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Collegian and SAFIA’S band member Ben Woolner (Class 2010) on growing up and why his heart remains in his home town
Posted 08 Nov, 2023
The Canberra born-and-raised electronic-indie three-piece of Ben Woolner (vocals), Harry Sayers (guitar/synths) and Michael Bell (percussion), who met as school friends at Radford College, have all since entered their 30s.
Safia have done ample growing up since the release of their second album Story’s Start or End in 2019.
The Canberra born-and-raised electronic-indie three-piece of Ben Woolner (vocals), Harry Sayers (guitar/synths) and Michael Bell (percussion), who met as school friends at Radford College, have all since entered their 30s.
It’s coincided with feeling more settled in their own skin. That, in turn, is evident in their music.
“In a way you come full circle and I feel like we’re writing music more freely now like when we did when we first started, but we have a knowledge base to draw from,” Woolner says during a short break in gig rehearsals. You come to a point where you make music for fun again. When you’re young you’re searching for this and pushing for these things.
“Now we’re just happier to let things be and if we write something one day and it’s not great, it’s not the end of the world. We’re having fun with it again.” Success came relatively quickly for Safia. After winning the Groovin The Moo competition as teenagers in 2012, Safia’s melodic and dreamy brand of electronica saw them collaborate with fellow Canberra dance stars Peking Duk on 2014’s Take Me Over, which has been streamed 38.5 million times on Spotify, and they released their own popular singles Counting Sheep, Embracing Me and Over You.
Content credit: Canberra Times