Since blowing up quite literally overnight, 20-year-old shoegaze prodigy Natalie Lu has been steadily fleshing out the mysterious, blissful world of Wisp. From a System Of A Down co-sign to her cathartic debut album If not winter, there’s plenty of reasons to succumb to her formidable wall of sound…
In April 2023, a Californian computer science student uploaded a moody alt.rock song called Your face to TikTok on a whim. Astonishingly, she woke up to 100,000 views the next morning. It was a moment that changed the course of Natalie Lu’s life, giving birth to Wisp – a moniker suggested by one of her first fans.
Fast-forward two years, and Natalie has had the biggest month ever. August began by ushering in her stunning debut album If not winter. It finished with stadium shows supporting System Of A Down and a mind-boggling combination of Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones and Korn. The teenager who started as a shy, mysterious shoegaze revivalist now comfortably stands on the shoulders of giants.
So, what’s all the fuss about? Natalie brings Kerrang! up to speed on the story so far, and the secret recipe behind burying her airy-fairy voice underneath an onslaught of guitars.
Since wrapping her head around the success of Your face, she’s pushing her own boundaries with every new release…
“Releasing Your face was a really special moment. I felt that sense of, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that this is me.’ That was so unique and refreshing. It’s not something that could be replicated. Releasing If not winter, I’ll probably feel things that I’ll never feel again.
“I’ve been making music for two years now, and I’ve gotten used to my own voice and leaving the studio with a song I like. I get out and go, ‘Oh my gosh, that was the best experience ever.’ I still feel that way, but I’m definitely more hard on myself. It takes a lot more for me to be satisfied with the music I’m making, which is why the album is so special. I’ve been a lot more attentive to writing lyrics, riffs and the small details, making sure that my style really shines through.”
While her delicate vocal style revealed itself later, Wisp’s childhood helped pave the way for thriving in the present…
“When I made Your face, I didn’t consider myself a singer. I had never taken singing lessons – I just went with it, and I’ve been practising ever since. Growing up, I played violin in my school orchestra, took classical guitar lessons and played cello as well. I had a rocky relationship with violin, because it felt very pressurising on me to perform well. Guitar came a lot more naturally.
“Growing up, I would freak out if I got lower than 90 per cent in a class. That definitely translated into my work ethic in music. Recently, the album has been a very big workload – visual components, and making sure that it truly tells a story. Putting all that together, you’re almost directing a movie or writing a book. I’ve been having a lot of fun, really putting my all into it.”
Somewhat of a crutch to lean on in her teens, Wisp proudly wears her shoegaze influences on her sleeve, even choosing @whirrwhoreforlyfe as her Instagram handle…
“I was listening to Nothing when I was 14, but then I rediscovered the genre around 17. I had just entered college and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in life. It was my place of escape. It was so blissful and very healing, because it physically and emotionally touched my soul. Shoegaze was definitely a healing genre while I was in college.
“[2019’s] Feels Like You by Whirr was all I was listening to during college, which was probably the hardest point in my life. But it’s a mixture, because as sad and confused as I was, Feels Like You and a bunch of other albums were my saving grace. Listening back to those albums now, I get hit with a sense of nostalgia, and it’s really bittersweet but emotional for me to listen to that music, which honestly makes it really enjoyable.”
Wisp has already had a taster of stadiums, supporting Serj Tankian and co. at August’s colossal co-headline shows with Avenged Sevenfold, Deftones and Korn…
“My dad listened to System Of A Down growing up, and I listened to them a bit in high school. It’s crazy that we got to play with them, because they’re such an influential band. Korn are definitely one of the big bands for me, and obviously Deftones, too. I draw so much inspiration from them. I still reference their music when I go into the studio, so being able to play alongside them [was] a very fulfilling dream.
“We played Rock Werchter in Belgium, and we were actually sitting next to Deftones in artist catering, but we were too nervous to say hi! But I have met Shaun Lopez [of †††, and Deftones’ touring guitarist]. We did a session together, which was really fun.”
