Bat for Lashes

Discover the enchanting world of Bat for Lashes (Natasha Khan): her journey from visual artist to acclaimed singer-songwriter, her unique soundscapes, inspirations, and meaningful lyrics.

Introduction

Bat for Lashes is the evocative stage name of Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist.

Her music invites listeners into intimate, dreamlike realms—stories of nature, myth, identity, and transformation. Through her artistry, she blurs the boundaries between sound, visual art, performance, and ritual.

Early Life and Background

Natasha Khan was born in London, England, to an English mother and a Pakistani father, Rehmat Khan, who was a professional squash player.

When she was five, her family moved to Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, where she grew up.

Khan has spoken of experiencing alienation and racial prejudice in school, which fostered an inward life of creativity and fantasy.

Later, she studied music and visual arts at the University of Brighton, where she engaged in installations, animations, sound experiments, and performance work.

Musical Journey & Artistic Evolution

Debut & Breakthrough: Fur and Gold (2006)

Under the name Bat for Lashes, Khan released her debut album Fur and Gold in September 2006 (later reissued by Parlophone). Her debut single, “The Wizard,” came out digitally and on vinyl under her own imprint, She Bear Records, before signing with Echo. Mercury Prize in 2007.

Two Suns (2009) and Persona Experimentation

Her second album, Two Suns, arrived in April 2009. Pearl, a darker, more extroverted counterpart to her introspective self. The lead single “Daniel” became her first UK Top 40 hit and won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song. Two Suns was nominated for Mercury Prize as well.

The Haunted Man (2012) & Mid-Career Depths

In October 2012, Khan released The Haunted Man.

The Bride (2016) & Narrative Integration

Her fourth solo album, The Bride, came out on 1 July 2016. wedding tragedy storyline, tying music, visual film, and theatrical performance.

Lost Girls (2019) & Later Experimentation

In 2019, Lost Girls was released, an album with more electronic influences, 1980s nostalgia, and cinematic soundscapes.

The Dream of Delphi (2024) & Motherhood as Myth

Khan’s sixth studio album, The Dream of Delphi, released on 31 May 2024, marks a deeply personal chapter. Motherwitch.

Artistic Style, Themes & Influences

Voice, Instruments & Sound

Khan is a contralto with a broad expressive range.

Critics compare her to visionary songwriters such as Kate Bush, Björk, Siouxsie Sioux, PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, and others. Steve Reich and Susan Hiller as influences in her earlier visual and sound work.

Recurring Themes & Imagery

• Myth, ritual & magic: Many songs evoke supernatural or spiritual themes, blending folklore and personal mythology.

• Nature & environment: Landscapes, elemental forces, and the natural world often frame emotional states and metaphors.

• Identity & duality: The use of alter egos (e.g. Pearl in Two Suns), masks, and internal multiplicity is common.

• Transformation & thresholds: She is drawn to liminal spaces—birth, death, transitions, thresholds between inner and outer worlds.

• Motherhood & embodiment: Her later work, especially The Dream of Delphi, centers on the body, maternity, vulnerability, and power.

Performance & Visual Aesthetic

Onstage, Bat for Lashes often incorporates theatrical elements—costumes, movement, symbolic gestures, lighting, and ritualistic gestures.

Awards, Recognition & Projects

• She has been nominated three times for the Mercury Prize (for Fur and Gold, Two Suns, The Bride).

• In 2007, she received the ASCAP Vanguard Award.

• Her singles and videos have received nominations at BRIT Awards, MTV Europe, Art Vinyl, Ivor Novello Awards, and more.

• Apart from her solo work, she is the lead vocalist of Sexwitch, a collaborative project with the band Toy and producer Dan Carey, releasing an album of psychedelic/folk covers in 2015.

• In addition to music, she has written and directed short films (e.g. Madly), scripts tied to her albums, and engaged in multimedia art.

Famous Quotes & Artistic Reflections

While Bat for Lashes is more known for poetic lyrics than public pronouncements, here are some reflections attributed to Natasha Khan / Bat for Lashes:

• She has said the name “Bat for Lashes … doesn’t really mean anything”, but conjures Halloween imagery—“metal and feminine.”

• On her creative process and the visual dimension: “When I’m composing, it’s a very visual place in my mind—there are characters and colors and landscapes … these two things really complement each other.”

• About motherhood and creative transformation: in discussing The Dream of Delphi, she remarked: “I feel more vulnerable than I’ve ever felt before … I feel more human, more embodied.”

• On performance and ritual: in a 2024 article, she described her stage gestures as casting spells, channeling energy, and tapping into a “natural wisdom” via howling and movement.

Her lyrics themselves are rich with quotable imagery, though they function more as part of songs than as stand-alone aphorisms.

Lessons & Inspirations from Bat for Lashes

1. Merge disciplines
   Khan blends music with visual art, performance, and storytelling. Her work suggests that art is not limited to one medium—each part enriches the other.

2. Embrace alter egos & multiplicity
   Her use of personas (e.g. Pearl) shows how artists can explore different facets of self without contradiction, adding depth and narrative tension.

3. Vulnerability as power
   Her shift toward themes of motherhood and embodiment reveals how vulnerability can become artistic strength and transformation.

4. Ritual and intention matter
   She treats performance as a ritual, which elevates audience experience, emotional connection, and the sense of symbolic meaning.

5. Patience & evolution
   Over nearly two decades, she has steadily evolved—not chasing trends but following internal imperatives. Her longest gaps between albums coincide with deeper personal or conceptual shifts.

6. Create space for mystery
   Her music often leaves ambiguity, suggests rather than declares. That mystery invites listeners into her inner world and fosters emotional resonance.

Conclusion

Bat for Lashes (Natasha Khan) stands as a compelling figure in contemporary music—an artist who defies easy categorization, weaving sonic, visual, mythic, and emotional threads with intelligence and heart. From her debut Fur and Gold to The Dream of Delphi, her discography charts a legend in the making: one who invites us to dwell in shadows, to listen to the unseen, and to trust that art can shape, heal, and transform.