MAIJA SOFIA
Maija Sofia Makela is a songwriter and artist from the rural west of Ireland who works between the overlapping worlds of music, performance and text. Often exploring themes of haunting, alternate histories, intimacy and affect, her album Bath Time is available here.
Released in 2019, Maija Sofia’s debut album Bath Time announced her as an accomplished songwriter, gaining widespread critical acclaim and an Album of the Year nomination at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize. A recipient of the Arts Council of Ireland’s prestigious Next Generation Award 2020 and music bursary awards from Dublin City arts office and the Arts Council, Maija has since been commissioned to write new compositions by several revered cultural institutions, including the National Concert Hall, Sirius Arts Centre, Dublin Digital Radio, Solas Nua and Cork Midsummer Festival. Her work has been arranged and performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra and she has performed several times on national television and radio. Alternating between solo performances and a full band, and with a preference for analogue and experimental instrumentation, Maija’s sound continuously evolves and expands its breadth. Alongside her music, she has written various texts for performance and installation and her poetry has been published in The Stinging Fly, Banshee and elsewhere. She is the host of a monthly experimental radio show called Invocations on Dublin Digital Radio.
You can find Maija on
Instagram
Twitter
Bandcamp
Spotify
Dublin Digital Radio
Interview in the Irish Independent
Contact
I am always interested in hearing about potential writing commissions, collaborations and other projects. You can reach me at
maijasofiamusic@gmail.com
Praise for Bath Time:
“There is a timeless quality to Sofia’s songwriting style that becomes more crucial with each listen.” 5 stars - The Irish Times
“The music of Maija Sofia is steeped in melancholia and history, drawing on the folk idiom and punk’s DIY ethic.” - Irish Examiner
“Luminous, twisted brilliance ....Evokes an intimate world that hangs on the tendrils of a voice that yearns to speak” - Gold Flake Paint
“A beautiful opus of atmospheric folk” 9/10 - The Line of Best Fit
“Compelling, emotive, breathtaking folk magic” - Earmilk
"A real timeless quality is rare in so much of modern music, but the delicate timbre of Maija
Sofia's music is impossible to ascribe to particular moment. She doesn't occupy an easily identifiable space - there are few genres which could accurately pinpoint her sound - and the ease with which she weaves grand tales of mythos into short and delicate folk tunes suggests a true finesse. Her subject matter is seldom trivial - abuse, mythological stories, feminism and loss are considered with a confident serenity.."
- Andrea Cleary, The Irish Times
Released in 2019, Maija Sofia’s debut album Bath Time announced her as an accomplished songwriter, gaining widespread critical acclaim and an Album of the Year nomination at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize. A recipient of the Arts Council of Ireland’s prestigious Next Generation Award 2020 and music bursary awards from Dublin City arts office and the Arts Council, Maija has since been commissioned to write new compositions by several revered cultural institutions, including the National Concert Hall, Sirius Arts Centre, Dublin Digital Radio, Solas Nua and Cork Midsummer Festival. Her work has been arranged and performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra and she has performed several times on national television and radio. Alternating between solo performances and a full band, and with a preference for analogue and experimental instrumentation, Maija’s sound continuously evolves and expands its breadth. Alongside her music, she has written various texts for performance and installation and her poetry has been published in The Stinging Fly, Banshee and elsewhere. She is the host of a monthly experimental radio show called Invocations on Dublin Digital Radio.
You can find Maija on
Bandcamp
Spotify
Dublin Digital Radio
Interview in the Irish Independent
Contact
I am always interested in hearing about potential writing commissions, collaborations and other projects. You can reach me at
maijasofiamusic@gmail.com
Praise for Bath Time:
“There is a timeless quality to Sofia’s songwriting style that becomes more crucial with each listen.” 5 stars - The Irish Times
“The music of Maija Sofia is steeped in melancholia and history, drawing on the folk idiom and punk’s DIY ethic.” - Irish Examiner
“Luminous, twisted brilliance ....Evokes an intimate world that hangs on the tendrils of a voice that yearns to speak” - Gold Flake Paint
“A beautiful opus of atmospheric folk” 9/10 - The Line of Best Fit
“Compelling, emotive, breathtaking folk magic” - Earmilk
"A real timeless quality is rare in so much of modern music, but the delicate timbre of Maija
Sofia's music is impossible to ascribe to particular moment. She doesn't occupy an easily identifiable space - there are few genres which could accurately pinpoint her sound - and the ease with which she weaves grand tales of mythos into short and delicate folk tunes suggests a true finesse. Her subject matter is seldom trivial - abuse, mythological stories, feminism and loss are considered with a confident serenity.."
- Andrea Cleary, The Irish Times
