Born in Saudi Arabia to Pakistani parents, Samia has lived in the UK since she was a child. Her dynamic, evolving working practice encompasses music, visual art and education.

She writes and performs songs based on traditional Urdu Ghazal, a highly refined union of poetry with music, extending and subverting the form to explore contemporary issues around identity, race and gender.

She has collaborated with acclaimed world-class musicians, writers and artists including Baluji Shrivastav OBE, Mallika Sarabhai, Guiliano Modarelli, Kishwar Naheed, Seemab Gul, Al MacSween, Sukhdeep Dhanjal, Sianed Jones, Anne Tiburtius and Cris Cheek.

She is also a visual artist, mainly working in painting and video. Her live shows are supported by projections of her original visual art.