Born in Sydney and raised in Ireland, 22-year-old musician Caitlin O’Callaghan already has quite the résumé, having been trained in dance, drama, classical voice, piano, and composition. “I started very young in classical music,” she tells Post-Burnout. “So, I did piano from four [Laughs], and violin, but I did give that up later on, because I really wanted to study classical singing and I just didn’t have the time for loads and loads of instruments at the same time.

“So, I basically did classical music until I was 18, and only when I was, like, 17 started exploring songwriting, and that’s why I decided to jump into popular music, because I just really love writing music, and classical is very much about perfectionism [Laughs] and, you know, ‘Don’t really go beyond the lines of the piece,’ you know? So, to explore that creativity, I had to kind of leave classical music behind, but I still love it, and I still enjoy listening to it, and it definitely gave me a very strong foundation.”

When it came time for third-level education, Caitlin moved to Leeds to study at Leeds Conservatoire. With the help of the school’s on-campus production facilities, in addition to connections with likeminded students, it was here where she expanded her expertise into various fields. “Leeds was basically where it happened because I had only really done classical before I moved to Leeds,” she says. “And I found guys – well, musicians – that really understood the journey and exploring that and everything, and my university was really good because you could just use the studios whenever you wanted, so you could just experiment, and not worry about paying for hours and hours of studio time and not necessarily having an end result.”

While Caitlin experimented with various genres (including a brief stint as a metal vocalist), her passion lay in a combination of 20^th Century popular music, particularly jazz, blues and soul, and pop. Based on her father’s propensity towards backhanded but endearing nicknames, Caitlin dubbed her project Kt, and began releasing music under this moniker. The two singles she has released thus far – “Save Yourself” and “I’m Damn Fine,” respectively – have gained critical acclaim and thousands of streams, and today a third single in this lineage, “Fickle Friend” – which this author would describe as a self-assured, confident and unapologetic plutonic break-up track directly attacking a once-friend – releases.

“So, I would say it’s a boss-energy [Laughs], you know, attitude-filled kind of song but with a pop-soul beat,” Kt says of the track. “I actually worked with an amazing producer in Galway, called Dave Skelton, and he just was fabulous. Like, I really wanted a live sound for the song, and he just understood the whole vision I had, and brought it to life, which I’m really grateful [for], because it’s not always that experience with producers, but he just understood it and that worked really well. I would also say, yes, it’s very sassy! [Laughs]

“Especially in the chorus and, you know, I think that’s cheeky and infectious and makes you want to singalong, but, yeah, there are elements of that angst, as you said. You know, it’s a mixture of vulnerability and anger and a bit of a ‘Screw it, I’m done with you’ kind of song. [Laughs] But I think everyone has that kind of experience in their life, and singing along, it’s just cathartic. I felt so much better, even after writing, and then just singing along when I feel like it.”

Talking about how she translates this music live, Kt continues, “I think it’s really relatable, my music, and especially ‘Fickle Friend’ and that – with the bit of beat and everything – people enjoy dancing to it and having fun with it, and I really try to get them to singalong. So, I’ll spend some time teaching the chorus or something like that, because people want to sing. You know, they want to be involved in it, they don’t just want music at them; they want to be part of the whole thing, so I focus on that, and I think it works, anyway.”

With an established reputation now, Kt looks to release her debut EP, Pixels, sometime next year, but the project has been in development hell for various reasons. Talking about the EP, Kt says, “Yes, Pixels, which is four or fives songs, I haven’t quite decided yet, and it basically…it will be…too many delays, unfortunately, with ending uni and people going off and all that stuff, so I might have to find some new musicians, unfortunately. I really didn’t want to, but I think I will, just to get it going again. It’s kind of pictures of moments in your life, which is why I called it Pixels, so you put it all together, you know?

“Because one of them is called ‘Too Much a Woman,’ another is called ‘2 Minute Guy,’ [Laughs] which I don’t think I need to describe that anymore for you to get! I have another one called ‘Phantom Love,’ ‘Goodbye, Farewell,’ and I know there’s more. There’s so many, but I’m kind of going, ‘How do you release it all without just offloading all of it onto people?’ [Laughs] But that’s the next big project, anyway. I might release a single or two before I release that, but that’s in the works anyway, and, hopefully, you know, 2024, I’ll be able to get that out.”

Kt’s latest single “Fickle Friend” is available on all streaming platforms from today. You can follow her on her website, Facebook,  Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, and you can see her live at the Snooker and Social Club Open Day, Leeds on September 2nd.

For a much more in-depth interview with Kt, including discussions featured in the article in addition to the background to her name, how she’s influenced by the different countries and cultures she has been a part of, working with producer Dave Skelton, working with other musicians, and more, check out today’s edition of POSTBURNOUT.COM Interviews…, premiering on YouTube at 17:00 and available elsewhere afterward.

Aaron Kavanagh

Aaron Kavanagh is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Post-Burnout. His writing can also be found in the Irish Daily Star, Buzz.ie, Totally Dublin, The GOO, Headstuff, New Noise Magazine, XS Noize, DSCVRD and more.