Kathleen Halloran Reflects On Her Debut Album

Nobody’s Baby marks the arrival of a fully realised artist stepping confidently into her solo era. The album features previous releases Find Me Again, Free With Me and Cost of Living, exploring themes of self-discovery, freedom and the emotional highs and lows of pursuing a creative life.

Kathleen Halloran effortlessly bridges the gap between her long-standing reputation as a sought-after ensemble guitarist and this exciting new chapter as a solo artist. The electrifying performer has established herself as one of Australia’s most compelling rising talents, known for her swaggering fretboard flair and magnetic stage presence.

Her playing is fearless and precise, fluent in both raw power and restraint. A true shredder, but never at the expense of feeling, Halloran channels the firepower of the guitar greats who came before her while remaining unmistakably her own. Presence, confidence and force define every performance. Roscoe James Irwin (The Cat Empire, The Bamboos, Paul Kelly) and engineered/mixed by Ben Edgar (Gotye, Angus and Julia Stone).

To celebrate the release of Nobody’s Baby, Halloran will hit the road this May for a national tour, bringing the new material to stages across the country and giving audiences the chance to experience her powerful guitar work and commanding live show up close. Kathleen talks to Hi Fi Way about the album and tour.

Great to be talking to you. You must be feeling pretty good leading up to the release of your debut album?
I feel great. Like, I’m really excited, obviously, but everything feels like it’s in the right place, and with the team I got around me too, yeah, it’s a really nice feeling.

Is that a tough thing, managing that limbo phase, when the album’s been done for a little while and you’re still waiting for May 8 to roll around?
Yeah, some days it can feel like that, other days it feels like there’s so much to do in the meantime, so much to prepare, obviously being an independent artist. So, yeah, I go in and out of feeling like it’s not coming quick enough to the complete opposite of feeling like there’s so much to do and not enough time.

Now the album is done how do you feel about it now?
Super proud, and I can’t wait. It won’t be long now until I can hold a physical vinyl in my hand and play it, and that night where I’ll have all of my inner creative family in the room with a vinyl playing… I feel like I can imagine how that’s going to feel, and I can’t wait for that moment.

Does that feel like a moment of triumph more than relief?
Yeah, we’ve been working on this album for close to three years, and it’s been such a journey, and so much has changed in that time. Roscoe James Irwin produced it, and he’s been my main partner on this, making it happen. So, yeah, it’s going to be triumph, just so proud of what we’ve been able to do.

Three years is a long time to keep the wheels turning. Did you ever lose belief or think you’d taken on too much?
Probably in the early days I did, because early days I started the process when I didn’t have a full album. I only had three songs when I started recording, and back then I couldn’t see where it was going yet. But as the journey went, it just built and built, and it became more real and more my identity. Early days, yes, but it didn’t take long for this to feel completely natural and realised.

Do you feel like the hard work is starting to pay off now, more people knowing your music, seeing you live, your name getting out there?
I really hope so. I’ve been building the live thing up, it’s been my number one priority over the last three years while this has been cooking. Finding a live audience, relentlessly playing, going back and going back, doing the grind. I still feel like I’m at the beginning of that grind, but I’m definitely starting to see people come back. I’m building relationships with audiences. Adelaide’s like my second home. I’ve been determined to get out of Melbourne, go back to Sydney, go to Brisbane for the first time as a headliner. These are the years of my life where I can afford to do it, and I’ve committed to it. So yes, it’s lovely to see familiar faces returning, and new ones.

With your debut album, do you feel pressure to define who Kathleen Halloran is, musically, stylistically?
I’m not great at putting a label or genre on what I do, because there are so many influences. I’m still working out how to describe my music, I’d better get some good answers for that in the next couple of weeks. But there really is a bit of everything on there. Different parts of me and different people I’ve worked with come out in different ways. I think it’s a rock and roll album, though. I think it’s rock.

Who are some of your musical heroes and inspirations that shaped the album?
From a guitar point of view, I can’t help it, it’s in my DNA, — Ian Moss’ influence. I love Derek Trucks, I love Mark Knopfler. Anyone who’s seen me play solo will know I love Mark Knopfler. Song writing-wise, I love Madison Cunningham. I’ve followed her since her debut album. St. Vincent, I love her. There are elements of her that come out in different parts, not deliberately, but naturally. I love her artistic direction and I’m very much into the Beatles as well. I love the classics.

Are there any particular songs that surprised you compared to what they were in the beginning stages to how they finished up?
Probably the last track on the album, Heal Me, which I wrote with Dusty Lee Stephenson from Adelaide. That one came into the studio on the last day of our last session, and it hadn’t really been worked out yet. It grew in the studio, the rhythm section hadn’t even heard it before the session. Over two or three days, Roscoe created this incredible string arrangement, and it really grew into its identity in the studio. We’d only done a little demo the night we wrote it in Adelaide, and it was very much not fleshed out. That one really grew beyond my imagination. But honestly, with Roscoe’s input, he’s given the record a depth and colour that fully exceeded my expectations for how the songs could develop.

Is it too early to have favourites yet, or are they all like your children?
I’ve been really excited about Wolves, which I just put out. But there’s also a track around the middle of the record, the beginning of side two of the vinyl, called Stolen Night, and I think that’s the one for me.

When you reflect on the journey of your album, is there anything you learned about yourself that you didn’t already know? Any valuable lessons you’ll take into the next one?
It’s more reinforcement of things I’ve always known but never put to the test, trusting your gut, trusting your instinct, and being brave. Making an album requires a lot of courage I hadn’t considered before. You have to make big decisions and trust yourself. I’ve learned that over the course of the record.

Is there also that vulnerability, your personal world coming out in the music and sharing that with everyone?
Absolutely. I’ve been making music for fifteen years, but the first twelve or thirteen years were exclusively as a guitarist, a backing guitarist. You’re putting your heart on the line every night, but it’s not the same vulnerability as literally sharing an open diary through your songs. That’s a huge thing I’ve never had before, that vulnerability and openness. I’m a very private person, and doing this was very unnatural to me in the beginning. It took a lot of stepping over the line to say, “Okay, I’m going to share that.”

You must be excited, tour starts this month? Are you looking to play the album in full?
I cannot wait. I’m counting down the days. Can’t wait to get back to Adelaide. Yes, in full. Live, there’s a particular order that works better, so it won’t necessarily be in album order, but I’m planning on playing the whole record.

Beyond the tour, what’s next? Any overseas interest once the world settles down?
It’s been a bit up in the air with the world, but honestly, the next three months are such a massive thing that I struggle to think beyond them. Another thing I’ve learned is that the universe has a way of presenting the next step. I’m trusting that process. I feel like the next steps will reveal themselves as we go through the album release and tour. No firm overseas plans yet, but it will reveal itself soon.

Interview By Rob Lyon

Nobody’s Baby is out May 8, pre-order HERE…

Catch Kathleen Halloran on the following dates, tickets HERE…