The artist Maijah has always impressed me with her ability to weave sound and imagery.

By Graeme Smith

Our coverage of her goes back to 2021 and her atmospheric single Autumn Vibes. 2022 saw her follow that up with her EP Star-Fairy which introduced us to her mystical world.

Her latest single, Thalassophobia, sees her expand her identity to siren-fairy-mermaid for a story of the fear of deep water. Delve into it and you start to realise that there are a lot of nuances going on.

First Maijah’s siren is the one with the fear, and second, the single isn’t really about deep water. Rather it explores anxieties around change, stagnancy, and powerlessness.

Opening gently and wistfully, it soon finds a soft R&B groove. Maijah’s vocal is, as always, seductive and charismatic. Her voice is laidback in its delivery but carries enough emotion to deliver the depth of the lyrics. Just as you get the measure of the composition, things switch up, setting up a beautifully poignant finale.

Thanks to her brand of “Main Character Music,” Maijah has now amassed over 20 million streams and has a growing fanbase. It’s been too long since we last featured her work, so I’m delighted that’s now changed.

Thalassophobia is out now, and you can give it a listen below.