THE MOST FAMILIAR STAR: DOMINO KIRKE ON MOTHERHOOD, MUSIC, AND RECLAIMING TIME

May 9, 2025

9:25 am

In the days leading up to Mother’s Day, we stepped inside the Brooklyn home of Domino Kirke—musician, doula, mother, and quiet force of feminine power. The walls echoed with softness and strength, much like her music, which she describes as a translation of her most intimate inner worlds. Pregnant and glowing, with twins on the way, Domino is in the midst of another transformation—one of many she has embraced throughout her journey as an artist and birth worker.

There’s a certain quiet defiance in Kirke’s music—an emotional undercurrent that pulses through every sparse note and vulnerable lyric. In her latest video for “Teething,” directed by Gregory Mitnick, that defiance takes shape in a high school classroom where students sit, eyes wide, watching childbirth unfold. It’s not a shock for shock’s sake—it’s education as a revolution.

The track, from her arresting album The Most Familiar Star, first found new life when it soundtracked a pivotal scene in Netflix’s YOU, starring her husband, actor Penn Badgley. But with its visual companion, “Teething” goes even deeper—into the physical, emotional, and cultural layers of birth. Kirke wrote the song while navigating the early, often unspoken complexities of motherhood. Produced by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear and co-written with Timo Ellis, the track shimmers with haunting intimacy, evoking echoes of Feist and Sharon Van Etten.

A deeply respected figure in both indie music and the birth world, Domino holds space for others through sound and service. Her songs feel like sacred confessions—sonic journal entries that cradle grief and joy in the same breath. In this conversation, she opens up about how motherhood sharpened her creativity, how birth work deepened her emotional intelligence, and why she’s learned to re-village, surrender, and reconnect with the rhythms of nature.

“For as long as I’ve worked as a doula, I’ve felt it was vitally important for high schoolers to have not only Sex Education but also Childbirth Education,” Kirke says. In this video, she dares to ask: What if we gave teenagers the full story? What if we honored birth as a universal experience instead of shrouding it in silence?

With The Most Familiar Star, Kirke offers more than music—she offers mirrors and medicine. “Teething” is not just about birth. It’s about becoming.

Vintage Christian Dior via Zingara Vintage, Shorts: Levi’s

Motherhood is such a transformative identity. How would you describe who you are today — as a woman, a mother, and a creative — versus who you were before becoming a parent?

Once I became a mother, I became who I really am as a creative person. I learned to value and manage time differently, and that’s really made all the difference when it comes to making music.

How did motherhood change you the most?

I found out who my friends were. I learned what it meant to “re-village.” I live by those rules now.

As a birth worker, you’ve supported countless people through one of life’s most sacred transitions. How has that informed your approach to motherhood?

Birth forces you into the moment like nothing else. Children require you to be in the most present state at all times, to feel safe, to feel seen and acknowledged. Being a birth worker has for sure made me a better parent without a doubt.

Have you ever had a crazy spiritual experience while pregnant or while in the presence of someone carrying?

I often dream of the people I support during birth. I sync up with them on all the levels. Makes me realize how connected we all really are. There’s no separation.

What do you wish more people understood about the emotional and spiritual side of birth — especially in a culture that can be so clinical about it?

We were all born, and we all carry our birth story in our cells, which informs so much of who we are, how we make decisions, and who we choose to be in relationships with.

Robe & Bikini Top: Zingara Vintage, Boxers: SKIMS

‘The Most Familiar Star’ feels very much like intense journaling. When. you are creating music, is that how you feel?

I feel like my songs are trying to capture my most intimate parts through sound. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, there’s nothing more satisfying for me. The idea that so many can maybe feel what I feel, if just for a moment, is such a gift.

How do you hold space for yourself?

I make sure to be quiet (no phones) for the first hour of my morning. Sometimes that means waking hours before family, but it sets me up for the day ahead without fail.

What lessons or values from your own mother or family line do you hope to pass down?

That we can’t over do it with our kids feeling it. We can’t overcompensate for what we didn’t get without it somehow backfiring. Meeting my kids where they are and doing my own inner work is the only way I can show up fully for my family. It’s not up to them to fill in my holes.

Shirt & Bikini Top: Zingara Vintage

What does a perfect, low-pressure Mother’s Day look like to you?

It feels slow and spacious, with nothing on the cal.

Is there a creative project or practice you return to when you need to feel most like you?

I get outside. I get under trees. Deep reset every time, then I flow. Trees and an ocean swim.

How has motherhood influenced your music or writing — either thematically or in how you carve out time to create?

I actually have so much to write about now that hasn’t less and less to do with my own childhood! Ha.

If your motherhood journey had a soundtrack, what songs would be on it?

Lots of Neil Young, Nick Drake and Chaka Khan.

What do you love most about yourself right now?

My boobs!

Give us a message to all the mama’s out there.

I LOVE YOU.