• Maija Sofia – Bath Time

    January 5, 2020 - By 

      The best albums are like books. Each song should act like a chapter, with a clear purpose at the core, laying foundations to the narrative flow. This may sound simplistic, but it’s an achievement only a handful of artists can lay claim to. Maija Sofia is one of them. The Galway-born singer-songwriter began writing her long awaited debut Bath Time while living in London, before recording it upon resettling in Ireland. By writing over extended chapters of her life, Sofia never had any intention to produce a concept album, but found herself with a collection of nine tracks informed by her…

  • Delicate fury: An interview with Maija Sofia

    November 25, 2019 - By 

    The simple, private act of bathing links generations of women, from pre-Raphaelite models of the 1850s to Chelsea Hotel socialites in the 1960s. A solitary, domestic act – baths are a safe refuge from the other side of the door. It is a strange thing – to lock ourselves inside a room in our own homes.  Part inspiration from a daily bathing ritual, part reflection on a Tori Amos lyric – your apocalypse was fab for a girl who couldn’t choose between the shower or the bath – Maija Sofia’s debut LP Bath Time is a nuanced and vital exploration…

  • Preview: Féile na Gréine 2019

    August 12, 2019 - By 

    It’s no longer up for debate: right now, the network of promoters, venues and artists that make up Ireland’s extraordinary DIY music scene (singular) is the strongest and most homogeneous that it’s ever been. From Dundalk, Cork, and Belfast to Letterkenny, Dublin, Derry and beyond, incalculable good people are putting on world-beating shows and festivals, featuring acts of every ilk and every conceivable corner of the island. No area or sound is being overlooked. No band is stranded in the arse-end of nowhere after a show. Blind, sweeping reverence for Dublin as some sort of untouchable bastion of Irish music…

  • Avenues For Belonging: David Berman soundtracked the strangest and saddest parts of life, but also the most beautiful

    August 8, 2019 - By 

    Songwriter and The Thin Air contributor Maija Sofia reflects on the profound and unwavering influence of  late Silver Jews frontman David Berman, and remembers a peerless, uncompromising artist who not only comforted the lonely and lost, but brought them together. I remember very clearly the first night I ever heard Silver Jews, I was sprawled out on the carpet in a big curved room in North London, lying on my stomach with my laptop open and a bottle of Sainsburys’ wine half-finished beside me. It was early summer and I had the window open to the hot dust and the sound…

  • Maija Sofia Announces Debut Album, Releases Lyric Video For ‘Edie Sedgwick’

    June 25, 2019 - By 

    Long a favourite here at The Thin Air, Dublin-based Galway artist Maija Sofia has announced details of her forthcoming debut album, Bath Time. Set for release via Trapped Animal Records in the Autumn, news of the debut comes accompanied with Sofia’s exquisite new single, ‘Edie Sedgwick’. Recorded and mixed by Chris Barry in Alfionn Studio, it’s a typically bewitching effort from the musician, marrying wistful lapsteel lines with sparse guitar, cello and Sofia’s skeletal confessionalism. “The song is about the demise of a relationship that was spiralling beyond anything that I could salvage,” said Sofia. “I wrote it during a summer I spent…

  • Naoise Roo Set To Return With Night of Music, Art, Theatre & Spoken Word

    April 12, 2019 - By 

    Long one of our favourite songwriters & artists on the island, Naoise Roo has been on an extended hiatus for the last couple of years. Thankfully, she’s just announced her return EP, Sick Girlfriend, and is set to hold her first show in a number of years at Dublin’s Project Arts Centre on May 4. The show will serve as a preview of the EP, with Sick Girlfriend‘s four tracks centred around themes of depression, the negative aspects of the music industry, and the stereotypes that burden women experiencing mental illness. Roo will be joined by producer/bassist Daniel Fox of Girl Band, as well as drummer Rian Trench, guitarist Karl Tobin and…

  • Track Record: Maija Sofia

    June 7, 2018 - By 

    In this installment of Track Record we spend time with Maija Sofia in her home for a look through some of her favourite records, from Nick Cave to CocoRosie. Photos by Zoe Holman  Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – Murder Ballads  There are loads of Nick Cave albums I could have put on this list, anyone who knows me personally at all know’s I’m pretty obsessed, so many of his albums are completely incredible, but I think Henry Lee and Where the Wild Roses Grow were the first two Nick Cave songs I ever heard and was like … wow,…

  • Stream: Maija Sofia – Flowers

    January 22, 2018 - By 

    Maija Sofia has teamed up with ambient folk songwriter Kerry Devine for a split 7″ released via Trapped Animal. ‘Flowers’ is the first new music we’ve heard from the Dublin-based, Galway native songwriter since last summer’s ‘Persephone’. One of our 17 for ’17 picks last year, Sofia’s brand of literary, emotive folk music is given a dynamic lift this time round with the aid of a full band, a new venture for the artist that has paid off massively. In describing the song and her decision to bring in some more players, she said, “The lyrics of ‘Flowers’ came to me…