Album highlight Black swan is a shining example of Wisp’s sonic duality, treading the fine line between fragility and intensity…
“I wrote Black swan about struggling with insecurities, self-perception and outside perception, especially being in the public light. I was always the person that wanted to be behind the cameras. Seeing all these videos of me from different perspectives, I wonder what I look like in other people’s eyes. That’s definitely a challenge that I’ve been trying to combat, handle and learn to accept. It’s not just physical attributes, but also the way that people perceive my personality and judge my character.
“But every day, I remind myself that to be human is to be misperceived. We have so many layers and components that it’s inevitable for people to look at you in different ways. It’s natural, it’s a part of life, and there is some beauty to it – because people can see beauty in you that you don’t see yourself. You can see it as a positive thing [to help] stay true to yourself. I always remind myself that I know who I am, and it really grounds me.”
Borrowing her album title from Ancient Greek poet Sappho, Wisp realises that themes of heartbreak and lust are evergreen sentiments that span generations…
“There’s this poem book called If Not, Winter: Fragments Of Sappho [by Anne Carson], and I was using that to help inspire my songwriting, because a lot of her poems are about romance and love. I thought it was fitting to pay homage. Her cadence and the poise that she writes with is really advanced.
“Her poems are from centuries ago but she writes like it’s modern art. If you know nothing about Sappho, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it was from so long ago. It really shows that themes of love and heartbreak and infatuation are timeless, and people have felt these things for centuries.”
Chorus pedal fans my bloody valentine, Loathe and Smashing Pumpkins would all be proud of the cacophony of atmosphere that Wisp leans into…
“It’s a really good contrast because I deal with vulnerable topics, and I’m writing about my own life experiences, insecurities, self-doubt and the challenges that I faced moving away from home. Being able to pair it with crushing and heavy guitars adds to the ambience of it. When you hear this wave of sound paired with the lyrics, it’s my perfect way of contextualising how I feel.
“It feels very surreal and emotional. When I listen to my favourite shoegaze or alt.rock bands, the entire soundscape that they create with all of these layers feels so raw and emotional. I really feel it in my chest. It’s a very physical feeling for me, and I hope that my music translates in that exact way.”
For an artist who once printed merch that read ‘19-year-old mysterious shoegaze girl’, she’s getting more comfortable engaging with her fanbase…
“In the beginning, I honestly wanted to be faceless, because it was really new and daunting. I was looking at bands like Gorillaz and Cigarettes After Sex, how they have their face out there, but their face isn’t the main aspect of their music. That’s where the mysterious shoegaze thing stemmed from, because I wasn’t really present with my face on social media.
“The closer I got to my fans as my career progressed, the more I realised that playing live shows, showing my face and who I am outside of Wisp was really important to me. Moving forward, showing people that I want to build a connection is really important, because it feels really special getting to hear how much my music has helped people.”
The ever-changing boundary between Natalie and Wisp is a force for good…
“Natalie is a part of myself that pertains specifically to my close friends and family. Some of my fans will refer to me as Natalie, and I think that we have an even deeper connection beyond Wisp. They’re often the die-hard fans that have been with me from the start.
“Being Natalie and Wisp to people is also very special, but [Wisp is] definitely more accessible, because I’m able to make so many great connections with people all around the world as Wisp.”
Though her songs remain deeply personal, Wisp has opened herself up to a multitude of producers including grayskies and Elliott Kozel…
“All the producers that I work with understand my vision and what I’m trying to say. I’m able to express myself very creatively, and no-one is ever trying to step on my shoes. We share similar tastes. I’m able to be the most vulnerable through my lyric writing, and that’s something that I take sole total control over.
“There are a lot of ideas on how I want to grow my writing: getting better at guitar and writing more complex riffs. Maybe for the next album, [I’ll be able] to go on a retreat and lock in for a month.
“I have my sights on writing even better music and surprising myself.”
If not winter is out now via Music Soup/Interscope. Wisp plays London’s EartH on October 24. This interview originally appeared in the autumn 2025 issue of the magazine.
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