradoxical feeling of a painful song being somehow satisfying. The title track, which serves as a self-deprecating break-up anthem, features upbeat synths reminiscent of Enya’s style. In an earlier single called “… in Absolutes”, he screams into the emptiness with each word cutting like a knife – “You broke my heart!”
Love – and its entailing violence – wounded Callinan. It forced him inwards to assess the damage. So too did his brush with the courts in 2017, when he lifted his kilt at the Arias red carpets to flash nearby photographers – a spark of his trademark exhibitionism which resulted in a 12-month good behaviour bond and multiple career setbacks which still loom large today.
During that time, he recalls feeling extremely bewildered. He had made a spur-of-the-moment decision that resulted in a few chuckles, but only those who were not present seemed to have a problem with it.
He has not been included in a prominent festival roster in Australia since then; the attention from the media caused him to reconsider his public persona. “I had been irritating people even before the Arias incident. It seemed like that was just the tipping point. My boldness, shameless self-promotion, and outrageous behavior had been causing some people to dislike me…the nudity had become more of a burden for me, and I had lost interest in it.”
He stops briefly. A helicopter is flying above; the ocean beside us remains as mysterious as always. “I am now much more reflective than the unabashed extrovert I used to be. However,” he explains, “this could simply be a result of aging.”
Some inspirational tunes from Kirin J Callinan
Every month, we request our main performer to reveal the songs that have been with them through moments of love, life, desire, and mortality.
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was
I sang the final song during my shower.
I apologize, I spoke those words, as sung by Liza Minnelli.
is
The song I typically choose for karaoke is
Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” or INXS’s “Never Tear Us Apart”. My friend and collaborator, Tex Crick, performed the CatDog theme song at karaoke on one occasion. How I wish I could take credit for that.
The ultimate tune for lovemaking.
Something mediocre, faceless, with just the right amount of atmosphere and sensuality, but too much. Otherwise I’m getting too distracted.
The tune that I use for cleaning the house.
Since I have been residing in hotels lately, I do not have a permanent place to call my own. However, when I finally do find a home, it would embody qualities of drive, momentum, purpose, intense focus, and an unforgiving nature. Perhaps I am considering a residence like Gatekeeper’s Giza or something more elegant and graceful, with fluid movements and dramatic flair, such as Alexander Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor. Alternatively, I may desire to be transported to another realm through a portal. A space that is clear, reflective, and timeless, like Ry Cooder’s instrumental soundtrack for Paris, Texas.
was 2019.
2019 was the greatest year for music.
This is a high-risk situation. The year 1984 is reminiscent. I believe it was The Smiths, Ocean Rain, A Walk Across The Rooftops. However, I am not a fan of these activities. I also tend to search on Google when Mozart’s Requiem in D minor was first released. The future holds something better.
The beginning titles of my biographical film.
Amore Mio Aiutami by Piero Piccioni.
I would like the following song to be played at my funeral.
The Neville Brothers’ “With God on Our Side” is currently playing, and would be a touching choice for a funeral song. However, I want the song to evoke deep emotions and bring people to tears. For me, nothing does that quite like The Magnetic Fields’ “The Book Of Love”. It never fails to move me. In all honesty, I would prefer for the funeral song to be one that I have written myself. I have a song called “People I Love” that has not been released yet, and it may be a strong contender. Time will tell.
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Kirin J Callinan’s album “If I Could Sing” will be released on Friday, February 2nd through Worse Records.
Source: theguardian.com
