I Am Afiya
South London’s i.am.afiya is an artist you can’t box in. A singer, songwriter, and self-taught guitarist and pianist, she fuses genres with fearless ease — earning the label “indie-emo-soul” from The Line of Best Fit. Her music reflects influences as varied as King Krule, Lianne La Havas, Radiohead and Paramore, all distilled into a sound that’s wholly her own.
After graduating from BIMM Brighton, she reignited her passion through Instagram covers that quickly caught the attention of Nai Palm, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Hayley Williams and Emily King. When the world paused in 2020, she picked up the guitar and emerged with her first self-produced EP, Song's from Above. The love-soaked project secured spots on BBC Introducing, Wordplay Magazine's Wordplay Sessions, and Spotify’s Our Generation playlist, with standout track One Again racking up thousands of streams.
Her 2022 follow-up, 20 Something Blues, captured the highs and lows of navigating your twenties. Hailed by The Line of Best Fit as “one to keep an eye on with so much potential and a voice that’s as warm as it is sublime,” the release propelled her onto festival stages at Latitude and Wild Paths, plus a headline slot for BBC Introducing Norfolk.
In 2023, i.am.afiya unveiled her first full-band track ‘A Song For' — a meditative, soul-steeped moment praised by Stereofox for its “truly extraordinary”vocals. The year also saw a full-band performance of Lost (Wordplay Sessions- garnering 14k+ views) and performances at iconic venues like Ronnie Scott’s and Laylow.
2024 brought ‘And So It Goes’ — a bright, dance-infused indie-soul anthem with a sun-drenched LA video, showing her growing reach and refusal to be bound by genre.
A defining moment came when i.am.afiya and her band stepped into Abbey Road Studios in 2023. There they recorded ‘Dreaming’ — a soaring reminder to hold on to hope — alongside a new full-band version of fan favourite‘Lost’. Together, the tracks showcase her journey so far: one eye fixed on the future, the other pushing her sound into bold new territory.
Both songs arrive this autumn, with ‘Dreaming’and ‘Lost’set for release on October 13th, 2025. Fans can also catch i.am.afiya + band at Wild Paths Festival on Saturday 18th October, 2025.
With a voice that lingers long after the music stops and a vision that cuts across genre lines, i.am.afiya is shaping a new frontier for indie soul.