As we close out 2021, you get the sense that we may see live music’s return to Australian venues in the new year. Tours are being announced, shows are selling out, and we are feeling optimistic. We caught up with Wafia for a quick chat as she prepares her return via the This That stage.
How good is it going to be now that the “live music bus” appears to be loading up and heading around the country in 2022?! Bring on This That I say.
It’s so good! It’s much needed and so exciting to be back on stages.
Personally, as a gig shooter, attending a festival is more than just photographing the artists. It’s about reconnecting with the photographers. I imagine it would be similar for the artists. Post lockdown, this reconnect with your fellow creatives must be so welcome.
Absolutely. Unfortunately social media doesn’t really fill that void for me, I’ve done a little too good of a job disconnecting from it so all I want is to be in and amongst it again. With the fans and with the artists and festivals do the best job of making that happen.
Having been unable to present Good Things in the live environment, does this body of work feel like ‘unfinished business’ in a sense?
Of course! It’s also a big part of why I haven’t put out as much music. I’m really traditional in the sense of wanting to releasing music so I can see it through a tour. I’ve yet to play Good Things to a live audience and it’s really exciting and scary to have waited this long.
Did the 2020 / 21 closures question or change your creative direction and purpose?
Not in a way that’s a stark difference to 2019 honestly. The things that made me feel good, feel even better. The things that repel me, repel me more.
‘I’m Good’ had a major connection with listeners. How did this song’s reception alter the way you thought about yourself as an artist?
I am honestly a little disconnected from a song’s reception and the song itself. I mean of course it blew me away but there isn’t a straight line I’m drawing between what that song has done and how I think about myself. Maybe to a fault. All I know is that it felt really special in the room the day I wrote that song and as a byproduct I’m so grateful that it translated to other people. I just want to keep chasing that feeling of making magic because the rest has little to do with me, and I have little control over it.
I find the lyrics to ‘Wide Open’ very relatable – every line is something I am experiencing right now. Do you find it difficult to write and perform such personal/honest tracks?
Never. I actually find it really hard to do the opposite, like my body will physically repel even the idea. I feel really grateful for that intuition.
Why was 2021 the right time to record with Ta-Ku again, and is this an indication of what is ahead for you in 2022?
It’s honestly never not the right time for him and I to work! We just follow what feels right for both of us and ‘Wide Open’ just happened to be that. As for 2022, I just want to release as much music as I can, play as many shows as ‘they’ll’ let me and surround myself in the people that I’ve been unable to see in person.
This That Festival is held in Newcastle, NSW, Saturday 26 February 2022, and Sandstone Point, QLD, Saturday 5 March 2022. Artists performing include Wafia, Badrapper Vs Luude, Client Liaison, Dune Rats, Hayden James, Jack River, Kota Banks, San Cisco, The Chats + many more