Interview with Singer-Songwriter Kate O'Callaghan

Photography by Jonathan Ryder



          From County Donegal, Ireland, comes the poetic and nuanced sounds of Kate O'Callaghan, crafting highly intelligent, self aware, emotionally evocative tales that explore senses of place and purpose, the profound in the everyday and the every day in the profound. Here are songs that expound on experience, create commonality, telling those big and small stories, simultaneously historical and personal, that are the gift of a music which carries the load of paying attention by sharing the world with us in new and unexpected ways.


AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what sort of life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way?

Kate: My journey in music did not begin until the 4th decade of my life. I'm not really sure why it took so long for me to discover this path but I guess circumstance and timing have a lot to do with it. I met my husband Seamus at university, he was studying music and I was a science student. We fell deeply in love and had two baby boys while I completed my doctorate in Biology. Once I had all my research finished, we made the decision to move to Donegal, where Seamus grew up. We built our home on a rural peninsula in the northwest of Ireland called Inishowen. A wet and wild rugged landscape surrounded by 270 degrees of Atlantic sea. This was a huge life change for me, being born and bred in Dublin City. I don't know if it was the terrifying beauty of the landscape or the geographical isolation and a sense of loneliness so tangible you could almost touch it that inspired me to start writing - but I yearned to explore a more creative path in life. I began to sing, first with a local choir and then with a band, playing covers in bars. However, what I really wanted was to write my own songs and this was the motivation behind learning to play an instrument. In 2009 Seamus bought me my first guitar and this was when I began writing. Performing live has always been my biggest challenge. Dealing with nerves and that familiar imposter syndrome so common among artists and creators. The nerves don't go away but I have learnt, over time, to trust in what I do. I know I'll never be the greatest singer or most technical guitarist in the world but I know that my songs resonate and connect with people and, for me, that gives meaning and purpose to my art.

AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them?

Kate: When I was 10 years old my mother acquired an old piano and I started piano lessons. Unfortunately the piano was accidentally dropped during a house move, and as we couldn't afford to replace it the lessons came to an end within a year. Although I never progressed with learning an instrument again until much later in life I guess it must have laid down a foundation, that harboured within all these years. During that one year of having a piano in the house I remember that I much preferred spending my time just playing freely on it rather than practising the lessons, which I found a bit of a chore. One of the first albums I remember owning was Sinead O'Connor's The Lion and The Cobra - she was most certainly a defining female singer for me. 'Drink before the War' strangely resonated in my 11 year old body. Another huge influence was Kate Bush. The Whole Story on cassette being my prized possession in my mid teens.


AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote? Or that first moment when you picked up a pen and realized that you could create whole worlds just by putting it to paper? 

Kate: 'She Cries' - on my first EP 'To You' - is the first song I wrote.
It's a song about death, attachment and letting go. I don't think I consciously sat down to write on this topic, it just came out. I guess the brain has ways of fragmenting deep-rooted thought and, in a cathartic way, writing helps to delve into that and can clear the subconscious from disruptive memories.

AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers etc?

Kate: I've probably learned most from other people I've worked with directly. Collaborating with other musicians, whether in writing or performance, gives great insight into the variety of ways we can work and be creative. There are no rules and we all have different modes that work for us but it can be easy to get stuck in a rut sometimes and become blinkered about your own approach. 
Writer and actor John Cleese (Monty Python) gives a wonderful talk on creativity and how to cultivate it.... I learnt a lot from that.

AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak?

Kate: That's a hard one to pin point. I suppose that's why we end up with as many not so good songs as good ones. There are no rules but for me it's about the story. If I can find an idea musically - a chord progression and melody that encapsulates the emotion and sentiment of the story then I'm happy. Easier said than done however. Sometimes the emotion of a story is not that obvious. It develops as it's written and what may initially start out as one feeling can turn into something completely different. But this is what I love most about the process - you never know where it will take you. 

AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture, hope lost and regained? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener?

