In The Cave Of Cabaret

It's hard to imagine a more Franco-Irish name than Camille O'Sullivan. Born of a French mother and an Irish father, O'Sullivan is a chanteuse with a penchant for mood swings and narrative songwriters. Across her career she has mined the catalogues of Jacques Brel, Tom Waits and, most notably, Nick Cave.

Her latest album, Changeling, features tracks by Cave, Radiohead and Arcade Fire along with originals penned for her by Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody, and like her stage show it showcases her self-confessed chameleon cabaret style. From the lobby of her hotel in Adelaide, she says simply, “People who know me will recognise my hyperactive need to express myself in several different ways. So, with the album and the show it's all about revealing different aspects of yourself. There's not just one song that represents the show.”

Camille O'Sullivan, it seems, is not afraid to bring her heart to the party in her performance. “I suppose the thing that's the most like me, if you will, is when I sing Nick Cave's more desolate love songs, his tougher, more angular songs. In a way the whole album and the shows stand around those songs.” However, she is prompt to point out that she is not a well of melancholy, stating that she does not wish to “lead people down the path of sorrow.” Indeed as someone versed in the art of acting, (after stints with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in Stephen Frears' Mrs Henderson Presents), O'Sullivan is more interested in storytelling. “I'm not just covering these songs but interpreting them. I like to find a reason to sing them.”

It is hardly surprising to learn that O'Sullivan has a particular passion for strong lyrics. “Ever since I was little I was attracted to them. I was brought up on Jacques Brel and Irish folk songs – quite long five or six minute songs, and also quite sad and depressing – but I always found them cathartic. I also loved reading and theatre so I was attracted to characters and complex ideas.”

With a list of musical heroes that includes Kurt Weill, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed and St Nick, O'Sullivan has forged a career out of singing songs written by men. “I really like that male way of looking at things,” she explains. “I particularly like the way that writers like Cave deal with lost love and love gone wrong. There's a toughness to it that attracts me.”

As a performer with a voice that has won her admirers around the world, O'Sullivan is more interested in what she calls the 'natural' voice. “I used to think that everybody should be properly trained but then when I looked at the likes of Waits or Cave, they're not everybody's cup of tea but I love that they sing with a kind of truth. And even the likes of Arcade Fire; they're wonderful wordsmiths and truly brilliant performers.”

Although O'Sullivan eschews neat little nutshell explanations her choice of songs does, more often than not, require of her an emotional readiness. “Yes, it is difficult sometimes,” she laughs. “But I find that no matter what mood I'm in, it's always best if I just let myself go and be totally present. I mean, the audience can tell if you're faking it.”