After touring around the world for the past year, Irish singer-songwriter Gallie has returned to his current home in Melbourne.
Ahead of a show at Kidogo Arthouse in Fremantle next month, Gallie explains how he fell in love with Kidogo after being invited to view it, and is excited to use the awe-inspiring venue to its fullest potential.
“I played WA last year, and the [Kidogo] curator came to the gig and asked me to come down and she invited us down to Kidogo to have a look at the space, and I just fell in love with it, it's just beautiful down on the foreshore there.
“It's an art space, it's a gallery, and it's pretty old, I think over 100 years old. I'm bringing my double bassist with me so it'll be a real special show. We're going to get it filmed because it's such a beautiful building,” he says.
The singer prides himself on his focus on his storytelling, performing music with sublime melodies, soulful vocals, and the kind of lyrics that can transport you from a civil war battle to the warm comfort of your lover's bed.
“I really like stories. I prefer a song that has a story to it: a beginning, middle, and end. We're making a new record now, and before we even start thinking about music or what instruments we're going to use, we look straight away at the lyrics and see where the story's going, see what we're actually saying, make sure we're not bullsh.tting too much, make sure there's a bit of honesty there, a bit of integrity.”
Gallie sources his inspiration from real-world experiences, constantly looking for an interaction to pull him into his next song. “I'm constantly writing. It never stops all day, every day even when you don't have a pen in your hand, you're constantly thinking about it, constantly open to ideas hopefully that are floating around the aether.
“It's everywhere, there's songs everywhere, you've just gotta put your antenna up, keep your mind open and try and listen to them, try to find them, you know?”
While he's based in Australia, he still draws much of his musical inspiration from his background in Ireland. “It defines me, it defines who I am, it defines my life, you know?. . . I could be away from Ireland for 70 years, but I'll still feel Irish, I'll still act Irish, I'll still think like a Dubliner.
“I love just sitting in a pub having a pint of Guinness with my mates. Love it.”
Gallie was drawn to Australia after falling in love while travelling, using his Irish charm to win her over in the process. “I fell in love with an Aussie girl. Met her on a ski slope in Austria, charmed her with me Irish accent, tricked her, I should say. Then we went travelling for years, the two of us, fifteen years just travelling around.”
After their travels, the pair settled in Australia and the singer quickly found himself embedded in the music scene in Melbourne. “Yeah, I think Australia is pretty special to me now; with that last album, we're doing really well down here.
"I've been very lucky to get into the music scene here in Melbourne, a few people like Peter Foley from the Caravan [Music Club] kind of championed me and gave me some really good gigs.”
