Incredible artists won’t stop coming out of West London, and rising singer-songwriter Safiyyah is the latest in a seemingly endless line of talent. Born and raised in Ladbroke Grove with Portuguese and Moroccan heritage, Safiyyah has been around for a few years now, working with the likes of Finn Foxell and KeepVibesNear in the process. With her latest EP, “Motions”, she is well and truly announcing herself to the wider scene.

The soulstress’ new EP follows themes of community, sentimentality and relationships, with Safiyyah offering a personal and engaging perspective of modern life and culture. Dreamily swooning atop rich, vivacious instrumentation that touches R&B, soul and jazz, Safiyyah’s vocality is nothing short of dazzling, flaunting her luscious tone and slick delivery across the four-pronged project.

We had the opportunity to catch up with Safiyyah, discussing the impact of her upbringing on her artistry, the importance of collaboration, and the meaning behind her gorgeous new EP.

Listen to “Motions”…

Read the interview…

What inspires you to create?
Life experiences inspire me to create music, it helps me heal and release in a healthy way, and I always hope it can heal others as well. I always loved music, and art so always finding inspiration through that as well.

Talk us through the origins of your musical journey. How did you first find your voice?
My musical journey probably started when I was singing and dancing around the living room as a child. I always got involved in school plays/choirs and really found my voice just by listening to so many different genres as a child and developed my own unique voice from there.

From an initial interest, how did you pinpoint the sound that you now create within? Was there a lot of trial and error?
The sound I now create within I feel has developed as I’ve grown there was definitely some trial and error in terms of finding the right sound or style of singing. But also just from listening and loving other songs/artists made me love making soulful music particularly as a reflection of my personality too.

How has your multiculturalism shaped your artistry?
Being Portuguese and Moroccan has shaped my artistry through the style and genres of my music including the writing. I’ve incorporated Portuguese in my music as well as different sounds from those cultures. It also reflects on the area I grew up in as well

You’re born and raised in Ladbroke Grove, how did that impact you personally and musically?
Being from Ladbroke Grove is great, so many different cultures but also having a strong Moroccan and Portuguese community in Golborn has made me definitely feel at home. Being able to connect with different artists in west London has been amazing as well. Musically, it’s made me very proud of my community especially me growing up directly next to Grenfell. I’ve had connections with other great members of the community such as the activist and rapper Lowkey.

How would you define your essence as an artist?
My essence as an artist would probably be to create healing for others and creating beautiful vibrations for people to feel within.

You’ve collaborated with some of the biggest names in the UK alternative scene. How important is collaboration to your art?
Collaboration is very important to me in my art, I love coming together with different artists that do different genres as well and creating together organically can be really beautiful. I love collaborations, they can even challenge you as well to go out of your comfort zone.

You’ve made your return in the run up to the release of a new EP. How has the process been in creating “Motions”?
The process with creating “Motions” has been beautiful. It’s been a long awaited time and journey. I’ve worked with different artists and experimented with my sound. The writing process was great, mainly through freestyle jam sessions which I love because it’s just natural and flowing.

How does to show your progression from your earlier releases?
It shows my progression from earlier releases as I’ve experienced with different sounds different genres, for example one of the tracks no pressure is a bit more drill oriented which I love. It also shows my versatility compared to my previous releases.

What are you touching upon thematically?
Thematically, being called “Motions” it’s about myself going through the different emotional phases of a break up. I went through a terrible time and it’s just to show the process behind that and coming out of the other side feeling healed and processing all those different emotions while also trying to get on with your life..

What do you want listeners to take away from the EP?
I want listeners to be able to connect, and go on a journey with me. It’s not always linear and emotions can’t always be controlled. Everyone deals and goes through things differently and i want listeners to embrace that as well as within themselves.

Moving forward, where do you want to take your artistry?
Moving forward I want to take my artistry to a whole different level, I want to show listeners more of my versatility and vulnerability. Also to highlight who I am much more moving forward and what I’ve been through, what I represent.