Airling Announces New Single, Inaugural Headline Shows

Brissy-bred up-and-comer Airling is set to keep her recent burst of momentum well and truly behind her with the announcement today of a brand new single, Wasted Pilots, taken from her forthcoming EP, to complement her very first run of headline dates around the country this October.

The EP, Love Gracefully, comes out via Inertia a little before the tour, on September 19, and if everything we've heard so far is any indication, it's going to be a release you'll want to snap up when it drops to be able to enjoy it as long as you can.

The new single comes in the wake of her acclaimed earlier efforts The Runner and Ouroboros, which catapulted her to prominence and saw her chalk up a slew of high-profile national support slots for artists such as James Vincent McMorrow, Asgeir and The Paper Kites, as well as a spot at the recent Splendour In The Grass festival, and finds the fledgling Queenslander, known to her mum as Hannah Shepherd, in fine, ebullient form, with evocative instrumentation sitting expertly alongside darker lyrical themes that lend the composition a rare depth not often found in broadly accessible pop tunes.

All three songs come from Love Gracefully, which was produced with assistance from Big Scary’s Tom Iansek, aka Tom Scary, who so enjoyed the process of working with her that he ‘signed’ her to the band’s imprint, Pieater.

“I just want to create music that I would want to listen to… and if what I'm making inspires real and instinctual emotion from the people who experience it, whether that be positive or negative things, then I'll be happy,” Airling said of the impending work in a statement.

She’ll kick off her inaugural headline tour, supported by Jasia, at Melbourne’s Shebeen on Friday, October 17, and take in a further spot in Sydney (Brighton Up Bar, October 18) before returning home for a triumphant finish at The Brightside on October 24. That gig will Airling’s second appearance at The Brightside in the next couple of months – before she sets off on tour, she’ll be making an appearance at the forthcoming BIGSOUND conference and showcase.

For more information about the shows, check the Gig Guide or The Music App. If you’re after more on BIGSOUND, see our dedicated event page or check out our list of reasons that you simply must go see the spectacle if you’re having any doubts.