Maija Mäkelä is a writer and musician from Galway, Ireland.
Her poetry has appeared in The Stinging Fly, Banshee, Berlin Lit and elsewhere, and she has written essays, music criticism and art writing for various publications. She is assistant editor at Fallow Media, and sometimes writes *mystes *a sporadic newsletter on things like poetry, mysticism and pop culture.
A highly acclaimed songwriter, her work traverses between idiosyncratic styles of freak-folk and experimental pop. She has released two albums under the name Maija Sofia; Bath Time (Trapped Animal, 2019) which was nominated for the Choice Music Prize; and True Love (Tulle Collective, 2023) which was praised in The Guardian, and in The QuietusShe has toured extensively, performing everywhere from DIY art spaces and haunted churches to national opera houses and concert halls, on her own and as support for artists such as Sharon Van Etten, Julian Baker and Mega Bog. She also composes music for film and sound-art installations in collaboration with visual artists.
She is a recipient of the Arts Council of Ireland’s Next Generation Award, as well as music bursary awards from Dublin City arts office and the Arts Council. She has been commissioned by the National Concert Hall, Sirius Arts Centre, Dublin Digital Radio, Solas Nua and Cork Midsummer Festival and her work has been arranged and performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra.
She is currently pursuing a PhD on poetry and bewilderment at Trinity College Dublin.
Find her at:
(I am available for commissions and always interested in hearing about potential projects and collaborations.)
Contact: maijasofiamusic at gmail dot com