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 started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with 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 the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. They have released two 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 DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving af ...

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

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

top 10 single, " Take Me Over". Also in 2014, lead singer Ben Woolner appeared as feature artist on the Indian Summer single "Aged Care" under the pseudonym 'Benjamin Joseph'. The band opened for

Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are 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 ...

during their 2017 Emotional Roadshow Tour Pacific Leg which started in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. 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 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 became the offici ...

. 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 ''Story's Start or End'' is the second studio album by Australian electronica indie pop band, Safia Safia may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Safia (given name) Places * Safia, Burkina Faso * Safia, Yemen * Safia Rural LLG, Papua New Guinea Bio ...

'' 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.

Band members

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

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

* In 2015, Safia signed with Parlophone. 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) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , AIR Awards of 2014 , , "

Paranoia, Ghosts & Other Sounds "Paranoia, Ghosts & Other Sounds" is a song by Australian electronic music group Safia. It was released as the group's second single on 11 April 2014. In an interview with Spook Magazine in June 2014, lead singer Ben Woolner said "Paranoia, Gh ...

" , , 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 APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

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 the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

's youth-focused radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

. They commenced in 2005. , - ,

J Awards of 2013 The J Award of 2013 is the ninth annual J Awards The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the ...

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

J Awards of 2016 The J Award of 2016 is the twelfth annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station ...

, ''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. , - , National Live Music Awards of 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