“I’ve grown so much as a person”: Wisp on ‘If Not Winter’, self-discovery, and experimenting beyond shoegaze
Wisp. Photo credit: Elinor Kry
Interview by Jordan Royal
With her debut album If Not Winter now out in the world, Wisp is in a moment of reflection and reinvention, merging shoegaze’s haze with the romance and mystery of medieval dreamscapes. “I’ve grown so much as a person and I’ve learned so many things about myself through my own experiences with different people or just, you know, meeting new faces on tour and the mental toll that making music and being away from home for so long can take on you,” she says.
Across more than a year of writing, the album became, in her words, “me learning about the way that I handle my own emotions and the way that I feel other people perceive me and the way that I perceive myself.” That sense of growth runs alongside sonic exploration; from moody, slower tracks like ‘If Not Winter’ and ‘Guide Light’ to songs that “show people that I love listening to different genres of music and not just shoegaze.”
In her recent chat with Jordan Royal (Sonic Alien 4ZZZ), Wisp speaks about writing from “a very vulnerable and raw place,” paying homage to her first listeners, and building a visual world. She talks about the importance of taking time for yourself, evolving her sound and pushing into new territory and how If Not Winter captures both where she’s come from and where she’s headed next.
Interview aired on Sonic Alien 4ZZZ 6 August 2025.
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Jordan: Thank you so much for taking the time. I really appreciate having a chat with you. So thank you so much.
Wisp: Of course, thank you for having me.
Jordan: Of course. I want to start with the metaphor that's sort of at the heart of If Not Winter. This idea of a quest and you're collecting magic talismans or holy grails from villages you now call home. I feel like it's such amazing imagery. When you look at the album through that lens, what do you think you were searching for? And what did you end up finding along the way?
Wisp: I think that throughout the whole process of writing my album, because it's taken almost over a year now, I've grown so much as a person and I've learned so many things about myself through my own experiences with different people or just, you know, meeting new faces on tour and the mental toll that making music and being away from home for so long can take on you. So all of these things that I'm collecting and putting into my music, it's, you know, just me learning about the way that I handle my own emotions and the way that I feel other people perceive me and the way that I perceive myself. So it's a mix of everything, but everything that I write about contributes to my character and how I want to grow as a person too.
Jordan: Oh, that's such an amazing way to think about it too of like collecting experiences and like collecting things to learn from and grow from. That's so amazing. But you're a huge fan of Shoegaze too. Title Fight, Slowdive, Deftones. And I feel like you're making some of the most exciting work in the genre right now. Like I feel like you're really caving your own sonic world. It's so exciting to see. On this album, were there any moments sonically or in production where you felt like you were pushing into new territory or is there a sound or like little detail that you're especially proud of that listeners may not pick up on the first listen?
Wisp: Yeah, I think in the beginning of writing the album, I was definitely playing it a bit more safe, but I don't think it was because I wasn't trying to experiment. I just didn't necessarily know what I wanted the album to sound like and what I wanted to say. So the more that I was writing and the more artists and producers that I met throughout this process, that kind of helped me find my voice. It really pushed me out of my box. And I feel like a lot of the tracks on the album kind of showcase that, like If Not Winter, After Dark, Guide Light, and just these more moody, slower tracks that I feel like I haven't done before. And I'm exploring softer and sadder sounds and reminding myself that not everything has to pertain to my first couple singles that I released under Wisp. And by showcasing how much I'm experimenting on my music, it'll show people that I love listening to different genres of music and not just shoegaze.
Jordan: Oh, that's amazing. I feel like too, like getting the bare bones and then being able to have that organic unfolding process of bringing more creatives in, going down different sonic rabbit holes, just exploring whatever you want to. It'd be such a fun way to create this album, that music. That's awesome.
That sort of takes me to my next question is I feel like there's such emotional range across If Not Winter and Save Me Now is such a powerful moment when I was listening to the album. You said that it's about desperation for attention and mistaking that for love. I feel like there's such a relatability and vulnerability in that. What was it like writing from that place? And do you think that writing from that place gave you any clarity on the situation?
Wisp: Yeah, I wrote Save Me Now during the time where this specific circumstance that I was in was at its highest peak. And realising that infatuation and being in a state of limerence kind of clouds your judgment on someone and makes you believe that they are healthy for you is definitely something that's difficult to see past. But I feel like Save Me Now is a good way for me to look back and be like, “oh wow, I was actually just so clouded and so in my head about this.” And I wrote that song from a very vulnerable and raw place in my heart. So now that I'm kind of out of those situations, I feel like Save Me Now means even more to me because it is a reflection on my… not naivety, but just innocence. And I think that it's a good reminder to look after yourself and really bring yourself back down to earth when you feel like things are becoming a bit too much for you.
Jordan: Yeah, of course. I feel like songs like that too can be really rewarding. Like after writing them, you can learn a lot about yourself and even the situation that you're in and gain just a lot of, I guess, catharsis and clarity on your feelings and just a lot about the situation.
