We've had Wisp on repeat. The San Francisco artist's debut album If Not Winter presents the new generation's 'shoegaze princess' as she's been coined, in all her glory, with its dark, nu-gaze meets dream-pop medieval fantasy world elements. We spoke to the artist about creating her dream world and entering the world of Wisp:

Your album has got such a great energy. I know a little bit about you, but in your own words, when did you start making music and what drew you to creating music and writing?

I grew up listening to a bunch of different genres of music and I naturally started discovering all of these artists and I became obsessed with them. I became obsessed with the idea of making music myself as well. So being in middle school and seeing all of these bands do their thing, I always sought out the goal of having a band, at least as a hobby. I grew up listening to Oasis and Beach House Gorillaz, all these very influential bands. When I picked up guitar, that was when I really realised that this is my instrument and this is what I love playing. I started out with classical guitar and then it just naturally developed. I grew up playing violin though, and I was classically trained in violin and piano as well when I was little.

Every musician I speak to, when we talk about instruments and they usually play guitar and piano, they all wish that they could play violin.

Oh, really? I feel like I'm the opposite because violin was, in the most lighthearted way possible, a scarring experience. I had a practice log and I had to practice every day and get it signed off by my parents. If we didn't practice, then we would get in trouble by the conductors.

Were you in a school orchestra or something?

I was in both, so I was in a school orchestra and then I did solo performances at another music school outside of my actual school.

Cool. And are you still studying computer science? Is that correct?

No. I dropped out last January, but while I was in college I was doing computer science.

Has that in any way kind of influenced your music making, do you think?

I mean, it made me want to make music more because of how much I hated computer science. So in that aspect, yes.

So do you produce everything yourself?

I will produce time to time, but I mainly work with other producers just because I am terrible at using DAWs, especially Ableton. I've tried so much, like I've invested a lot of time in learning them, but I don't think I've invested enough time just because there's so many elements that go into producing, and I like having a fresh perspective and different styles from different producers on my music. So being able to just write the guitar riffs and write my lyrics in vocal melodies is, is enough for me to create myself express myself the way I want to.

Totally. I spent a few years trying to produce and I did  a few Ableton courses and stuff, and I was like, this is completely taking away from my creativity by forcing myself to try comprehend the technology in a pressure cooker. Which producers have you worked with who have helped to shape your sound, especially on this album?

Definitely Max, my guitarist. And then another very big one was Alden [Robinson] and Gabe [Greenland] who produced After Dark, If Not Winter, All I Need, Sword. And then grayskies, of course, because he actually produced Your Face, but I hadn't met him until a couple months ago and we met up in London in person and wrote music together, which was fun.

Is your environment really important to your writing process?

One hundred percent. I feel like usually when I'm holed up in a studio with no windows and it's really sweaty in there, which is a lot of studios in LA, I feel very claustrophobic and it almost feels pressuring. It's not always a good vibe to be around. So being somewhere more refreshing like in the hills, like Gabe's childhood home was where we produced a lot of the songs and it was just so serene and peaceful looking out to the landscape and being able to sip tea with everyone before we started the writing process. So I think environment plays a very, very big part in me writing my music.

So with this being your debut album, did you have an intention going into it or a non-negotiable that you really wanted to express through this music?

Yeah, I think that the main priority for me was to just show people, especially because it's my very first album, that I am capable of more than the sound that they attach me to. I think that's just because when I started out making music, a lot of these were instrumentals and I didn't have full creative control because I was making these from my bedroom back at home. I was in college and I didn't know how to produce at the time. So now being able to work with these producers and work in person, I wanted full creative control over every aspect in my music. As a music enjoyer, I listen to so many different genres, so I also wanted to incorporate folk elements and emo elements and hyper pop elements into my music. I’m actively growing as an artist.

I found your music because I was at the Rick Owens show where your music played, and I always Shazam songs at shows. So that's how I discovered your music. Is fashion a big part of your world?

I am very into fashion and I also didn't know that they played it at his show, which is incredible. I do love Rick. My favourite designer is Mark le Bihan. He's so cool. I usually just wear a lot of vintage and archival pieces. Whatever I think is cute. I try my best to look good on stage because if I I feel good then I play well.

So what was the like visual process for the album? I really love the artwork and all the videos.

The Sword music video came from the title of the song. Wee chose that title because Gabe’s parents are authors and so they have these big bookshelves, and every time we made a song, we would choose a book off the bookshelf and name it after the book. Max chose the book called. Sword. The whole medieval theme kind of stemmed from that book. Obviously I grew up loving all of these medieval aesthetics and being able to live it out and feel princess-y and go to a castle. I feel like it really fit the vibe and the feeling of all the songs on the album. And then for the album cover, I shot that with my friend Eleanor, who I met through another friend, and we went up to Topanga in LA. She actually shot it through this glass dome, which is why it looks very foggy and almost like a watercoloUr painting. I wanted it to feel like it was coming out of a storybook to keep that medieval vibe to it.

Are there artists you look up to who you think merge those sonic and visual worlds really well?

Ooh, that's a good question. That's really hard. Well, Adrianne Lenker is a very big inspiration for me. She's so real and authentic. When I'm watching her interviews and her music videos, it's just her being in the present moment and dancing with a beautiful sunset in the background. I think that's exactly what her music encapsulates. So I really like how she never has these very overly produced videos and it feels exactly like her music becauseher songs are very raw as well.

What's next for you? Are you going to be touring? Are you coming to Australia?

Yes, I'll be in Australia in February next year. And then after that, I don't know… just making more music, writing singles, going on tour soon and hopefully working towards the next album.

Listen to If Not Winter HERE.

@whirrwhoreforlyfe