Shelley Segal (born 4 April 1987) is an Australian singer and songwriter. She is most known for music with

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

themes, including her 2011 album, ''An Atheist Album''. She has toured Australia, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and has played at many

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

/secular events including the

Reason Rally The first Reason Rally was a public gathering for secularism and religious skepticism held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on March 24, 2012. The rally was sponsored by major atheistic and secular organizations of the United States and wa ...

, the

American Humanist Association The American Humanist Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that advances secular humanism. The American Humanist Association was founded in 1941 and currently provides legal assistance to defend the constitutiona ...

conference, California Free Thought Day, the

Global Atheist Convention Atheism, agnosticism, Religious skepticism, scepticism, freethought, secular humanism or general irreligion are increasing in Australia. Post-war Australia has become a highly Secularization, secularised country. Religion does not play a major r ...

, ReAsonCon, Gateway to Reason, and Reasonfest. Her first single, "Saved", is currently used as the opening theme by the webcast and cable access television show ''

The Atheist Experience "The Atheist Experience" is an American live, weekly televised webcast based in Austin, Texas. Listeners are encouraged to call in to discuss the existence of God and related topics. Calls from theists are usually given priority, as the aim of t ...

''.

Biography

Early life

Segal was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. She was raised in a traditional

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

household. Her father, Danny Segal, is the president of the East Melbourne Synagogue (as of August 2017) and plays violin in a

klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...

wedding band. At the age of 11, Shelley Segal began singing in her father's band and writing her own songs. She came to call herself an atheist around the age of 18. With a different perspective, Segal began to see religion more negatively than when a

theist Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with ''deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred to ...

, taking issue with things such as gender segregation in

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

s. Segal also identifies as a

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

Career

Segal released her first recording, ''Shelley Segal EP'', in 2009. It is composed of songs Segal wrote at ages 1521. In 2011, Segal released her album ''An Atheist Album''. She says she created it "firstly as an expression of my honest response to he debate between religious and secular world-views" It contains the following songs: *"Apocalyptic Love Song" (on human insignificance and finding meaning in life, dedicated to

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

) *"Afterlife" (on the impacts of believing in an afterlife) *"House With No Walls" (on people creating unique, personal beliefs when they don't fully agree with religious doctrine and on avoiding questioning one's beliefs) *"Gratitude" (on appreciating and being grateful for life without religious belief) *"Saved" (on the concept of eternal torment and those who utilize it as an evangelical tool) This was Segal's first single; it is currently used as the opening theme for the webcast and cable access television show,

. *"I Don't Believe In Fairies" (on the lack of evidence for the

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

) *"Eve" (on

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

) Segal co-wrote and provided vocals for the

Carl Cox Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and ele ...

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

song ''Chemistry''. In 2013, Segal toured with guitarist

Adam Levy Adam Levy is a jazz guitarist who was a member of Norah Jones's band. Career Levy was born in Encino, California. Two of his uncles and one cousin played guitar, and his mother briefly took lessons. His grandfather, George Wyle, worked for '' ...

and released the album ''Little March'' in collaboration with him. The songs of the album deal with love and relationships. Segal released her album ''An Easy Escape'' in 2014. The

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

-inspired song ''Morocco'' from this album became controversial in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. A song based on her experiences travelling in Morocco, many in Morocco criticized references to drug use in Morocco. The Moroccan news site ''Afriquinfos'' claimed she "denounced the kingdom f Morocco" About the song, Segal said to

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...

: "It's just to contrast that situation as a tourist and having fun and getting to escape my troubles, contrasted with some troubles local people are facing and questioning what is my place here ... and what troubles do I actually have." In 2015, Segal released her EP ''Strange Feeling.'' The body-positive song ''Sidelined'' from this album was a finalist in the 2016 Unsigned Only competition. In 2016, Segal signed with

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

publishing house 411 Music Group and moved to Los Angeles.

Discography

Albums

*''Shelley Segal EP'' (2009) *''An Atheist Album'' (2011), True Music *''Little March'' (2013) with

, True Music *''An Easy Escape'' (2014), True Music *''Strange Feeling'' EP (2015) *''Forms'' EP (2018) *''Holy'' EP (2019)

Singles

*''Saved'' (2011) *''Chemistry'' (2011) with

*''Begin Again'' (2017) *''Ghostly Afterimage'' (2021) *''Pull You Down'' (2021) *''Sing'' (2021) *''Unloved'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Segal, Shelley Australian women singer-songwriters Australian singer-songwriters Musicians from Melbourne Australian humanists 21st-century atheists Australian atheism activists Jewish atheists Australian expatriates in the United States Australian women guitarists 1987 births Living people 21st-century Australian singers 21st-century Australian women singers