Izzy Hagerup is on the edge of the map.

System, her second album as Prewn, generated a new kind of buzz for the then Western Massachusetts-based songstress. In recent months, Hagerup has moved to LA, gotten a manager, and booked herself as an opener for the West Coast leg of Whitney’s North America Small Talk Tour.

On this Thursday afternoon, Hagerup is forcing herself to drink a mysterious grocery store liquid from a mason jar. She has a quiet eccentricity, moving with a bright, in-the-moment excitement. Her body moves with the unpredictable rhythm of her sentences, turning her dainty gold earrings towards the sunlight. Hagerup is not what I expected. It is hard to believe this is the person who writes, “It seems that misery’s my best friend. I know it’ll come to me again and again.”

Still, the story is a familiar one: Prewn is the outlet for Hagerup’s ache, a place where the wound can finally bleed. At times, Prewn is primeval, with words like “hunger,” “bloody,” and “want” appearing across multiple songs on the record. At others, Prewn is transcendent, contending with the vastness of her own “misery” and the possibility of “heaven.”

The words are set to a sound that is somewhere between the thrums of a haunted chamber orchestra and the thumps of dark alternative rock. On “Easy” the chromatic underpinnings cast shadows across the droll lyricism: “I left you inside of my shoe, and I moved.” Title track “System” is another striking offering on the 2025 record. Hagerup’s wails are a perfect match for the stygian cello, which groans with every beat. It was songs like these that grabbed the attention of Prewn’s growing audience set this artist in motion.

As Hagerup says on “Easy,” “It’s not hard at all to feel nothing.” What is hard is the way she is living her life now. The ache is always changing. With every song, the wound morphs, becoming almost unrecognizable. Hagerup is not sure what the medicine is, but she is determined to keep her finger on the pulse, drawing nearer to the places that make her blood pressure rise. As she tells me during our conversation, “I am terrified of growing old and not facing life as deeply as I can.” Hagerup is chasing satisfaction, development, and connection. Prewn is where she works it out.

Atwood Magazine spoke to Izzy Hagerup regarding her life after the success of System, the record that has established Prewn as one of the most compelling and captivating voices in music today.

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:: stream/purchase System here ::

:: connect with Prewn here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH PREWN

Atwood Magazine: You’ve said, “Prewn is this shifting band.” What is the current state of Prewn?

Izzy Hagerup: It is nice and chaotic, as I tend to make things. I have a band in Western Massachusetts that formed around a year ago. They are the sweetest, bestest shredders. I was going to make a band in LA right away, but I was reminded not to rush the process. For this coming tour with Whitney, I am flying the band out. Then I am going to Europe to live in Berlin for a month. Hopefully, I can form a band there for European shows. Meticulous or not, I’d like to have an LA band, an East Coast band, and a Europe band.

But you are Prewn?

Izzy Hagerup: Everyone is paid. I want everyone to feel valued. But let’s not get confused here – I need all the control (laughs). It is such a nice way to get to know people and form deep relationships.

I’m surprised to hear you say that you like these experiences and connections. I read that you like writing and recording alone.

Izzy Hagerup: One of the things I struggle with is feeling safe with people and feeling vulnerable. Making all these bands and doing all these things is something intentional. I am trying to lean into everything that terrifies me. Otherwise, I’ll die never having done that in this unsatisfied, undeveloped place.

Was there an experience for you, musical or otherwise, that made you realize this is a challenge worth undertaking?

Izzy Hagerup: It came from when I was in Western Mass. I had a couple years of depressive episodes. Something about turning 28 flipped a switch in my mind. The one fact of life is that everyone will die. Nobody is going to fix or change my life. I wanted to be a better person for myself, the world, and the people around me. I have also always been someone who likes to throw myself into a situation I can’t handle. But I would rather get misery from that than from the self-absorbed, “I’m a piece of shit!” thing. I have this need to face my struggles from different angles. I am terrified of growing old and not facing life as deeply as I can.

That sounds like an almost spiritual shift. Are you religious at all?

Izzy Hagerup: No, I am not. I know there is something else going on, and I want to tap more into spirituality. I think that would add a lot to my life. My dad would go to church and I’d go with him, but I didn’t listen and didn’t care.

How is music fitting into this time in your life?

Izzy Hagerup: I think my relationship with music has been changing. It is in a strange place right now. In the past, when it was in its purest form, I was doing it for myself. I loved it. When I started writing songs, there was one part of it that felt exciting, and another part that was the ego.

What changed?

Izzy Hagerup: It feels like there are different worlds that songs come out of. One part is heavy shit I need to write about, like losing my dad. During that time, I was in my bed playing guitar and the songs came out of me. That was the only way I could process it. Then there is the fun, ear-candy, unconscious processing. Then the “Woe is me!” stuff, which is a theme in my life. Any of the songs I put out, at some point, I was like “F**k yeah!” Once I write a song I really love, I will obsess over it and mix it. Within 24 hours of making it, I usually don’t want to listen to it again. At this point, I don’t want to listen to most of the songs on the album for a long time. It feels like such a force beyond myself.

You’ve moved to LA, and you have a booking agent and a manager now. Can you talk about how that's going?

Izzy Hagerup: Amazing! I have been wanting a manager for so long. I am not very responsible. I am horrible at responding to people, it tortures me every day. Working with Steven is amazing. I feel like having that support has taken off so much anxiety. I had asked Steven to be my manager a while ago, but his plate was full. Once shit started rolling, he saw that I needed help. It definitely seems to be a result of this album.

Do you feel the tour with Whitney will access a different audience for you?

Izzy Hagerup: I am so excited. It’s a different level of a show. The show at Baby’s All Right was packed, which made playing incredible. The energy is so palpable. I have also found that the more nerves there are, the better the performance is.

Given your songs, I can imagine that a slip of the bow or quiver in the voice adds to the performance.

Izzy Hagerup: Whatever makes the moment more alive!

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