Another track that really stood out to me is Breathe On To Me because it's sort of like, just not for how it sounds, but also what it represents. It's like a love letter to your most dedicated fans. And I feel like there's such a beautiful connection and community in that too. I was wondering what that connection means to you and if it shaped this album in any way?
Wisp: Yeah, Breathe On To Me was one of the tracks that I was a bit hesitant to put on the album just because I felt like it was too similar to my older work and it didn't necessarily showcase all of the new sounds that I was creating. But because it has a very good middle ground in between my old sound and my new sound, I thought it would kind of pay homage to my first ever listeners and what people know my music by. And it'll also show that I can stick to my older sound while experimenting and adding a new twist in my creativity as well.
Jordan: Yeah, like such a nice cornerstone and touchstone too. I feel like the amount that you've been able to create and the love that you've been able to gain in such a short period of time is such a testament to your artistry and your talent and your sound. Truly, it's so amazing to see.
Something that strikes me too on this album is the blend of like a shoegaze, heavier sort of sound with mythology and fantasy. I feel like I haven't seen those two paired together that much. How did those medieval themes, and I guess like fantasy world-building, find their way into your writing? Was it something that you had intentionally sought after or did it sort of just end up unfolding?
Wisp: I think it came to me naturally and I didn't have a very clear vision of what I wanted the visuals or the world around the album to be until we decided that Sword would be the first single coming out for the album. And I ended up going down this medieval, almost princessy, romantic, novel kind of route because it's something reoccurring in my childhood dreams and all of the books that I read growing up. And I think now that I am able to exercise my creativity in more ways than just one, meaning more than music, I can creative direct and bring in this visual world that I've always wanted to live since I was a kid. So it's kind of a chance for me to bring my dreams into reality. And by tying that into my music, I think it's the perfect reflection of myself as an artist now and where I came from and how I grew up
Jordan: Oh, that's so amazing. That sense of, I guess, like nostalgia coming through. And, as you said, bringing your dreams into reality, being a part of like every step of that creative process, bringing your vision to life. That's so amazing. You've also spoken about creating and writing every day. I think you said in a previous interview, Monday through Sunday, always building or creating. And it makes me love your music even more because I feel like every choice is so considered. It's so love-filled. What part of that constant creative process excites you the most? Is it lyric writing or going down a sonic rabbit hole or just creating sound, having fun with sound?
Wisp: I think that it's because I work with so many different people that I'm always learning something. And every time I go into the studio, you never make the same sound. You never make the same song. So paying attention to details and getting to hear all of these little tidbits that you might've not heard in your other music before is really interesting. And I feel like it'll guide or it helps guide me to become more experimental and kind of figure out what else I wanna do in my music. But I think that around the time that I was going to the studio 24/7, it was mainly because I liked the feeling of being productive. And I thought that I was getting closer to finishing the album because I was going to the studio so much. But now that the album is done, I've kind of reflected back on my work ethic and realised that sometimes it's okay to take breaks. And when I'm at a creative stump, I don't necessarily have to push myself to keep going. I think it's good to take time for yourself and that could also be work as well, because having just like one day off, you are able to really soak in the things around you. And that can also help you write better music too.
Jordan: That's such amazing insight. And I guess retrospective, like considerational reflection too. I had this mental image of you, like just constantly creating, experimenting, and it was so much fun to have that image too.
You're heading on a huge world tour and you just had your debut performance at Coachella. Huge congratulations on everything that you've achieved. And I know that you're someone who's deeply curious about sound and performance and stage design too. Is there an instrument or a visual or just any particular feeling that you've been dreaming to bring into a live set that you haven't yet, but you wish you could somehow?
Wisp: Hmm, I don't know. I feel like the live set is in a pretty comfortable position right now with me and the band. We actually saw Fontaines D.C. at, I think it was Ross Guild in Denmark like a couple of weeks ago because we played the same festival. And after seeing their set, all of us were reflecting on our own live set and being like, “wow, we need to step it up, we need to do better” because they sound amazing. And I think that there's so much more that we could add to the live set to really just transport people into the soundscape and into the world of Wisp. Besides our set being really loud, I think that having more textures and reverb and just making it sound very ethereal and almost dreamlike is a very big goal of mine. And it'll take time to brainstorm how to do that. But we leave for tour in a month. And I think that throughout this next month before we leave for tour, we're really going to try our best to just lock in and practice and make sure that we're tight as a band and we put on the best show possible.
Jordan: Oh, that's amazing. I'm so excited to watch some of your live sets online. I feel like you've been a part of a lot of the festival circuit, which would be awesome getting to see and interact with bands that you have taken so much inspiration from and you like love them and getting to see them too. That's awesome. But thank you so much for your time and helping on the call. I really, really appreciate your time. So thank you so much. Of course.
Wisp: Thank you so much. That was amazing.
Jordan: Thank you.
Listen to ‘If Not Winter’ below.
