W: Sibyl Cooper. I: Sophie Webster
Dark, dynamic, dominating. Industrial Hyperpop artist SAFIRE is ready to take London by storm with her first headlining show in the capital. On 26/02/2025, she will take centre stage at The Black Heart, Camden, for a night of queer excellence, with support from VRGN-X and TAMAN.
SAFIRE sat down with ASBO to discuss her discography, live shows, and future projects. Hailing from a family with music and counterculture in their DNA, it’s fate for SAFIRE to take the stage. But the pandemic pushed her to take a leap of faith, to experiment with new sounds, and build up the SAFIRE sound and image of today:
“I played piano and I wrote really sad songs. That’s what I did. I didn’t know I could do any of this. I didn’t know I could have range. I thought that all I could ever do was singing, sad music, introspective stuff. This was a journey. How far can I push this?”
In 2022, she dropped her first single, OUT FOR BLOOD. Donning bright red hair and a latex
bodysuit, this aggressive dark electro-punk track set the foundation for her sleek package of singles and identity as the dominatrix of UK hyperpop, securing her bookings at 2000 trees Festival and Torture Garden.
Exploring her discography, SNYDE is a calling card track for SAFIRE: a queen within her dominatrix realm. The song opens with a volcanic bassline hitting us at the core, underscored
by hard techno hits, slicing through the air like Eurostar trains.
Her vocals command our ears to pay tribute, to devote undivided attention. The song is a gorgeous blend of hard techno and hyperpop, injecting an intoxicating rave energy into our veins. The lyric “what do I do to things that don’t bend? I break them” offers a powerful mantra, encouraging us to break free of anxieties that chain and bind them, and a playful entendre for her queer listeners.
A reminder: Don’t mess with SAFIRE; she’s ready to put you in your place.
Opening with blaring warning sirens, HARD FAST (2024) is a track always at one hundred.
The song is an anthem for sexual liberation, with a raw energy native to the fetish rave scene.
SAFIRE again embodies her dominatrix persona, in line with the song’s relentless energy,
building towards its climax. Before this moment, in the bridge, the instrumentals quiet down to a near whisper. SAFIRE teases us, a moment of ASMR, a small flame flickering before the release, and the song is engulfed in fire. The visuals for this single are as striking and enigmatic as the track. SAFIRE dons a red power suit with slicked-back hair, an office-siren-dominatrix, paying homage to icons like Annie Lennox and Marlene Dietrich. She’s a CEO of sex.
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Visually inspired by artists like Lady Gaga, Madonna and Michael Jackson, SAFIRE wants to
attract both alternative and mainstream audiences:
“I would never classify myself as an alt artist, but because I’ve got tattoos and I wear spiky
things people assume I’m alternative. What have I got to do to make you see that I’m just a pop slut?”
SAFIRE’s latest release is Beauty in the Chaos (2024) is a game changer. I pinned SAFIRE as a spoken word artist, and I was greatly and gratefully mistaken. SAFIRE’s singing voice is put on full display here, captivating, tender, lulling us into a trance as the dark drum and bass beats pulsate beneath her voice. I picture a free party in the wilderness, below an abandoned motorway, stowing away with a stranger, to stargaze away from the crowd hypnotised by the soundsystem.
SAFIRE submitted Beauty in the Chaos to Eurovision, to be Ireland’s entry for the 2024 competition. She was shortlisted to the top 55 submissions and received an overwhelmingly positive reception from the jury.
As an independent artist, we should give SAFIRE her flowers here. All her projects are self funded and have been produced independently, only recently being scouted by a digital distributor for her post 2024 releases. She is not signed and plans to keep it this way, ensuring she’s at the heart of every project:
“People have told me at industry level that I’m not supposed to do that, that I’m not supposed to release Drum and Bass bangers, and then I can’t do hyper pop, and that the image is confusing.
I’m always getting told by big label execs what I should and shouldn’t be doing.” Beauty in the Chaos is proof of the power of independent artists.
With an exciting year of music ahead for SAFIRE, she has self funded projects and collaborations deep in the works, but will only be releasing singles:
“I love dropping a little banger here and there, and it gives me a chance to make a fucking killer video. My focus this year is to write a fuck load of music with loads of different people. This year we’re creating worlds for everyone to step into.
SAFIRE has one piece of advice for all up and coming artists: “Create a community of people around you of other artists, and please get used to rejection. Don’t give a fuck about it. Just do not care about rejection. Hit everyone up fearlessly. That is a piece of advice that I will die on that hill for. Community and relentless harassment ”Heed these words, independent artists. Don’t give up on your music, or SAFIRE will get you.
Tickets for SAFIRE’s headline show are available HERE.
This is a night you won’t want to miss.
Check out SAFIRE’s socials:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/safireisking
