We always hear the term 'When you find what makes you happy, do that and your life will be a success.' Talking frankly with Hannah Shepherd AKA Airling today, it is apparent this certainly rings true for her. Hannah's earliest memories are filled with musical influence from piano lessons with her beloved Grandmother to the constant tunes her Grandfather whistled, following a musical path was a natural way to quench Hannah's thirst for reaching her life's goals. It's on thing to set a goal...how do you make things happen?
" I just am what I am...I would never try to be something I'm not."
..."People seem to be quite touched with the music, which really made me happy."
Alt: Let's go back to the start...why music?
Airling: "I haven't found anything else that makes me this happy at all. Like writing songs is the most fulfilling & expressive thing that you know you can do...and I have some kind of thirst for...achieving goals...like making an album...and I am doing that."
Alt: So did you start out with singing, or did you play an instrument first?
Airling: "My Grandma, she has a piano and she taught me how to play the piano, and she gave me her piano when she passed away..it's a beautiful upright...but I think I started singing first, yeah...apparently I was always singing from when I started speaking."
Alt: Was it a drop moment that made it a career?
Airling: "I don't know...it still seems funny to call it a career...when you can't help but play and write, it kinda becomes like all the time, and then it's like ok this went from being a hobby to being something... that I want to be my life."
Alt: So how did you come up with the package that is Airling?
Airling: "I made the music before I came up with the name and the concept I guess...I just really liked the word air, I'm a Gemini so that's an air symbol and there's a couple of meanings for the word (Airling). One is any being who can fly in the sky is an Airling...and I think that's kinda nice."
Alt: So let's look at last year, 2014. Pretty good year?
Airling: "Great year. Potentially the best year of my life...You know we got to play on the main stage at Splendour in the Grass.
Alt: How was the response?
Airling: "People seemed quite touched with the music which made me really happy. I think, as an artist if you can move people or connect with people on a deep level somehow...I think that's like, one of the best things...Music is so powerful and healing...it's a universal language."
Alt: So you made your EP and things really kicked off around Splendour...or was it before that?
Airling: "I went to Southbound and met James Vincent McMorrow after the show...he was lovely. I sent him a message later and told him I'd been recording and asked if he'd like to hear...he said he'd love to so I sent him a copy of the EP before it was relased...A couple of months later I had an email form my manager saying James Vincent McMorrow wants you to go on tour with him in May...we played at the Opera House...it was super cool...I guess when that happened...it just all sorta started to be real...that was like one of my bucket list tours!"
Alt: 2015, What are your plans?
Airling: "This tour is all consuming right now...super fun though. The CMA's...we're nominated for an award...That will be really fun...and we're just going to keep recording. We just did a collaboration with Japanese Wallpaper...which I think comes out this month (March); and then we'll release something from the album soon.
Alt: One more interesting question, who are you excited to see get Unearthed this year?
Airling: Ummm, have you listened to the #1 Dads album, Return To? It has Tom Snowden singing on it. He's starting a solo project...and he's amazing...so I'm just excited for that."
Check out music from her Love Gracefully EP here:
http://airling.net/
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