SAFIRE + SLIM Z + SPIKE MY HEART + COWZ – DALTONS, BRIGHTON 6.6.25
We were back at Daltons for the premier, hometown, and headline show of a currently little-known artist by the name of ‘Safire‘. Daltons is a great venue. Both the artist and underrated by the mainstream (at this point) but are (in my opinion) about to be embraced, as the next ‘big thing,’ and place to be. After the headline act of the night tickets would give free entry to the ‘That’s Hot’ club night also staged at Daltons.
It has been a long while since I happened across a new talent purely by accident, but this was the case with Safire. Social media, with its algorithms sprinkled with serendipity and a hint of zeitgeist, propelled the artist into my periphery.
After repeated listens I knew this artist was something a little special. I have learned to trust my gut instincts when my antenna picks up an artist who is undeniably the next ‘big thing’, Safire is one of those artists.
Why ‘artist’ rather than performer? As her set on Friday, the 6th of June proved, this is a complete 360-degree experience, not just a performance, more performance art.
The newer acts coming up, including (FKA Twigs and Ashniko), know this. Music has always embraced other art forms to publicise itself. As everyone knows, the likes of Prince, Madonna, and Bowie propelled this into new stratospheres. To be a performer in the internet age is to embrace every art-form and medium to find success.
Safire is not just embracing new mediums and technology; they are constantly experimenting with, and revelling in them. You must see what works first before you can fully embrace it.
The most exhilarating thing about watching an artist evolve into a new phenomenon is catching them on the crest of a wave, ‘on the up’. That specific point where everyone else can feel the energy in the room shift and the spotlight turn to shine on a star in the making. On the night, we had not intended to review, just to confirm our gut instincts were right. As a result, we did not arrive at the venue until just after 9pm.
There were three support acts, including ‘COWZ‘, who were first up. A number of our team always love and wants to see more of COWZ live in action. We last reviewed their live act only last month at The Hope & Ruin which you can read HERE.
Added support came from ‘Spike My Heart‘, who (we are reliably informed) were excellent and should appeal to our wider readership and are now on my must-see list for the near future.
On our arrival, there was a smattering of people in the audience, close to the stage, watching ‘Slim Z‘ (AKA Kieran Armitage, a producer who has also worked with Safire). Exuding youth and exuberance, Slim Z bounced across the stage, beaming and relishing every minute on stage. Skilfully bending lyrical content, this cheeky artist divested themselves of their shirt and romped around the stage area, drawing the gleeful audience in with every grin, smile and knowing wiggle of the hips.
Thoroughly watchable, they were the perfect warm-up act. They gave a taste of what was to come and quite literally warmed the audience up for the main act, who was soon to take the stage and the audience that had embraced the support by storm. It was a clever move by the collaborators to have them show their skill as an artist and producer.
So, to the main act themselves.
The stage set, the audience primed, and we waited. We waited just enough to make us slightly worried that they would not appear. Safire (pronounced ‘Sapphire’) rewarded our patience with their appearance. Resplendent with unexpectedly long and dark hair (later confirmed to be, as suspected, a wig). Safire’s sheer presence filled the room as only genuine artists can. They presented swagger, peppered their chat with a knowing humour, packing a presence, and ‘look’ as strong as their lyrics and THAT voice.
Without a band, just backing tracks and eventually two dancers. The performer more than proved that they can fill a venue vocally without all the whistles and bells weighing them down. We can only guess what a full backing band and staging will do for them as they continue to rise to prominence.
The show peppered ‘bangers’ throughout the set. The audience formed a horseshoe around the performance area from start to finish. Everyone strained to get the best view possible. Nobody needed to worry as Safire made their way into and around the audience. As well as delivering plenty of engagement from every area of the stage.
Halfway through the set, the performer brought out her dancers. They were keen to point out that this was the first time that they had engaged professional dancers in a performance. Additionally, they had been rehearsing in the weeks leading up to the show. As a final word, they alluded that if everything went wrong, at least they had tried.
Again, there was no need for worry. The dancers only served to enhance the act and added some spice to an already electric show. They stayed for a few more tracks and returned at the end of the show for the closing track. It was interesting and engaging to see how the performance changed without their added support.
The second half of the set ramped the audience up to fever pitch with every successive track. ‘Bookended’ by two tracks which told the audience what to expect, and how Safire will continue from here on in. It was less a setlist and more a statement of intent.
Standout tracks on the night were, ‘Rich’, ‘Dopamine Slut,’ ‘SNYDE’, ‘Hard Fast’, ‘BDSM’, ‘LSD’, ‘Shine Bitch,’ and the current single enjoying radio play on Radio Reverb and BBC Introducing ‘Beauty In The Chaos’.
Safire:
Safire – lead, backing vocals, songwriter
Safire setlist:
‘Army Of The Dead’ (unreleased)
‘Fear No Evil’ (unreleased)
‘Rich’ (unreleased)
‘Paradise’ (from 2024 ‘Paradise’ single)
‘Dopamine Slut’ (from 2024 ‘Dopamine Slut’ single)
‘Mercy’ (from 2023 ‘Mercy’ single)
‘SNYDE’ (from 2024 ‘SNYDE’ single)
‘Hard Fast’ (from 2024 ‘Hard Fast’ single)
‘Ice Cream’ (unreleased)
‘BDSM’ (unreleased)
‘LSD’ (unreleased)
‘Shine Bitch’ (from 2022 ‘Shine Bitch’ single)
‘Beauty In The Chaos’ (from 2024 ‘Beauty In The Chaos’ single)
