Xen Sapphire / Courtesy of Xen Sapphire

One of the best music duos in Seoul's foreign music scene almost didn't come together. It started in 2024 when Rob Nichols came to an open mic event at Taco Amigo, located near Noksapyeong Station on Seoul Metro Line 6. After he played his 2018 song "Noksapyeong," the event host, Xen Sapphire, approached him.

"As soon as he had gotten off the stage, I said to him, listen, that song, absolutely incredible, makes me cry," Sapphire told The Korea Times. "It's probably one of my top five songs of all time. Could I cover it?"

He refused at first, saying the song is too personal for him to share with another singer.

She asked him again after seeing him perform it another time, suggesting that they could just do it as a private rehearsal. But Nichols told her not to sing the second verse, which contains lyrics referencing his childhood trauma involving a father who deserted him.

"And I said, OK, let's do it. As long as I can just sing a little bit, I'll be happy," she recalled.

Afterward, Nichols changed his mind, telling her that she does it justice.

"She just makes it her own," he said. "It’s humbling for me that she even wants to sing it. She has such a great voice that I’m a little self-conscious when I play it now, solo or with the band, as I know my voice just isn’t in the same league. Her voice is a mixture of smoky and silky, and fairly low for a girl, though definitely still feminine. Her voice cracks where it needs to crack, and soars to a fullness while still gentle in its own way. And her vibrato is second to none."

They've performed together ever since, and "Noksapyeong" is always a highlight of their sets, including the second verse.

"It's a beautiful song. I'm so thankful that he let me do that with such a precious thing to him. I think Rob is one of the best songwriters I've ever met in my life or just even heard in my life, honestly. I say it to him all the time," Sapphire said.

"When I want to cover a song, I take it very seriously and I sing it in my own way. Even though I didn't write that song, I really felt the lyrics a lot, especially the second verse, because my parents separated when I was young. Maybe that's why it made me so emotional when I first heard it."

The two have been performing together a lot, as well as recording at Nichols' home studio. Nichols remarked that he has been performing more with Sapphire than even his own band, Honey Jam Sam.

Sapphire's own journey to Korea, where she works as a full-time model while also developing her singing and songwriting career, involves her own complicated family history. She grew up in London with an unusual heritage: her mother is Kashmiri Pakistani, and her father is half Kashmiri Indian and half Irish.

After her parents divorced, her older sister Sara, who wanted to pursue an acting career in Hollywood, announced that she wanted to change her surname. She believed their Indian family name, Singha, didn't stand out enough, and she needed more of a celebrity name, something glamorous, something that sparkles.

"She wanted to keep her initials SSS, and she's very into crystals and spells and all of that kind of stuff, spirituality, things like that. She likes gemstones and things. So she decided, okay, let's go with Sapphire."

Their mother supported the decision, saying they no longer needed to use their father's surname and encouraging Sara to seek a legal name change. Both the mother and older sister welcomed Xen, then around 15, to change her name as well.

That's how she became Seraphina Xenia Sapphire.

Xen Sapphire / Courtesy of Xen Sapphire

Despite the name change, she remained close to her father. While she was in university, her dad was diagnosed with cancer, and she dropped out so she could live with him and offer care full-time.

"I used to do his shopping," she said. "He used to love these mandu dumplings from this Korean food mart near his house. So every week I would place an order with them and they would call me when my order was done. I would pick it up every week, and it was the same workers, same staff members, and we just naturally became friends."

Her dad passed away in June 2018, and around that time, her Korean friends' working holiday visas also expired. Before they left, they invited Sapphire to visit them in Korea someday.

She made it to Korea in September that year, staying for about a month and a half.

After returning to the U.K., she applied for a working holiday visa, and returned. It was a difficult year, when she didn't know much about Korean society or the language, and she struggled to find work.

"And I thought, listen, I'm not going back to London, I have nothing there, but at least I've made a few friends in Korea and I could start a new life here," she said.

