Kirin J Callinan’s ‘Landslide’ Video Gives ‘Down Under’ New Meaning

Kirin J Callinan can play weirdly beautiful folk music standing on his head, and he proves it, more or less, in his new video for 'Landslide.' For five minutes, the Australian singer-songwriter hangs upside down over land and water, and neither that nor the fact he's completely caked in mud stops him from strumming his guitar and singing in a deep Bowie-esque bellow about the woes of the world.

"While Kirin was back in Australia we thought it would be fun to shoot a down-under video, but taking that idea literally," says director Vincent Vandella. "We went to a secluded beach/quarry and strung him by the feet upside down as he performed. It was actually a rather dangerous idea and more like torture but he was happy to submit himself to that pain and brutality. It's a beautiful song, but I love how there's very real suffering and emotion behind his performance in this simple clip. The guy is built pretty tough."

'Landslide' appears on Callinan's debut album, 'Embracism,' which came out earlier this year. This month, he heads out on a brief U.S. tour, and on Nov. 9, he joins up with countrymen Cut Copy to support the electro-popsters on the final dates of their fall trek. Presumably, he'll be right side up.