Safia is an Australian

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band formed in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. They have released three studio albums.

Career

Safia won the Groovin' the Moo competition in 2012. The band says the name comes from a song they wrote called "Sapphire", but it does not mean anything. The band have since found out that ''safia'' means serenity in Arabic. When it comes to the band's influences, they claim to have a very broad range of styles and genres but list artists like Purity Ring,

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

, Feed Me, Chet Faker, Disclosure and James Blake. In 2014, they were featured on Peking Duk's

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

top 10 single, " Take Me Over". Also in 2014, lead singer Ben Woolner appeared as feature artist on the

Indian Summer An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or mor ...

single "Aged Care" under the pseudonym 'Benjamin Joseph'. The band opened for

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who both left in 2011. Since their departure, the line-up h ...

during their 2017 Emotional Roadshow Tour Pacific Leg which started in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. On 30 June 2016, the band announced the title of its debut album, '' Internal'', which was released on 9 September 2016 and peaked at number 2 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

. On 13 October 2017, Safia released "Cellophane Rainbow". In 2018, they released "Freakin' Out", which was the first track they wrote after their album ''Internal''. The band released their second album, '' Story's Start or End'' in September 2019. The album peaked at number 13 on the ARIA charts. In October 2022, the band released "Falling Down", the first release since their second album ''Story's Start or End'' in 2019. In August 2023, the band announced the forthcoming release of '' A Lover's Guide to a Lucid Dream'' and released its fourth single, "Float".

Band members

* Ben Woolner (also uses the pseudonym "Benjamin Joseph") – vocals/producer * Michael Bell – drums/producer * Harry Sayers – guitars/synths/producer

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Singles

As lead artist

* In 2015, Safia signed with

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

. From "Embracing Me", their songs are ineligible for the Australian Indie chart.

As featured artist

Other appearances

Music videos

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as

AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. History The inaugural 2006 awards were held at Blacket Hot ...

) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, , " Paranoia, Ghosts & Other Sounds" , , Best Independent Dance, Electronica or Club Single, ,

ARIA Music Awards

Since 1987 the

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

have run annual awards.

APRA Awards

Since 1982 the APRA Awards are run by Australian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.

J Award

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

's youth-focused radio station

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, themselves , Unearthed Artist of the Year , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, ''Internal'' , Australian Album of the Year ,

National Live Music Awards

The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016. , - ,

, Themselves , Live Electronic Act (or DJ) of the Year ,

References

External links

* {{Authority control APRA Award winners Australian indie pop groups Australian Capital Territory musical groups Australian electronic musicians Musical groups established in 2009