She’s got plenty of good things going on…
Heartbreak, for all of its hardship and destruction, is utterly beautiful. Signifying the end of one chapter and the beginning of the next, the emotions and self-reflection it manifests are drenched in wonderful, transformative stardust. Whether or not one immerses themselves in that stardust is a completely different thing, but there’s no doubt that Aussie-songstress and queen of hearts Wafia is glowing with it, and her new EP Good Things (out now), is solid proof that it makes for some damn gorgeous music.
A proper breakthrough in her creative and emotional journey, Good Things embodies everything we love about the the ‘Pick Me’ singer: Honey-drenched vocals, killer lyrics and enough honesty to purify even the darkest of souls. It’s a spiritual cleansing, and I guarantee you, you’re gonna finish that EP knowing more than ever that happiness comes from within, and that inner happiness is by far the purest kind.
We got to catch up with the L.A.-based singer-songwriter to get deep on the EP, suss out how she’s been holding up on the other side of the world and get the deets on that special shoutout she got from Elton John (with some fangirling sprinkled in for good measure).
Check it below.
I wanna start this off by saying Happy Birthday for the other week! What did you do for the special day?
Aw thank you! My partner sort of organized the whole day. I got a bunch of gifts and then I had some friends surprise me. I have this little front lawn area, so they all drove by at different times. But, you know, in very socially-distant fashion and no more than one at a time [laughs].
Did you have any birthday wishes?
Not really, but I kinda had this realisation that this would be the year of my life where I would release an album, so that was like a very cool realization that I hadn’t thought about. But it’s hard to think too far into the future in the middle of this pandemic. It’s hard to make any kind of plans, you know. So, I’m just trying to only make commitments to myself that I can keep right now.
Now onto music, congrats on ‘Good Things’! How excited are you to finally let it into the world, in its entirety?
It feels so good! I’ve been sitting on this, not the music, but I’ve been working towards this for a very long time. And the feeling is really rewarding that like it gets to happen in this time and it’s a really nice thing to look forward to when, you know, I can’t tour and can’t have much else. I don’t even have a lot of friends or family around me. So, to be able to put out music has been definitely something that’s keeping me sane right now.
The EP has this really joyous air of self-love and growth from a bad relationship. When was the moment you saw the beauty in everything and how much you’d grown?
I think it takes time and it comes in waves! And I don’t think there was a definitive moment. I think when you break up with someone there’s always a lot of doubt, like “Is this the right decision?” or “What if I’m making the biggest mistake of my life?” And I think real love, in a relationship that isn’t codependent, is trusting that you always will love each other. And just sort of trusting that what will be, will be, and that will inevitably be the right thing for you. So yeah, it comes in waves. It wasn’t until like in the last nine months, I feel, where I was like, “Oh, I’m solid.” But yeah, those first few weeks after a breakup are so rough.
‘Pick Me’ is my absolute favourite. I love the message, your vocals, the gorgeous beat and just everything about it. It just feels so uplifting. Do you still get the same feeling listening to it now as when you first recorded it?
A hundred percent! It came on in the car yesterday by accident and it just felt so good! And especially by like the last chorus I’m like fully in. I’m like “Yeah, yeah, I did that.” And I still listen to that being surprised. Not by the song, but by what led me to write the song. That I did pick myself and here I am in 2020, like this is not where I thought my life would be, pandemic aside. But I was reflecting on the fact that it was my birthday last year and I was in that bad relationship at the time. And what that looked like, and back then I was thinking “That was gonna be my person forever? Really?” And so, I’ve just done so much growing since then. I’ve done so much work on myself too now. I’ve made room for better to come along.
I saw on your Insta Elton John shouted it out on his radio show and called it a “Great track”, what was it like to hear a legend like him show you love like that?
I mean, that was just so wild. The best way I’ve been able to describe it has been that like, it’s a person that my parents who are Iraqi and Syrian can understand. There very few legends that transcend generation and culture, and Elton John is one of those. And so, for me to be able to like call my parents and tell them that was so huge.
Aw that would have been so wholesome.
Yeah, it really was [laughs]. When I first told my dad, I was like, “Dad, this really big artist from your generation said some nice things about me.” That’s pretty much exactly what I said to him. And then I called my mum, and was like, “Elton John ” and she knew who he was. I was like, “Do you think Dad knows who Elton John is?” and she said “Yeah!” and I was like, “I gotta call him back and let him know it was Elton John.” So, I called my dad back and I said, “You know that person I was talking about? It was Elton John.” And that’s when he knew exactly who I was talking about so I was like, “oh wait, it’s not this like vague person that I’m usually describing to my family.” [laughs]
What’s the story behind the lyric “Could you hold me down?” in ‘Hurricane’?
