Q&A: Wisp on ‘If Not Winter,’ Touring with beabadoobee and Her Hinterland Debut
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY SHEVON GREENE ☆
WISP’S DEBUT ALBUM IF NOT WINTER—is a world full of distorted guitars and an intimate diary-like sense of songwriting. Although it’s been a year since the project was released, Wisp has been nothing short of busy and, over time, has built herself out to be one of alternative music’s most exciting up-and-coming voices.
Fresh off her Iowa debut at Hinterland and ahead of joining beabadoobee on tour this fall, Wisp is entering another exciting and new chapter. When Luna caught up with her before her set, we talked about what it’s been like watching listeners find their own stories within If Not Winter, how she approaches bringing those songs to a festival stage and the one wish she brings with her to every performance: that someone leaves with a song they can return to whenever they need it. Read the interview below for more.
LUNA: Thank you so much again for meeting with Luna. If Not Winter has been out for a little while now, and you've had the chance to perform those songs and really sit with them. Has a fan's connection to one of the songs ever changed your perspective on it?
WISP: I think a lot of people relating to [the track] “If Not Winter” has changed my perspective on that song a bit because, obviously, when you write music, everyone views it differently and applies it to their own life and whatever they're going through. “If Not Winter” was such a specific song about something I was experiencing, so hearing people go through the same thing—or something completely different—and still relate to it is such a beautiful feeling. It makes me feel so connected to my fans now.
LUNA: That's the beauty of music too—being able to connect with literally anybody and have that universal experience with other people. When you're building a festival set like Hinterland, how do you decide which songs you want to include?
WISP: I always choose the songs that have the most energy, especially with the amount of time you usually get at a festival. You want to make sure you play all the heavy hitters. I love my sad songs, but unfortunately festivals are not really the place to be sad (laughs). It's good vibes, it's sunny out and I just want to have fun. So, I choose the songs that I enjoy performing the most.
LUNA: You've been spending a lot of time on the road performing these songs. Has playing them live over the last year changed your relationship with any of them?
WISP: I think performing songs that I had just released can obviously make me feel differently about them. But for me, every song, from the beginning of writing it to when I perform it, or even if I never perform it, all have a special place in my heart. I don't think that feeling ever changes.
LUNA: I love that you're still able to stay connected with all of your songs like that. You're about to head out on tour with beabadoobee, which must be so exciting. What are you most looking forward to about that tour? Is there anything you're nervous about?
WISP: I'm really excited to see what her fanbase is like and how they react to my set. Hopefully they like it. I feel like we have some crossover, so it'll be really fun. Especially because her new album is tapping back into that rock beabadoobee era, which I think is so sick. I'm also really excited to watch her perform every night. Honestly, there's nothing I'm really nervous about. I feel like I'm going into this tour feeling really confident and just excited.
LUNA: That's a good way to go into it—just feeling ready. It'll be such a great tour. For anyone discovering your music at Hinterland, what do you hope they take away from your set?
WISP: I just hope they listen to my music and feel like there's a particular song, or maybe even all of them, that they can come back to whenever they need it. I just want to be someone who gives other people something that helps them through whatever they're going through.
