“I feel like Princess Bubblegum, and we’re all in the Candy Kingdom,” says Natalya Swan, straightening a Swarovski tiara she has absolutely earned after an hour of posing with a Sylvanian Families dollhouse stocked with her favourite characters. Since her debut, the Damansara-born artist has released four singles and amassed over 480,000 listeners. Natalya’s sound has been described as “angelic”, “magical” and “the theme song to an early-2000s Barbie movie”. Most online personas lose some of their appeal in person. Natalya is the opposite: she’s the same person offline as she is online, just as whimsical in the room as she is in her music.

Introducing herself as a daydreamer, she builds her music around her own world. Even her name has a story: Natalya Swan takes her surname from Bella Swan, the heroine of The Twilight Saga. For the record, she is proudly #TeamEdward.

Years of ballet lessons and a childhood spent devouring books helped turn the swan into a personal icon. “I’ve really been drawn to swans since I was a kid,” she says. “They look so graceful and beautiful at all times, and they carry this symbolism of transformation throughout history, in art and in plays.” That fascination finds its way into “Swan Lake”, her second single, which follows a ballerina burning out on perfectionism.

Now back in Bukit Damansara for a short break from life in New York, where she spent several years studying psychology at New York University (NYU), Natalya is taking a moment to see what comes next. “Maybe I’ll get inspired to write a new song here,” she says. “Who knows?”

Paris has Oklou; Los Angeles has Lucy Bedroque. Natalya is beginning to find her place in the same wider conversation around experimental, Internet-shaped pop. For our Music Issue, we speak to the Malaysian artist about finding her sound, building an audience and figuring out what the American Dream looks like from her bedroom in Kuala Lumpur.

NATALYA SWAN SOUNDS LIKE A POP STAR’S NAME.

Thank you! When people call me that, I think of myself as a video game character. You know how people have usernames for their avatars? It feels like that.

WHAT’S THE LATEST LEVEL YOU’VE UNLOCKED IN THIS GAME?

I got recognised in public for the first time at an Oklou concert in New York, which was right up my alley. It felt so surreal because so much of what’s happened in the past year has been online.

THAT’S A CORE MEMORY.

It’s getting a page in my diary for sure! I remember feeling so emotional, and Oklou came out right after it happened. I was about to cry, like, this is my life!

HAS NEW YORK LIVED UP TO THE VERSION YOU IMAGINED FROM THE MOVIES?

It’s been really awesome, especially this summer. I’m usually back in Malaysia in summertime, but this summer was the summer.

WHAT MADE IT SO SPECIAL?

Nothing too crazy, but everyone was outside, and the [New York] Knicks won [the NBA Championship] for the first time in a really long time. The energy in the city was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

YOU’VE ALSO SPENT TIME IN LOS ANGELES. COULD YOU SEE YOURSELF LIVING THERE?

I like visiting LA, but it’s not walkable, so you have to drive everywhere. What I love about New York is that you can step outside with no plans, walk around, and find something inspiring.

HAS THE CITY FOUND ITS WAY INTO YOUR MUSIC?

I was walking around and noticed people selling cotton candy on a stick, and I thought, “That weirdly looks so much like a cute pink umbrella.” I made it a big theme for the “Fountain” music video

WHO HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY?

I like an artist called Ultra Caro, and I’m listening to a lot of Bladee.

GIVE US YOUR TOP THREE BLADEE SONGS.

“Girls Just Want To Have Fun”, “I Think…”, and “Faust”

ARE YOU THE FIRST MUSICIAN IN YOUR FAMILY?

I come from a very corporate family, so I’m the first to pursue it professionally. My family has always really loved music. Most of us sing and play instruments, so we’ve always loved playing music together. My brother plays guitar, my other brother plays piano, and I play both.

YOU STUDIED PSYCHOLOGY AT NYU. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO PURSUE MUSIC INSTEAD?

Lore drop: I actually wanted to be a therapist. Then I started realising it might not be the best fit.

WHY NOT?

I thought I wouldn’t have been very good at it. I think I’m much more suited to helping people through my music.

WHEN DID YOU START MAKING MUSIC?

April 2025.

THAT’S NOT LONG AGO. WAS THERE ANYTHING THAT HELD YOU BACK FROM STARTING SOONER?

The idea of actually starting felt daunting because it was such a big deal to me. I think I finally felt ready when I was about to graduate, and my friends kept telling me to give it a try.

