- 2026-05-06
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MUSIC
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Natalie Shay Releases New EP “ATMOSPHERE”
London-based singer-songwriter Natalie Shay released her fourth EP “ATMOSPHERE” on April 16, 2026.
It is her first project in two years, following the 2024 EP “CHAMPAGNE”.
The EP comprises 8 tracks, produced by Jack Wilson, Jordan Cosmo, Rndmbeats, Andy Gannon, Kaity Rae, Antonio Hanna, and Barns Noble.
Each song reflects a different chapter, tracing the experiences and lessons that have shaped Natalie's life since her last release.
Natalie Shay said of the EP, “I bookend eras of my life with bodies of work, so it was important to me that ATMOSPHERE contained all the experiences and lessons since my last EP. I want my music to be the soundtrack to my life as a mid-twenties creative who feels everything deeply. I crave love, but I've also been damaged by it. Every song is a confession in a way. I write songs to perform them live. That's my therapy.”- She continued, “2 years of my life in 8 songs. My music is always the soundtrack to my life. I write from experience and the heart. Sometimes I struggle to show my full self online etc, I'm a billion times better than I used to be yet I've never actually struggled oversharing and revealing myself through lyrics; I feel comfortable doing that. Maybe sometimes it's a cry for help lol. In the last couple of years I think I learned the power of feeling loved and chosen. I recognise that's something i want and deserve. We all do.”
She added, “I've never been so sure of who I am and what I want from life. I am always so grateful for everyone who supports me and listens to my music - allowing me to do this full time for 14 years with no breaks. It's been the most incredible journey and there's never a day I don't think about that. 'this was never love, it's clear, it's just the atmosphere'” -
Natalie Shay explained some tracks for the EP.
“Love You To Death”
“Love you to death – an obsessive lover's guide to anxious attachment. I wrote this song with Andy Gannon in his studio in Manchester, it was the first time we'd ever met or worked together. We realised early that we clicked and had a similar vibe as people and writers and this was the product of the session. Our first banger. I knew after listening to the demo on loop for the 4 hour drive home that this was going to be a release soon.
It's a song about early stages of a new romance, where you're trying not to come off as insane, but secretly you're hooked on that persons every move and word. A relationship where you can picture the potential so fast, and the only thing you want is for that person to dive into you. An indie pop representation of the anxious / avoidant attachment dynamic.”
“Do u relate?”
“It couldn't be more of a diary entry of my thoughts and emotions around that time. I always write about things I feel, or from observing people close to me. I love to perform songs that tell the story of me… I just hope to be relatable and for people to be like, 'oh yeah, I feel like that sometimes too.'”
“i choose u”
“i choose u – a love song. Perhaps right person wrong time but you're making it fit. Maybe your parents are off mark interfering because they don't understand the attachment wounds they gave you in the first place. Ultimately this is a love that hit me out of nowhere, the first time I felt my flaws, blues and shadows were seen and understood. An all consuming obsessive love where nothing was right about it except the feeling itself. And I would choose that. Every time. All over again.
I wrote this song on voice memo whilst driving down the motorway after playing Manchester academy opening for Gavin DeGraw in November 2024. Got home, added chords. Produced by Jack from my favourite band Fickle Friends and recorded in Brighton. I've been touring this song for a year live, I'm so glad it's finally a real official release.”
“sorry for u”
“I absolutely hate it when someone close to you switches up and sabotages, and rather than take accountability, they either Irish goodbye or convince themselves that things were the other way around to cope with the fact they've lost you. That's what this song is about.”
“problems”
“Problems; 'essentially a list of my problems put to music. I wrote this song in the middle of the night on my guitar in February 2025. I guess I was having a period of increased self awareness, I made a new friend who shared a lot of the same 'problems' as me, and for the first time, I realised the fact we could laugh about them and bond, took the power away from them. I stopped seeing them as a bad thing, and just started seeing them as part of who I am. Everything I am is a product of what I've been through and what I've got going on in my brain, and so if I'm proud of who I am, I should be proud of my problems too.
I took my little voice memo demo to my long time friend and repeat collaborator kaity Rae, she helped turn it into the bite sized musical journey that it is now. I really wanted to release this song – because I think it's good yes and I wanna play it live – but also because I think it's like a mini 2 minute crash course on the inner workings of my brain, songwriting is my journal, I want my listeners to know me intimately through my lyrics, but if anyone finds them relatable then that's a big success to me.”
Photo by James Streiker
Background photo by Liam Maxwell - source : Apple Music
