Originally from rural Galway, Maija Sofia is a now Dublin-based songwriter who’s quietly been making waves with her brand of DIY-folk. After the success of her break-out single Flowers, Maija began work on her ambitious debut album, Bath Time. Lifting its name from where most of the album’s lyrics were written, Bath Time is a re-imagining of traditional folk ballads, taking women’s voices, often left unrepresented in historical retellings, and giving them a chance to speak back. Throughout Bath Time, Maija strives to retell the stories of misunderstood muses, displaced authors and murdered wives, and shine a light that previously only passed them by.
As well as a lyrical reinterpretation of the classic folk blue-print, Bath Time is also something of a musical makeover. Throughout, Maija and her electric guitar take the front of stage, and then sounds are built around them, whether that’s wistful Lap Steel or the orchestral flourish of harp. Never lost into the mix though are Maija’s words, often tumbling out, desperate to be spoken, whether telling the tale of Bridget Cleary, killed by a husband who thought she’d been abducted by fairies and replaced by a changeling, looking at the doomed love affair between Elizabeth Siddal and Rossetti or interrogating the Catholic Church. A fascinating collection of tracks that has something to say and demands that its listeners take the time to listen, Bath Time is a perfect tribute and timely reminder that the battle to be heard still rumbles on.
Following the success of lo-fi dream-pop single ‘Flowers’, Maija Sofia releases her debut album ‘Bath Time’ via Trapped Animal Records & Cargo Records and is out on 15th November 2019.
The Fat Angel Sings 