Biography

“For an atheist, she’s got a hell of a lot of soul”

Segal’s latest release, ‘An Atheist Album,’ embodies her thoughts on religion and has quickly made her “a new pin-up girl for the international atheist movement.” (Barny Zwartz -The Age)

The Melbourne based singer-songwriter became involved in secular activism over two years ago, despite her father being the president of a local synagogue. Her songs are a passionate response to dogmatic belief, inequality, religious oppression and the idea that only the devout can be grateful and good. She enjoys bringing this usually controversial topic to the public discourse and finds music to be a effective medium for expression and raising awareness. ‘I can say what I think for three minutes without anybody interrupting me.” (Melbourne Times City Weekly)

‘An Atheist Album’ gives a voice to the often underrepresented views of non-religious people, the fastest growing minority in many countries. As one youtube fan wrote, “I can always come home and listen to Shelley remind us all that we have a voice and a movement of our own, and that there is hope for the future.” After performing this year at the ‘Reason Rally’ to a crowd of 25,000 in Washington DC, Segal’s music video for her single ‘Saved’ has gone global.

Segal grew up in a musical household. She began singing at the age of three, then writing and performing at eleven. Joining her father’s Jewish wedding band early on provided her with an ease and enjoyment performing and writing across a broad range of styles including pop, folk, jazz, blues, rock and reggae. ‘Saved’ has been described as “jazz singing with a Caribbean-rock melody.” Intimate, story-telling and biographical lyrics are what unifies Shelley’s song-writing across genres.

Shelley accompanies herself on guitar and has been performing her original music around Melbourne and internationally for the last ten years. She has been teaching vocals, music theory and song-writing for seven years. In 2009 she recorded her first EP, a collection of songs written between 2002 and 2008 with acclaimed producer Josh Abrahams at Fishtank Studios.

In 2010, Shelley completed a Bachelor of Applied Music from the Box Hill Institute of Tafe. The same year she also wrote and recorded a song with world-renowned DJ Carl Cox. The track, ‘Chemistry’ was a drum and bass single from his latest album ‘All Roads Lead To The Dance Floor.’ Segal has performed to crowds with Cox at Stereosonic festival and at the iconic Billboard. In November 2011 a remix of ‘Chemistry’ spent two weeks at number one on the techno charts.

Last year Shelley launched ‘An Atheist Album’ which has had sales on every continent but Antarctica (though it’s never too late). She also featured on the album ‘Infidelity’ by London socialite Tara Palmer Tomkinson. Shelley has many other musical ventures underway. Upcoming projects include a jazz album with guitarist singer-song writer Adam Levy (Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman,Ani Difranco) a folk-pop album of love songs and an upbeat indie-folk EP with her partner called ‘Snow Pear.’