I called myself Liarbird because I beatbox, and lyrebirds are amazing mimics. They are the beatboxers of the wild!

My real name is Holly Austin, and I’m also an actor. Although I’ve played music since I was very young and have been spotted on stages with the likes of MC Common, Amanda Palmer, Martha Wainwright, John Butler, Mama Kin, Holly Throsby and Sui Zhen, I’ve always felt like I was pretending to be a musician. Like I was acting the part… hence Liarbird.

Through the awesome I Heart Songwriting Club, I wrote a song, Bittersweet, that has now ended up as the credit music for our short film “Butch”.

“Butch” is Australia’s first multi-character queer web comedy. It follows Exes Gem and Tiff, forced together to care for their all-knowing all-talking fur-child, Butch.

I co-wrote, produced, and played a couple of different characters in the pilot episode/short. It was recently selected as a finalist in the “My Queer Career Competition” as part of The Mardi Gras Film Competition and won the inaugural “Pitch-Off Competition” through Queer Screen.

On the soundtrack for “Butch”, we feature some of my fave queer-friendly musicians, including Kira Puru, Handsome and Okenyo. I searched for a track to close out the credits, and nothing felt quite right. Then I remembered my little phone demo of Bittersweet, and I thought it fit the sentiment we needed perfectly. It’s rough, lo-fi, delicate and reflective. Much thanks go to our exceptional Audio Engineer and Post Sound mixer Keith Thomas at Alchemy Post Sound worked his magic and helped my iPhone demo a little less rough and ready.

One of the many things that I love about I Heart Songwriting Club is how you can surprise yourself by just giving it a go. I wrote Bittersweet from the theme Boom Crash Opera.

This is my reflection from way back when I wrote and submitted Bittersweet:

“I have to be honest, I found this week difficult and tricky to find inspiration from. Don’t get me wrong, I love a long-haired industrial-sounding 80’s pop hit, but I couldn’t seem to work out how I could jump in without feeling like I was imitating Boom Crash Opera. Whatever that means! HaHa! I listened to Onion Skin and liked the use of metaphor. Then I started thinking about what other vegetables/fruit I could base a song around. I initially blocked this idea, fearing I’d get a reputation in this group for “being the girl who writes songs about food”, and then I thought, “what the hell!”

So here it is. I think the bridge needs some work think it is a bit wordy. Also, perhaps there’s more room to have some space around the first time we hear the chorus. I can’t wait to hear what you think. BCO’s chanting choruses also influenced me, and I imagine the bitter/sweet section to be a bit like this… rather than as it is now, I am alone in a hotel room! Enjoy :)”

I am so thrilled that it’s ended up on our pilot episode of “Butch”, which will have its premiere at The Event Cinemas on George St for The Mardi Gras Film Festival.

Who knows. Maybe this means I’m a real Liarbird, not just acting the part.