After her working holiday, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and she was stuck in London for eight months.

She returned later in 2020 as a student, and people kept asking her if she was in entertainment. She had already been studying songwriting, but people encouraged her to try modeling. She messaged around to a few agencies, and one of them accepted her.

"I've made so many amazing friends in Korea," Sapphire said. "Before I came to Korea, I couldn't even look people in the eye. I had agoraphobia. I used to have really bad panic attacks. And it completely shifted when I moved to Korea. And that's one of the biggest reasons why I'm still here. Because my mindset is completely changed. It sounds very morbid and sad maybe, but the big reason was my father passing away."

As a songwriter, Sapphire said that she's written over 200 songs of her own, but has not recorded most of them.

"I am one of those people who is incredibly shy and self-conscious about sharing my music because it's so personal to me and I feel like someone's gonna judge me for my lyrics or my melody," she said. "I've been very, not secretive, but I've kept my songs very close to me and I only reveal them to people I 100 percent trust. Rob has been very helpful with helping me with that."

She's currently working on a collaboration with Eubene, a Korean songwriter, with the finished product expected out in August, in time for her birthday.

"This is actually the first happy song I've ever written in my life out of over 200 songs," Sapphire said. "So it's going to be a very nice birthday present to have and it's just a beautiful thing to be able to connect with people via music and share your ideas and feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable with them."

Xen Sapphire holds Bubu, one of her rescue cats. Courtesy of Xen Sapphire

Saving Seoul's cats

Sapphire is organizing a benefit concert this Friday at Sunset Beach in Itaewon, raising funds for YongsanCats, a local rescue operation trying to save cats from the path of demolition for the nearby Hannam New Town development.

"People really don't understand that cats are the most loving creatures," she said. "And they're very loyal."

Sapphire, who grew up with cats, said that cat rescue has become her passion in Korea.

"When I moved to Korea, I saw that there were so many cats on the street," she said. "Every time I saw a cat, I wanted to take them home, so I started rescuing cats and fostering cats."

Her first cat rescue was in Gangnam.

"He came up to me screaming, meowing," she said. "Nobody even glanced at him. I went around everywhere asking everybody, does this cat have a home? They all said to me, he doesn't have a home, but we feed him. He sleeps under the stairs."

A kitten cries for help in southern Seoul, July 15, 2021. Courtesy of Xen Sapphire

She made it her mission over the next couple weeks to rescue him. After putting out a trap, she caught him, and she never let him go.

She now has three cats, all rescues from the street, including that one, which she named Bubu.

"My mission in life since I was a child was to just rescue every animal on the planet or in my world, I guess every animal I come across," she said. "I wanted to do more, but I live in a two-bedroom place, and I can't take in more cats permanently. But what I can do is do fundraisers for shelters and rescues and help other people rescue cats."

Sapphire's fundraiser for YongsanCats will feature various performers including Eubene, singer-songwriter Geoffrey Lewis and rapper Jazzphai, among others. Entry costs 10,000 won, which goes entirely to YongsanCats, and 10 percent of bar sales will also support the rescue operation. Follow @yongsancats on Instagram or @xensapphire on Instagram for more information.

"There are so many cats that need help and we need more people to take it seriously. Not just feed cats on the street. Even now, we're going through typhoon season. Every time I hear that thunder, rain, my heart hurts for the cats that are outside."

Xen Sapphire's three cats, Cleopatra, Theodore and Bubu, all rescued from Korean streets, lounge together on a couch. Courtesy of Xen Sapphire

Right after her birthday next month, she will host a show at Uplift on Aug. 14, featuring at least 10 different music, burlesque and pyrotechnic acts.

She will also perform in September at Block Party, a multi-venue festival happening in Gyeongnidan and nearby Haebangchon. Honey Jam Sam will perform as well. Follow @blockpartykorea on Instagram for more information.