17-year-old singer songwriter Aodhan set to perform at Oxford Art Factory
By Erin Modaro
17-year-old Dharawal singer-songwriter Aiden Whitehall, releasing his indie acoustic music as Aodhan, is currently touring his debut EP Flies In My Room. Young, and emerging into the Australian music scene with quiet gusto, Aidan has been steadily finding his voice, and is now touring his EP which was released in July of 2021.
Flies In My Room encapsulates an authentic and nostalgic sound paired with stirring lyrics and a steady indie vibe. Aiden’s favourite song to produce in the EP, Twelve Again, is a charming upbeat track that embraces the youth and wistful sound of its namesake.
“It’s obviously the most stand out,” Aidan said. “I absolutely love the production and the sound it has, and I’m looking forward to making more that sound a bit like that.”
On his inspiration for his songwriting and music production, Aidan says that “everything on the EP summed up… all comes back to the experiences I’ve had as a young person. Stories that kind of reminisce on what happened when I was a bit younger.”
Flies In My Room Tour
The Flies In My Room tour kicked off in Aidan’s home city of Wollongong in February, and will continue across Australia in Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, and Gerringong.
“I always love performing in Wollongong, here at home,” Aiden said. “I wasn’t expecting that many people to come and show their love” he said about his home crowd.
With Twelve Again earning Aidan a spot in the Triple J Unearthed finals in 2020, the critical acclaim received by Flies In My Room is just the most recent success in Aidan’s career so far. Winner of the Unearthed High Indigenous Initiative in 2019, Aidan’s music has been featured steadily on Triple J radio and has been included in multiple playlists of emerging artists on Apple Music and Spotify.
Breaking out internationally
When he was 16, Aidan entered a publishing deal with UK group Communion, and subsequently has a UK tour coming up in May. “The UK is going to be insane,” Aidan says. “I’m really looking forward to touring internationally for sure.”
Aidan says continuing with his international performances is one of his dreams for the future.
“I think one of my big goals would be to get over to the US before I turn 21. It would be so sick to head over there and do some shows… meet some people.”
In the near future, the young artist has upcoming collaborations with other Australian singers, such as Stella Ghost, another Triple J Unearthed featured artist. Aidan also worked with singer edith to write her new song, which he said would be coming out on the same day as his own new song at the end of the month.
