Singer Kirbanu makes her Fringe World debut in 2017

2520_print copyAustralian born, European based singer-songwriter Kirbanu is planning on putting the fun back in Fringe, by taking her audience on a journey, literally and metaphorically.

Her show Atmospheric Pop Dreams is set on a two hour long cruise down the Swan, with the backdrop of the city’s lights.

Kirbanu fuses the acoustic guitar with atmospheric soundscapes and her voice. She showcases stories collected from her global travels that have been skillfully woven into engaging songs.

Having performed more than 350 concerts across Europe and Australia, including rubbing shoulders with the likes of Seal at the 2016 Blue Balls Festival in Switzerland, and selling out shows at the 2016 Adelaide Fringe, Kirbanu’s floating Perth Fringe World debut will be a journey in itself.

OUTinPerth chatted to the singer ahead of her appearance at Fringe World.

You’ve been to over 30 countries on your travels, which ones are the most memorable?

India was by far the most intense and life changing. It completely overwhelmed, uplifted, excited and terrified me all at once. Canada was the most incredible for natural beauty. I spent one year living in the Rocky Mountains. I remember watching the glowing green of the northern lights fluttering against the mountain tips. It was magical. Germany is the place where I most feel home. It’s so rich in culture and history. I love it there!

What’s the first thing you do when you visit somewhere you’ve never been before?

I’m a cafe freak. So one of the first things I do is to ask the locals about the quirkiest cafe’s in town. It gives me a chance to feel the vibe of a place from the inside as well as to top up on much needed caffeine.

What do you miss most from Australia when your home in Germany?

I miss the ocean. That’s the hardest thing about being away. I was born in a hospital next to the water and spent the first twenty years of my life living within one kilometre of it, so being as far from the sea as I am in mainland Europe is sometimes very difficult for me.

You released your album Drifting at the start of the year, how did choose the songs for the album?

I began writing the songs for the album at the start of 2014. I was essentially composing with the album in mind. Each song needed to be about change and transformation – the theme of the album.

So I looked at the different emotional elements that this brings up in people, and wrote songs from that place. In this sense I don’t think I chose the songs at all. I think they chose themselves. Interestingly, the album name Drifting was decided long before the title track of the same name came into existence.

How would you describe your music to someone whose never seen you perform?

I like to say that I’m a traveler within myself as well as in the world. In that direction my music is intense and engaging. The solo show is a folk-pop fusion, that weaves acoustic guitar, atmospheric soundscapes and an emotionally powerful voice into stories about travel and transformation.

As you sing on the title track “Guess I moved too many times”, when you’ve traveled a lot is it hard to stop moving and stay in one spot for a long time?

Yes. It was. I actually went through a three year period of winter because I continued to move across the hemispheres more than twice a year over a three year time frame. When I finally made it to Germany, I’d already spent six years traveling.

I remember getting off of the plane and feeling like I was being born again. I was totally exhausted from moving so often and I knew that, no matter what, I couldn’t move anymore. I just had to make it work there. I think deciding for something is the most critical element in change. Once I made that decision, settling in Germany became easier.

You’re going to be performing on a boat, what’s the strangest place you’ve played a show?

It wasn’t strange, rather uncomfortable: I was invited to play a concert in a fire pit in rural Holland in the middle of a storm to a bunch of campers.

Otherwise I’d pick one of the many interesting, quirky and sometimes scary living rooms and hallways I’ve played in, in Europe, in the last 4 years.

Two exclusive floating performances of Atmospheric Pop Dreams will be held on the Boat Collective -Floating Bar during Fringe World: Wed 25th January  and Saturday 28th Jan at 7pm.

Tickets are available directly from the Fringe World website.

Tags: ,

You must be logged in to post a comment Login