Shannon Busch, aka WILSN, is a recent graduate from the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. On April 1 2015, WILSN played the second of two shows supporting American soul legend, Charles Bradley, at the iconic Corner Hotel, and released her first single: “Unmeet You”. Ten days, no paid publicity and 14,000 Soundcloud plays later, it had been added to radio rotation on Double J, Triple J Unearthed, ABC 774, with additional air play on Triple J, PBS, and various UK radio stations. It was also organically featured on countless UK and US blogs including Pigeons and Planes, Hilly Dilly, and The Guardian.
Produced by Stephen Mowat, WILSN is backed by some of Melbourne’s best musicians including Richard Bradbeer (Dorsal Fins/New Gods/Eagle and The Worm), Oscar Dawson (Holy Holy), Darvid Thor (Cactus Channel), Jamshid “Jumps” Khadiwala (The Cat Empire) and Ryan Brewer (Chris Pickering/Silver Springs).
September 2015 and WILSN returns with explosive energy on “Walking For Days”. This second single was created during a writing session with frequent collaborator Oscar Dawson of Holy Holy and was produced and mixed by Stephen Mowat. It was premiered on Triple J radio, immediately added to full rotation on Double J Radio, Triple J Unearthed Radio and garnered 70,000 plays via Spotify in it’s first 2 weeks, which led to it coming in at number 6 in “Spotify’s Top 10 Most Viral Tracks” chart globally. WILSN was also deemed the winner of a Triple J Unearthed competition whereby NIDA students will produce and direct the film clip for “Walking For Days.”
Since her success supporting Charles Bradley she has supported the likes of Meg Mac, Harts, Ali Barter, Ben Wright Smith, Sophie Lowe, Gena Rose Bruce, JP Klipspringer, and Stella Angelico. As well as playing her first headline show to support the launch of the 7” vinyl release of her first single “Unmeet You.” WILSN has recently been back into the studio to record a batch of new songs. These new songs are her first to feature horn arrangements written and performed by the horn section of Mark Ronson and Charles Bradley. These songs will be included in WILSN’s debut EP, which is due to be released in November 2015.
Here are some reviews of “Unmeet You” posted by popular online blogs:
“All good soul music has feel – in the playing, arrangements, the lyrics and the singing. This one ticks all those boxes.” – Richard Kingsmill of Triple J.
“Forget neo-soul, this is old soul – the type that never goes out of style. She’s pulled out a cracker of a debut song in Unmeet You. The song rides on an infectious groove with Busch showcasing the kind of husky vocals reminiscent of Dusty Springfield and Amy Winehouse – emotive but with a lightness of touch. And the perfectly tormented lyrics, centred around the memory of an ex-lover (“if I could just unmeet you”) sound like they’re lifted straight out of the torch singer’s textbook.” – Monica Tan of The Guardian.
“There’s a lot of pop music that strives to be soulful but falls short. […] “Unmeet You” is the debut track from Melbourne singer WILSN, an energetic offering whose upbeat tempo is in contrast to the somber message she emphatically delivers. It’s an impressive introduction and one that definitely makes us excited to hear more.” – Pigeons and Planes Music Blog.
“Any kind of music with old-school-sounding soul within it is always worth a listen, and with “Unmeet You”, the roaring debut track from Melbourne’s WILSN, we’ve a track that’s definitely worth some attention. It packs a whole lot of punch, and with her commanding tone in it, some groovy guitars around her, and what energy-peaking chorus is induced from it all, “Unmeet You” is the kind of track that’s going to turn a lot of heads and please twice as many ears.” – Chad Hillard of Hilly Dilly.
