A Quick Chat with Kaya Byrne

Photo: Jarryd Hardner

What are the origins of Kaya Byrne as a musician? When did you start writing, performing, and recording music?

I started playing piano when I was about 6 years old and really took to it (though I always preferred playing my own stuff than practicing). I then went on to teach myself guitar and began busking on the street as a teenager in Canberra. I played in a band for a bit during high school but after a few gigs (and one home-recorded song) we disbanded, and I moved to Melbourne to pursue acting. Since then I’ve been working as an actor primarily in musical theatre, while writing and gigging on the side.

While on tour in Come From Away in 2023, I recorded my EP Belladonna/Supernova at several recording studios around Australia and am thrilled to now be performing these songs alongside a full band.

Tell us a bit about the new single. What does it mean to you?

I wrote Stasis at the tail-end of 2020 after spending the whole year in the Melbourne lockdowns. I felt really creatively stifled and was gutted that I’d watched an entire year go by without any motivation for writing and no opportunities to perform. I wanted to write something that embodied my frustration but could also communicate that feeling of floating along without purpose, and that’s how the song was born.

Despite the absolute bummer of a year, to have this song come out of it feels like a mini-win and I’m glad to have it as a reminder of that time and a marker of who I am as a writer.

Are there any inspirations you look to beyond music when writing or performing?

I draw mostly from my own experiences or stories from those around me. I’ve often used writing as a form of personal therapy (there’s a whole heap of KB songs about unrequited love from my early adult years that will never see the light of day haha!) as I find it to be a great way to express how I feel not just through words but also the music and energy of a song.

I also really love good storytelling and so I find myself often inspired by films, plays, and books. I’m a very visual writer and so I often see a story playing out in my head and try to emulate those images in my work. The question I often ask myself when writing is “where does the story need to go from here?” which usually helps me get over the second-verse slump.

From a career in acting, I also really love incorporating some theatricality into my gigs, whether through spoken word interludes or even just making sure the set list feels like a proper journey. It’s really fun seeing how pairing certain songs and moments can elevate or change their meaning.

Name the five songs that have informed your songwriting more than any others.

Jeez, just five?! I’ll try…

• Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 2) – The Whitlams
  This song was huge for me as a kid and really drove my writing style on piano. I loved The Whitlams’ storytelling and that accompaniment was just chef’s kiss.

• Sense – Last Dinosaurs
  It feels unfair to pick one song from this band that’s influenced me, but this has had a big effect on my style, especially when it comes to writing riffs and trying to make them hit right.

• Let Me Down Easy – Gang Of Youths
  Specifically Le symbolique into this song on their Go Farther In Lightness album. This really cemented for me how much I love the cross between orchestral music and rock, and that transition between the two songs goes so hard that I wanted to make sure my own EPs/albums feel like they flow and have these moments of catharsis.

• Brother – Matt Corby
  Really, his entire discography has been an enormous influence on my style as a writer and a singer, but this song combined so many things that I’ve gone on to utilise in my own work.

• Neon Valley Street – Janelle Monáe
  I take a lot of jazz influence into my instrumental work and Janelle Monáe combines that old nostalgic sound with modern R&B so well. This song (and all of The ArchAndroid) has had a huge influence on my blending of genres and also lit a fire under me for including moments of spoken word in my work.

What Australian artists are you listening to at the moment?

Didirri, Royel Otis, Lime Cordiale, Tiali, Matt Corby, Hockey Dad, Middle Kids, Gang of Youths, The Rions, Last Dinosaurs

How do you hope your music might impact listeners?

I hope that they’ll find elements of themselves in my songs and relate to my stories. I also hope that I can create something that people want to listen to end-to-end so they can ride that journey the way I see it in my head.

My biggest motivation when crafting songs from an instrumentation and harmony perspective is trying to achieve the kind of picture that I envision the song is painting, so if someone came up to me and said, for example, “that moment really felt like I was just falling through space,” I would be so bloody happy.