In the green of Hampstead Heath on one of March’s phantom spring days, Natanya gives me a pep talk. The 23-year-old, north-west London-born songwriter and producer lets me in on some advice she’s given herself: “sing like a pop star, perform like a movie star, and train like a wrestler”. “Wrestlers and musicians have to do the same thing, and really do it for themselves,” she explains. “First, it’s about the brand – how well can you sell the fantasy? Then, you also have to be really competent, in a very physical sense.” 

Natanya has had a stellar run over the last few years: she’s supported PinkPantheress, Ravyn Lenae and FLO on tour, collaborated with fellow rising London stars like Unflirt, and most recently, featured on Jim Legaxcy’s latest single “idk idk”. If the stage is a wrestling ring, as Natanya herself insists, then she is a mixed martial artist, dancing between velvety, soul-bearing R&B and propulsive pop ballads that hark back to the early 2000s.

Her affinity for nostalgic classics, blended with an internet-native charm, can be traced back to her upbringing: growing up, she trained in classical jazz piano and singing, absorbed her father’s love for Michael Jackson and gospel, while combing through YouTube to discover the trailblazers of 2010’s indie, R&B and pop – artists like Tyler, The Creator; SZA and Doechii, all of whom she has now received co-signs from on social media.

Natanya, while completing her English Literature degree at UCL, released her first EP Sorrow at Sunrise in 2023. Her distinctive approach to world-building, however, truly shone on two-part EP Feline’s Return, released  across 2024 and 2025. She’s the type of artist to play with music — be it guitar riffs born out of classical R&B, her old-school palette of ad-libs and backing phrases, or the jerk beat on “Dangerous” that invokes the spirit of UK rap — and reorganise her sound track by track. “I’m chipping at this rock every day in any way I can,” she tells me. “Creativity is much more expensive than perfection.”

Below, as Natanya releases her latest single “DON’T ASK!”, the first from her soon-to-be-announced project, we sit down to unpack this new era in her career, capturing life in motion and her love for WWE.  

“DON’T ASK!” feels like a statement of intent. What sparked it?

Natanya: It’s about confidence, asserting your identity or vision, not being ashamed and not standing last in line waiting to see if someone will let you in. Instead, it’s about bashing the door down, smashing the ceilings. I wanted to start off this new process by just going as crazy as possible and not holding back anymore. 

With a new project on the horizon, how does this next chapter build on what you’ve done so far?

Natanya: This new project is going to be fifty billion times – okay, maybe don’t write fifty billion down – but more than ten times better than whatever I’ve done, a graduation from what’s already happened. There is so much power, like a home run. I had a lot of fun with the creativity in Feline’s Return Act II, but now I’m taking a left turn. 

Are you working with anyone new?

Natanya: I’m working with [PinkPantheress collaborator and songwriter] Oscar Scheller. After [Natanya’s 2023 single] ‘Raining Tomorrow’, he DM’d me about wanting to work together. To be honest, I can be a little bit specific about how I do things, so, I said ‘not right now’. We finally had a session in London last year. Oscar doesn’t impose any of his ideas; rather, he lets them live for themselves. It’s a good sign when I can just make a noise with my mouth and he knows exactly what sound to get. ‘DON’T ASK!’ was the first song I made with Oscar. It really sounds like the start of our chemistry.

You released Sorrow at Sunrise and jumped straight into Feline’s Return while finishing your degree. What did that experience teach you about the reality of pursuing music?

Natanya: That you really have to want to do it, because it’s a lot of, quote unquote, ‘sunk cost’ and ‘wasted time’. When you're trying to create something bigger, you have to dedicate a lot. You also have to give it your all when you have the chance. I could’ve imagined moving forward with my degree by taking a related job, but I knew from that point onwards I wouldn’t have been able to sustain both or excel in both.

When did you realise that you’ve entered a new phase creatively?

Natanya: I know something new is coming up because I’m gaining more perspective. When I read [Michael Jackson’s autobiography] Moonwalker, he spoke about how he decided to dress differently for Thriller. There wasn’t a plan. Sometimes, you just become disenchanted with the previous rules you’ve made for yourself. 

Has your relationship to your influences changed as you’ve grown?

Natanya: My family would play Janet Jackson in the house, but I’ve developed my own relationship with her music, dance and visuals. So, my relationship with icons does change. I’ve started comparing my young adult life to those of people I’ve loved. I’m interested in the mundane. I’ve loved Amy [Winehouse] for so long, but I’ve become more interested in the similarities of our north London upbringings. When I was a teenager, I’d go to a lot of the same parks or record stores as her. I’d read bits of her diary and think, ‘Oh my God, I’ve hung out there!’

Who are the female figures that shaped that perspective?

Natanya: I love pop girls who have this kind of sport-like approach to the way they make music and form their brand. Gwen Stefani’s [rock band] No Doubt is so sporty, so are Nelly Furtado, Janet Jackson and Beyonce. I love how they train, and the way that they choose their aesthetics. They pull from the most random things and translate that through fashion and world-building. Expanding these worlds is like a sport to them.

You’ve compared wrestling and music before – what makes them feel so similar to you?

Natanya: Yes! They’re two of the most similar things, wrestling and music. In popular culture, wrestlers and musicians have to do the same thing, and really do it for themselves: firstly, it’s about the brand – how well can you sell the fantasy? Then, you also have to be really competent too, in a very physical sense. 

Who’s your WWE bias?

Natanya: AJ Lee. I really love the Attitude era. I love this idea of a character that isn’t specifically bad or good, integrating those two parts of yourself, and presenting that to the world. Wrestling is actually super important to this project. I think I’m approaching it like a wrestler.

How does that wrestling mindset shape the way you approach performance?

Natanya: You know Wrestlemania? The stage is my ring. Performing is like a match. You’re combining the things you have trained in – singing, dancing, communicating – and you can actually see your fans’ faces. That is where I am most genuine.

What is it like to receive recognition from artists you once looked up to?

Natanya: Very beautiful, especially with Tyler, I cried at one point. In the midst of everything, you can become really desensitised to the importance of so many of these opportunities. You have to stop and remember what it felt like to be the person who once had no clue how to do what you’re doing right now.

I thought back to a version of myself at 13, dreaming of seeing these artists in concert (because I wasn’t allowed to go), and watching them online. Now, not only can I go and watch them live, but they know who I am, and not only do they know who I am, but they’ve shared my music with people who listen to them. I was once a person who listened to them, so when they shared it, someone else would have been influenced. And that cycle is crazy.

“Don’t Ask” is out now.