Khin began performing in 1999, dazzling small crowds in Perth with only his guitar and voice, until unusual circumstances forced him to leave his hometown before he’d made much of a mark. Years later, after time in Buddhist monasteries, chasing overseas love affairs and composing on deserted islands, he found himself on the other side of the country living on a shoestring and honing his craft in inner-city Melbourne. It was in Melbourne that Khin’s lyrical sophistication began to take shape. After studying writing at RMIT he found a directness of expression by singing through characters. He then began along the path to becoming the solo performer who’s building rapport with audiences, both young and old, wherever he goes today. In 2001 Khin won the “Maton (Melbourne) Songwriter’s competition (judged by the then-head producer at Triple J, Michael Pavalich, based on a live performance). Unprepared to embark on his career at that stage he travelled overseas and on returning applied for, and was awarded, funds from both the national and state arts funding bodies to record an EP. He began recording his debut which was released in 2005 and called ‘Beautiful Catastrophe’. In 2006 he performed in a nationally broadcast ABC interview. Still unsure of where his audience would be found, Khin was very quickly placed alongside some of the most well known folk musicians in the country at festivals and concert venues around the nation. Unexpectedly to himself, he’s finding his niche in that scene. His sound is contemporary, but the folk genre sings out through the intention in this music – delicate finger-style guitar, grooved and held down with ethereal vocals around narrative lyrics; some of his most memorable performances involving chorals with audiences, it is clear, retrospectively, that he couldn’t help but find an audience in the folk scene. Khin was an unexpected hit at both the Nannup and Fairbridge folk festivals in WA this year – playing three solo concerts at Fairbridge, running a songwriting workshop and co-leading a songwriter’s forum, his warm and inclusive stage presence inviting impromptu onstage collaborations from well known artists