Domino Kirke has a storied past. She grew up in a musical, artistic family (she’s the daughter of Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke, and sister of Girls’ unsmotable actor Jemima Kirke), had a music career as a teenager, released an EP with Mark Ronson and toured with Lily Allen. Then music took a back seat when Kirke gave birth to her son, Cassius. She became a doula, and even formed the Brooklyn birth collective, Carriage House Birth.

Last year, she began collaborating with a neighbor, Here We Go Magic's Luke Temple. “We started writing together and we just thought it would be fun to put out [music] that was a little bit more electro, ethereal, and synth-heavy,” she said. The result? A four-song EP called Independent Channel out on May 26. Kirke talked to MySpace about her musical hiatus, future shows with Luke Temple, and how making music is like helping women give birth.

Hometown: London, but moved to the U.S. when I was 13.

Current residence: Brooklyn for the past 12 years.

You grew up in a musical household and then had a career in your 20s as a musician working with Mark Ronson. Then you left it all behind. What inspired you to now create music again with Luke Temple?

It's always been a part of me. I don't feel like myself if I'm not singing. Whether it's singing to my son, writing and performing a body of work ... I need to being be doing it. I just took a little break. I was a huge fan of Luke's solo project and Here We Go Magic. We were friends from our neighborhood. I was looking to write some new material, and Luke asked me if I wanted to write together. He was off tour for a while and had some songs he'd been kicking around.

Who are your biggest musical influences and inspirations?

I have so many it would be hard to name them all. Lhasa de Sela, Joan as Police Woman, Blonde Redhead ... That's just off the top.  I'm lucky to know so many musicians in my community, and they're all so talented and busy! Really keeps me on my toes!

What's different between making music now and making music as a teenager?

Well, I'd like to think that I'm a little older and wiser. I have a lot more to say. I'm more in my skin. Motherhood is such a ride. Makes me feel like everything was so surface before. My songs were thin. I was self-conscious. I'm a lot more involved in my songs now, and hopefully that comes across. I grew up.

Why did you call your EP the Independent Channel?

Because it was the name of the very first song I wrote with Luke. It also fit where I was in life quite well. I've been learning to trust myself and my decisions to as a solo artist, single mum ... it just stuck, made sense.

How did you write the songs for that album? And what was it like collaborating with Luke Temple?

It was a pretty organic process. He'd send me beats, I'd write lyrics, then we'd come together to figure out the melodies. Luke is a brilliant songwriter. I was intimidated at first because I'd been a fan for so long, but he was a friend, so that helped. In the end it was pretty natural and fun. We heard a lot of the same things.

Would you work with Mark Ronson again? Who else would you want to collaborate with?

Of course! In a heart beat. I can't even begin to start that list... It goes on and on!

You’ve said that having a child has inspired you to make more music. How so?

Well, music took a back seat for so long after I had a child, and in many ways I've been writing songs this whole time, in my head. To say that motherhood is inspiring is an understatement! Also, you simply have less time for you yourself. So I guess its been a time management issue. I'm more productive because I don't have all day to just lay around and write songs anymore. So I just get it done now.

You're a doula and the director and founder of Williamsburg’s Carriage House Birth. Is there any similarity at all between your job and your music?

Being a birth attendant is a pretty selfless act. For so long making music was all I wanted to do in life. I was totally absorbed by it. I needed to find something else to ground it all, and birth work really found me! Being on call, being a mum ... it's ebbs and flows in the best way. One feeds the other. I need all of it. Being of service, writing and performing … it's the perfect package. They're all cycles and processes. I feel luck to have found a "job" that forces my insides to match my outsides. You can't fake supporting a woman in labor. Same way you can't fake it on stage. They'll feel it.

What's coming in the future? Will there be a tour with Luke Temple?

I plan on it. We have a residency in May at Baby's All Right in Williamsburg on May 18, May 25 and June 1. We're also finishing the record and making a few videos. Lots to come!