Why Isn't Ainslie Wills A Household Name? She Tells All Upon 'Pink EP' Release

Today, Ainslie Wills releases her latest collection of songs, the beautiful four-track Pink EP.

Featuring four tender, piano-driven songs and vocals straight out of heaven, it’s a release that makes you wonder: why isn’t Ainslie Wills better known? Why isn’t she a household name?

With an energy that harkens back to the aural perfection of Karen Carpenter or Delta Goodrem’s Innocent Eyes, the Pink EP is crushing and instantly pulls listeners in with its intimate storytelling. Simply put, the country should have Ainslie Wills on its radar.

To her fans, including Hiatus Kaiyote’s Nai Palm, Gretta Ray, Budjerah, Alice Ivy, Missy Higgins, Bernard Fanning, Tina Arena, Clare Bowditch and more, Wills is the definition of “underrated” and influential.

Wills has found success with her own songs and songs she’s co-written, all independently, all following her own path. Ahead of her new EP release today, Wills and her team placed a billboard in Fitzroy, with a simple statement revealing her intention with the Pink EP: “41 years old. Mother. Independent musician.” Check out the creative image and a photo of the billboard, courtesy of photographer Richard Clifford and shared via Wills’ Instagram below.

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Last year, Wills told The Music that visibility is the starting point to help new mums feel like they can retain their creative careers. “Before I had my son, I felt there were only a small handful of examples where I was seeing mums doing both career and mum-ing, and I wanted to see more,” she said. “Women can and do both, but there needs to be infrastructure around support.”

For Wills, it was important to be proud of who she is and show that she can have a successful career as a 41-year-old mother and independent musician. “I've been releasing music since 2007 and am really proud of all the achievements and creative work I've done over that time, but sometimes I felt like I was coming at the work from the wrong intentional point, that is, I was wanting to prove myself to the world in some way and be ‘seen,’” Wills reveals to The Music today.

Stepping away from the shame that’s always levelled at women in music who don’t want to share how old they are and making music for the right reasons, she continues, “The songs that comprise this EP mark a significant turning point in my life where I became much more in my ‘flow’ and was able to celebrate the creation of the music itself rather than focussing on any ‘success’, which is a much more healthy way to be.

“The songs within the EP document the events around this ‘turning point’ and are a reflection of me coming home to myself in a way, honouring my roots and knowing that what I have to offer is enough,” Wills adds, “I suppose there's been a newfound confidence and embracing of ‘what is’ rather than ‘what isn't’.

Explaining that she’s found herself with this release, Wills says, “There's also a certain type of openness and vulnerability within the songs that I think I could only offer at this stage of my maturity because I don't really have time to sweat the small stuff in worrying about what people think of what I do.

“I feel beyond lucky to be an independent musician who is creatively liberated and still feeling like I have so much to offer at this point of my life. I hope the industry continues to embrace women at all stages of life like The Music is doing right now by interviewing a mother in her 40s who still has and will have a lot to say.”

The Pink EP is out now via AWAL. You can listen to the EP below.