That lyric is almost like being defeated or being down. I wrote that when I was this sort of mess of a person. I’d constantly call my friends, and sometimes only in moments where I was in real distress. And so, I just appreciated that my friends could be there for that period of time, and even after it as well. They get the good side now [laughs]. But like it was… it was weak for a moment there. And I just appreciated that at any given time they could just have my back. So, that to me is what that lyric represents.
But in ‘Pick Me’ you sing “When you’re holding me down I’ll get up and leave”. Does the theme of holding someone down have dual meanings throughout the EP?
You know what, I didn’t even make that connection! But totally, I think I felt really depressed in my last relationship. I wasn’t really myself. I’m very much a goofball. And I know that there was almost no trace of that person in my last relationship. So, I guess it’s just being honest in sharing that. But I didn’t even realize that I had done that until you mentioned it just then, so thank you! [laughs]
‘Good things’ the song is a really beautiful love letter to yourself. I’d normally assume a track like that would go at the end of the EP due to how uplifting it is. What’s the reason it’s the second last and not last song?
I felt very strongly that to make room for the good things, you have to let go of some of the bad. And so, it was almost too predictable to end on a good note. And ‘Lose a Friend’ is honestly one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written, and I really wanted to give it a moment. It didn’t really make sense putting it anywhere else but at the end. And I think when you listen to the EP again, like loop it around and it comes back to ‘Hurricane’ and there’s things about friendship in there, it just makes sense. So yeah, it was very deliberate. There really was no perfect way to put all these songs together but it just felt too easy to end on ‘Good Things’.
‘How To Lose A Friend’ feels like you’re kind of just baring all and embracing all the bad things that come from losing a close friend. Did you get any closure on that loss through writing that song?
No, and I’ve made closure with the fact that I’m not going to get closure. I’ve been very anxious to be honest and put that song out in the world. I haven’t told my friends, like my old friends that that song’s coming out. I felt like it was a bad thing at the time, but it was very honest, and it felt like if I didn’t put that honesty in then it would be a lie. And I think the worst has already happened. Those people aren’t in my life anymore. It can’t get any worse than what it really is, so I may as well be honest.
The EP has such big jumps in mood and emotions, but for all of its craziness I get the vibe you’re in an amazing place right now. Is that accurate?
That’s very accurate. But it’s a very deliberate choice to be where I am. It definitely wasn’t the case a year ago.
Is it hard to maintain that happiness with the world being in such rough shape right now? Or does that happiness come from within?
It comes from within. I think there’s a relief in knowing that there’s no person in the world right now that has the ideal quarantine situation. Everyone is having to sacrifice something right now, and so, when you think about it as like this global effort of something we have to do, you take it a lot less personally. As much as I would love to go see my family and friends in Australia, this is just where I happened to be when it all happened, and this is just where I live now. So it’s just about making the most of it. It’s just about turning whatever you have to gold.
Just watching the NPR tiny desk you did with Ta-ku in 2016, it’s so clear you’ve really come into your own and the art you’re creating is properly fulfilling you in 2020. How do you look back on the journey so far?
I mean I look back at that time with Ta-ku so fondly. I love that man. He’s like my big brother. And I feel so lucky to have had a mentor like that early on in my career rather than someone else. He’s just such a grounding figure in my life. And someone that I looked up to before I even started working with him.
I’ve definitely come out of my shell. Like, I was thinking the other day about how I just wore a lot of black back then. And now, I’m definitely not wearing black all the time [laughs]. And I’ve just… it’s so deliberate to be the person that I am now. And I’m just trying to take as many steps as I can to grow and make the best of whatever I have.
Lastly, what’s the main thing you discovered about yourself throughout making the EP?
I’ve discovered that it’s very easy for me to find myself in co-dependent relationships. And that I give too much of myself, almost too quickly. And so, I’ve had to set up a lot of boundaries. And so often boundaries are seen as a bad thing, but they can be really positive, especially if you want to know very quickly if the person that you’re with respects you. And respects what you set for yourself and the respect that you have for yourself. So, I’ve learnt a lot about that, and the importance of them, and I value them in a different way that maybe a year ago, I wouldn’t have.
‘Good Things’ is out now. You can buy/ stream it here. Be sure to keep up with Wafia on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on all her latest projects.
