Music has always been a familiar friend to Domino Kirke.
But unlike most kids who grow up with pipe dreams of rock-god stardom, Kirke, a classically trained pianist and singer, always had a pretty good idea of exactly what a life in music would entail: Her dad is Simon Kirke, the drummer from British bands Bad Company and Free.
“I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be in that world,” says Kirke, 32, who was used to famous musicians hanging out in her house. “But I also understood that being a touring musician meant that you’d be gone a lot and that was going to make other things a lot harder, like having a family.”
While her father toured, her mother, Lorraine, who owns the West Village dress shop Geminola, kept the family on a regular schedule, making sure they had dinner together every night.
She remains quite close to her family. Jemima Kirke, 30, is best known for playing madcap Jessa on “Girls”; Lola, 23, played a thief in “Gone Girl” and garnered buzz at Sundance for her starring role in Noah Baumbach’s “Mistress America,” in theaters Aug. 14. She also has a brother, Gregory.
After moving to NYC from England at 12 and attending the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Kirke signed her first music deal as a teenager.
She spent her early 20s collaborating with Mark Ronson and touring with everyone from Gang of Four to Lily Allen with her band Domino, which was featured in Lena Dunham’s 2010 film “Tiny Furniture.”
And then, a bit of a surprise: At 25, she had her son, Cassius Riley (she is no longer with his father, but the two co-parent). Music took the back burner for a while.
“I toured, I played, I was in that world so intensely, and then I had to bow out,” she says without regret.
Now she’s stepping back onto the stage with an upcoming residency at Williamsburg venue Baby’s All Right (May 25 and June 1) and a new EP called “Independent Channel” (available Tuesday).
“I came back and a lot had changed. A lot of the artists people are listening to are people I didn’t know. I had to do my homework!” she says.
“I got my inspiration from being a beginner again.”
Motherhood remains a strong force behind the EP: One track is called “Son,” while another, “Birth Right,” was a nod to Kirke’s work as a birth coach. (She’s a doula and founded her own Brooklyn collective, Carriage House Birth, in 2010.)
“I was always interested in midwifery; it was my plan B,” says Kirke. “I had my son and was really moved by my experience.”
It’s common ground she shares with Jemima, who has two kids and also works as a doula.
And what about that other Brooklyn girl, Lena Dunham, 29?
“I’ve known Lena since she was 12,” says Kirke. “We’re city kids, we grew up way too fast. I see her now and I want to pinch her cheeks! There’s this familiarity there. The scene is part of what keeps me here, being around my childhood friends. It’s so special in a city where everything moves so fast.”