Galway-born, Dublin-based artist Maija Sofia released her debut album Bath Time at the tail end of 2019 and began 2020 with a Choice Music Prize nomination for Irish album of the year, to be decided on March 5. It's a brilliantly immersive listen, one that continues to reward return listens. On the podcast, Maija discusses writing, songwriting, how the album came together, genre and defining her sound (not indie pop!), the Choice Prize nomination and who she'd like to see win, and her show at Cork's Quarter Block Party this Saturday, February 8, with Lemoncello in Coughlan's.
A live TPOE podcast also takes place at Quarter Block Party: Plugd (upstairs at the Roundy), 4pm-5pm, Saturday, February 8 - and it's free!
Bath Time press release
Sofia took inspiration from story-driven traditional folk ballads and shone them through the lens of a punk DIY ethos. The album name comes from the ritual of daily bathing, a whimsical place where most of the lyrics were written. Tracks on the album shine a light on the voices and stories of women through history, from Edie Sedgwick to Bridget Cleary, and the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church. The album was recorded by Chris Barry at Ailfionn Studio and features performances by Ronan Kealy (Junior Brother) and Niall Murphy (Oh Boland).
‘The Gold Shoes’, opens the album tentatively, it’s an ethereal opening before the melancholic and dark ‘Hail Mary’, which starts soft, but the music grows in power alongside the protagonist, as the harp feeds into it more, building on the haunting sound with the complexity and depth of Thom Yorke. ‘Edie Sedgwick’, named after the muse of Andy Warhol has alt-country elements from lap steel player Niall Murphy (Oh Boland) and cellist Laura McCabe (Molly Sterling). ‘The Wife of Michael Cleary’ is an ode to Bridget Cleary, killed by her husband in 1895. Michael Cleary believed his wife had been abducted by fairies with a changeling left in her place. The male vocal is provided by off kilter alt-folk Junior Brother, with singing in the round building tension.
‘The Glitter’ is disturbingly beautiful, an ode to Jean Rhys, a troubled novelist from the Carribean who came to England aged 16 and dealt with issues of displacement and unbelonging. As is ‘Cobweb’ with Sofia’s rich contralto “I didn’t know I was on my own. I’m only as wise as you.” ‘Morning’ mourns lost relationship and the failure of trying to fix a flawed lover. ‘Elizabeth’ is brighter too, but still poignant. ‘The Trees They Do Grow High’ is sung the point of view of a woman forced into marriage too young, watching her children grow and speaking to them. The album wraps around the listener like a velvet cloak, time is irrelevant, and the pain and segregation of female life has been sharply observed by Sofia.
'Bath Time' is a collection of songs written between Dublin, London and rural Galway, it was recorded slowly over several months by Chris Barry in Ailfionn Studio in Dublin. The guitar and vocals tracks were recorded all in one take and then others we brought in to finish the piece - Niall Murphy from Oh Boland plays lap steel and synths, Christophe Capewell who plays with Lisa O'Neill played fiddle, harp by Meabh McKenna, synths by Clara Tracey, and Cello by Laura McCabe, and some guest vocals by Ronan Kealy (Junior Brother).
