Wilsn explains how following her gut not industry advice created her soulful reinvention

A common line was "sing quieter" or "less over the top" as if they wanted to cage the Melbourne singer-songwriter's natural soulful tendencies and keep her explosive voice grounded.

For a time Busch followed their advice. Her self-titled 2019 EP attempted to re-position herself as an indie-pop artist, but it had minimal impact.

But when Busch toured with soul-rock heavyweights The Teskey Brothers in Europe in early 2020 she suddenly discovered the way forward. She realised she could make the nostalgic '60s brand of soul she always loved.

"I wanted to do this for a long time, I was just a bit wary of releasing a soul album in Australia as the soul scene is quite small here," Busch says after knocking off from her day job at Gorman fashion label.

"With the rise of The Teskey Brothers, they made me realise there are audiences in Australia that love soul music and I supported them on a tour in Europe.

"It was a 16-day tour and I got to watch them play to these huge packed rooms of soul-loving people. It made me realise there is a market and audience out there, so I should just go with my gut and see what happens."

Following her gut has worked wonders for Busch.

Two weeks ago Wilsn released her debut album Those Days Are Over, which injected fresh enthusiasm into Motown-style soul, due to Busch's powerful voice and genuine appreciation of the genre.

Growing up Busch was constantly surrounded by classic jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday courtesy of her father, while her mother loved Aretha Franklin and Etta James.

She constantly sang and learnt piano and after school graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne.

From there she adopted the moniker Wilsn - which is taken from misspelling "Winston" on a t-shirt of a toy gorilla from her childhood - and she released her soulful debut EP Don't Give It Up in 2015.

The EP was produced by Stephen Mowat (Gretta Ray, Tyne-James Organ), who later married Busch in 2018.

After Don't Give It Up failed to catch fire, Busch moved to Nashville to chase her musical dreams with a more pop-orientated sound.

"Nashville is an awesome place to go," she says. "Very musical. Anyone you meet, like your Uber drivers, everyone's a musician. Everyone's in a band or a singer. It's very populated with musicians.

"It created this awesome environment where there were gigs in every bar every single night of the week."

While in Nashville she released the EP Wilsn (2019), which again failed to move the needle. It also didn't feel true to her own musical passion.

In some respects, the onset of the pandemic arrived at the perfect time for Busch. Freshly inspired by The Teskey Brothers, she began writing a fresh batch of songs, which not only felt genuine to her, they caught the ear of the industry who'd initially ignored her.

"I was releasing pop music and I wasn't getting through," she says.

"As soon as I stated making music that I really enjoy, an independent label came along and they were really interested and that's never happened to me before. Radio started playing me."

REVIEW: Wilsn is the real article on soulful debut Those Days Are Over

Songs like If You Wanna Love Me, Me Or Her and You Know Better are classic tales of non-committed lovers, but sang with the confidence of someone all the stronger for the adversity.

"There were a lot of heartbreak songs, yes," she laughs. "Most of the songs on my album are about things I've personally been through.

"I find it easier to write things I've been through, as opposed to making up a story. Most of the stuff is personal experience. A lot of it was about past relationships and experiences I've gone through in relationships and some of it is about living in Nashville."

However, the most pivotal song on the album is the sterling title track. Here Busch sings, "I've discovered the real me/ And I gotta believe that," and indeed you believe she has.

"The title track Those Days Are Over is about casting off uncertainty and going with your gut," she says. "It's kind of about the decision I made to release the album. That's why I named the album that."

Wilsn plays The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine (April 14); Smiths Alternative, Canberra (April 21); The Gum Ball, Hunter Valley (April 22) and North Wollongong Hotel (April 23).