Airling is the new musical non de plume of Brisbane’s Hannah Shepherd, who you might recognise from Charlie Mayfair but more likely from her ace debut single ‘Ourobouros‘, produced by Big Scary’s Tom Iansek.
In fact, Airling was first born after Shepherd contributed some guest vocals to the forthcoming new album from #1 Dads, Iansek’s solo side-project, at Big Scary’s recording headquarters Mixed Business. Following that meeting, Airling became the first artist signed to the Melbourne indie duo’s own Pieater imprint.
But don’t let the six degrees logistics distract you from the aural beauty that is ‘The Runner’, Airling’s brand new slice of woozy yet confident neo-pop.
Starting with a windblown field recording of a vocal melody, the track soon blossoms amidst Shepherd’s tactfully precious singing, pillowed by cut n paste drum loops, warm, rippling synth washes, and heavily treated vocal effects – all used in a painterly production job again courtesy of Iansek, demonstrating that his already impressive skill behind the desk has grown even further since Big Scary’s AMP-winning Not Art album.
‘The Runner’ is the perfect companion to ‘Ouroboros’, and the pair will feature on Airling’s forthcoming debut EP, due later in the year. In the meantime, Shepherd will be playing her first ever live shows as Airling – with multi-instrumentalist Graham Ritchie in tow – playing support for upcoming Australian tours from James Vincent McMorrow, Asgeir, and The Paper Kites. We can’t wait. Check Facebook for all the show details.
