The Goo 1
SHAR DULLAGHAN Interview PHOTO BY: ROSA MAKELA Ha
iling from the rural west of Ireland, Maija Sofia exists in the linear notes of sound. Embodying elements of folk, trad and mysticism, Sofia has made waves in the Irish music scene with her specific brand of faerie music. Following the cult acclaim of her debut album ‘Bath Time’ in 2019, Sofia has given life to her sophomore album ‘True Love’ which is set to be released September 1st. We caught up with Maija Sofia ahead of its release to discuss foremothers of the Irish music scene, the origin of her inspiration, trad influences and the ever evolving nature of devotion and what that means to her. PAGE 8 How did you start this project? How did you decide to become a solo artist? It was never really a decision, as a teenager I wanted to be in a band, but all the bands were boys. So, I didn’t want that to stop me, I thought if I started playing music, eventually someone would invite me to be in their band. Then fast forward ten years and now people come and play in my band. That can be daunting, the gig scene can sometimes feel like a boy’s club, if you don’t make your place in the scene, you cannot find your place. Have you felt that has been an obstacle for you as a woman in music? When I was younger and starting out, yeah. I don’t care as much now, I’m just happy to be doing my own thing. 10 years ago, it felt like you were a singersongwriter if you were a girl and if you’re a boy you get to have a cool crew of people doing things together. I think it’s a little bit lonelier for women, you have to fight your corner a bit, you have to work harder at being heard. Whereas with men, you will just be heard. It’s less welcoming, it’s less assumed that as a woman you’ll be making noise and drawing attention to yourself. God forbid you do that! Considering that, who do you draw most of your influence from? Is it singer-songwriters or bands or a healthy mix of both? A mix of all. I always say Kate Bush, she’s the obvious one for me. She is my lifelong hero. Sinead O’Connor also was a big inspiration for me. I have always listened to bands. When I was a teenager I was obsessed with The Smiths and when I was 15 I thought they were the coolest band ever. I was also inspired by the women I could see in Ireland, who were starting out. There were artists like Laura Sheeran and Katie Kim and people like that who were kind of doing things in the Irish music scene that were unusual and different and were women doing it on their own. I saw Laura and Katie play a gig together in Roisin Dubh in Galway when I was about 16 and