Image: Rosie Cohe
Published: 21 May 2025

Fresh from winning the Vanda and Young Global Song Competition and scoring two APRA Music Award nominations for writing the Jessica Mauboy hit ‘Give You Love’, WILSN (real name Shannon Busch) returns today with new single ‘The Way’.

Her first new music for over a year, ‘The Way’ was written by Busch and long time friend Liam McGorry (Saskwatch, Ex-Olympian, Dorsal Fins). A rousing soul-pop track shot through with bursts of jazz and funk, it opens up a new era of music for Busch after the release of her debut album Those Days Are Over in 2023.

Recorded at Hive Mind Recording in Brooklyn, New York, the song is a joyful celebration of love and contentment: ‘When I think about the way you love me baby / It makes me catch my breath.’

“'The Way’ is about the feeling of having a positive person in your life, after being deprived of it in past relationships and how it lifts you up,” Busch says. “Nothing too complex to it really - just an overwhelming feeling of positivity and good vibes. A lot of my last record was dark and sombre and about love going wrong. When I started writing again I wanted to write more songs with more light and a happier tone.”

Hive Mind Recording is a studio that specialises in the use of analogue equipment and capturing a classic soul sound and as a result Busch was able to work with some of the best soul musicians in the business on ‘The Way’.

“A real highlight for this tune was recording the horn section, as it features players who have played with some of my fave artists/bands of all time such as Sharon Jones and the DapKings, Thee Sacred Souls, Charles Bradley, Jalen Ngonda, Lee Fields and Antibalas,” Busch reveals. “We embraced having the band all in the same room together, instruments bleeding into each other's microphones, far from a perfectionist’s approach, but when you have players this good it is that bleed and spill that can actually glue the whole thing together.”

To celebrate the release of ‘The Way’ Busch has announced she will be performing two shows, one in Naarm/Melbourne on June 13 and the second at The Pleasure Club in Eora/Sydney on June 21. Both will be free entry.

After developing her craft in the US with Grammy Award winning songwriters, and touring with The Teskey Brothers, Busch is rapidly proving she is one of Australia’s most remarkable young musicians. With her stunning voice and warm, emotive music, produced so perfectly that it connects instantly with your heart, she has the potential to be a global superstar. ‘The Way’ is the next step of that journey and is an enticing introduction to her upcoming new music.

‘The Way' is out now via Mushroom Music. You can download and stream here.
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WILSN Tour Dates (Free Entry)
13 June - The Punters Club, Naarm/Melbourne
21 June - The Pleasure Club, Eora/Sydney