THANK GOD FOR YOUR FRIENDS. DID WRITING FEEL LIKE PART OF THE DAUNTING BIT? WERE YOU A WRITER GROWING UP?

I was more of a reader. I never really saw myself as a good writer, and that kind of hindered me from writing my own songs for a long time. I had this perception that you had to be an amazing writer to write songs. Now that perspective has changed. Lyrics can really just be an expression of how you feel. As long as it feels true to you, I think that’s all that matters.

I READ SOMEWHERE THAT YOU’RE A PERFECTIONIST. DOES THAT STILL APPLY WHEN YOU’RE WORKING ON YOUR SONGS?

It does. I’ve been trying to move away from that and just let go, let songs be what they are, and not strive for the perfect song. I used to take so long to finish songs, especially at the start, because I’d spend days chasing the perfect melody.

HOW LONG ARE WE TALKING, PER SONG?

Three to four months at the start. These days it takes less. My last song was done in about a month. I’ve got faster as I’ve grown as an artiste.

DO YOU WORK WITH THE SAME PRODUCER EVERY TIME?

Since the beginning, my songs have been made with my producer, Leion. We’ve also worked with a few different producers and artistes in New York and LA, and it’s been great. It’s always really fun to see how other people work. I love seeing other artistes’ processes, too. It’s really interesting.

YOU’VE RELEASED FOUR SINGLES SINCE THEN. WHAT INSPIRED YOUR EARLY SONGWRITING?

When I first started writing songs, I focused on bigger themes that had affected me for a long time, like shyness and social anxiety. That really shaped my sound. There was a softer quality to it because it reflects my personality and how I express myself.

HAS THAT CHANGED AS YOU’VE BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE MAKING MUSIC?

I’m keeping it simpler. Like, why not make something to just dance to?

“MUSICFLIRTE” MAKES ME WANT TO DANCE WHEN IT’S ON. IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING A FAIRY FROM WINX CLUB WOULD LISTEN TO. HOW DID THE SONG COME TOGETHER?

When we started making it, I was really in the mood for an upbeat party song that you can just dance to. I was craving something like that. Then Leion came up with the repeating melody that runs through the track, and we immediately felt it was going to be the party song.

YOU’RE OFTEN COMPARED TO OKLOU AND PINKPANTHERESS, A DREAMY, Y2K-LEANING KIND OF POP. IS THAT AN ACCURATE ENOUGH READ?

That’s pretty accurate. My listeners have made me feel really understood so far, and I’m truly grateful for that. Oklou has always been such a big inspiration to me.

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT HOW YOUR MUSIC COULD’VE SOUNDED IF YOU’D STAYED HERE [IN MALAYSIA]?

I imagine it would’ve been similar. Most of “Swan Lake” was actually written and made in Malaysia over the summer last year, and my musical references go back to high school while growing up here. But I’m honestly curious how it would’ve sounded if I’d been here the whole time.

IS THERE A MALAYSIAN ARTIST YOU LISTEN TO?

From my parents, I listened to a lot of Sheila Majid and Yuna. Yuna has been truly inspiring; she actually inspired me to become an artiste.

IS MUSIC YOUR MAIN CREATIVE OUTLET, OR ARE YOU DRAWN TO OTHER ART FORMS TOO?

Music is definitely my main creative outlet, but I also love films a lot.

WERE YOU A BIG ROMCOM WATCHER AS A KID?

I love romcoms. I loved About Time. That’s probably number one. The film’s message is so sweet. At the end, he’s like, you just need to live every day presently and as romantically as possible.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE DISNEY PRINCESS?

Mulan. Her story is so beautiful. She was so brave fighting for her family. It was ahead of its time.

GROWING UP, WHAT WAS YOUR DREAM AS A LITTLE GIRL?

To perform on stage like popstar.

WHAT’S YOUR PLAN FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS IN NEW YORK? IS THERE A DREAM YOU’RE CHASING?

I want to continue making music, maybe tour someday, and build a community around it. I don’t know exactly where I plan to settle down because I’m too focused on what I’m trying to achieve in this current era.

DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM HOUSE.

Something with lots of greenery and sunlight. I dream of big open windows. I’d also want my own proper home studio. Architecture-wise, I just know I’d want earthy tones, lots of plants and nature.

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