Kate: Yes, absolutely. Music is a symbiotic relationship between the creator and the listener.  It's a form of communication and a vehicle for connection. Through songwriting and singing I have found I can interact with people on an emotional level not often reached otherwise. The music and the stories touch people and strike a chord and it often feels like the listeners reaction completes the song via an unspoken dialogue. The expression of thoughts and feelings through writing and composing ultimately evoke similar emotions in others although the memories attached to such emotions differ from person to person. It's a vehicle through which we can share and experience empathy and acknowledgment of such basic human feelings.

AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road? 

Kate: There are many. I recently toured Germany for the first time with my husband, Seamus. We met lovely people and made some really beautiful friendships - through music and those shared emotions. One particular friend we made along the way organised a little gathering in a tiny art gallery in Bochum on a sunny Sunday morning - there were only 8 people there. We played music, swapped songs, drank coffee and it was magic. With no expectation of what should happen, there was a wonderful relaxed energy. Hearts were open wide, music connected everyone and the love and gratitude in the room was palpable. It was a very special moment.

AHC: When you set out to write an album of songs, how much does 'where the world is' in its current moment, culturally, politically, otherwise, influence the kinds of stories you set out to tell?

Kate: I tend to write extrospectively a lot. It's the observer in me I guess. However, whether I'm writing about the past or the future it's all conceived and interpreted in the current moment so always influenced by the here and now. Culture, politics, environment, economics - shape us all. When I write about the migratory flight path of a butterfly or the bravery of a young woman a hundred years ago or burning stars or unconditional human love - it's always connected to the present and helps as a reminder that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.

AHC: With the traditional ways that we listen to music rapidly changing, does it at all affect how you write and put together an album? Too often people are downloading/streaming and engaging with singular songs rather than albums as on ordered and thematic canvas, do you regret that your work may not be received in the way it was intended or created?

Kate: This is an interesting topic and very relevant to my current album, in particular. It's a concept album so very much a thematic canvas. Not that the songs cannot be listened to and appreciated individually, however, there is a connecting story which runs through each song and this can only be perceived on listening to the album as a whole. In addition, the album is gapless, so the tracks flow seamlessly from one into the other, without pause - an effect definitely lost with digital downloading or streaming of singular songs only. But this shouldn't affect the way we decide to make an album. The affect is proportionate to the amount of value placed on that which is being received - a person can choose to view a painting through a pair of sunglasses if they so wish but that certainly doesn't mean we should cease to paint with whole spectrums of colour. 

AHC: Do you have any words of advice for other musicians and singer-songwriters or anyone who is struggling to create something of value out there, who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process?

Kate: If you struggle to create anything, with passion and love and respect and integrity then you have given it a value. Not everyone will get it or appreciate it but those that do will value it as much as you do and these are your real fans - be that ten or ten thousand. It takes time and effort and a lot of hard work to find those who truly connect with and value your art but if you trust in what you do and work diligently to facilitate that it will come gradually. Doubt is natural, it's not something you overcome so much as you learn to manage. Accept that it will always be there but have faith in what you do and it will become less of a struggle.


AHC: Could you talk some about your latest album, The Girl with The Beret?

Kate: It's a concept album, as I mentioned earlier, comprised of a mixture of songs and spoken word tracks. Inspired by my great-grand aunt who was involved in the 1916 Rising in Ireland. Her name was Katie Byrne, she came from a large family of twelve and grew up on North Richmond Street in the centre of Dublin. I remember hearing stories about the Byrne family growing up - about their involvement in the Rebellion and the years that followed during the War of Independence. Their house was used as a secret HQ for meetings and a hiding place for guns and ammunition smuggled into the country. However, more recently I discovered Katie's Witness Statement, which she wrote herself, years later when applying for her state pension (logged with the Bureau of Military history under her married name, Catherine Rooney). It recounts in detail all of her involvement and is a wonderful source document full of detailed personal experiences and incredible stories. Deeply moved by her bravery and courage - an ordinary young girl caught up in an extraordinary time in history - I wanted to acknowledge and pay tribute to these experiences. The story is very much a personal one and not a political one.
It's a journey .....through family and time and society......that still continues to ripple.



For more visit  www.kateocallaghan.com/

kateocallaghan.bandcamp.com/