Having recently released her sophomore album, Pluto, Maja Lena has announced her UK tour, including a date at Heartbreakers bar in Southampton on Saturday 28 January 2023.
On Pluto, Maja Lena journeys from the pastoral to the cosmic, continuing her increasing fascination with science fiction and the icy, electronic soundscapes of 1980s’ Japanese cinema and video game music.
“Like many people over lockdown, I retreated more than ever into my imagination,” explains Maja. “And was enjoying reading fantasy fiction and watching sci-fi programmes.
“Hence the main theme for this album became reality vs. imagination and believing stories we’ve created in our heads, as well as plutonic themes, such as destruction and creation, transformation and renewal.
“It is set in an alternate world close to Pluto, which is the smaller planet you can see in the album artwork and it’s very much a loose interpretation of what it looked like.”
Working on a no dig permaculture vegetable growing project as well as for a natural horsemanship yard has given Maja plenty of time for her imagination to run wild.
“I do a lot of my songwriting whilst working outdoors,” she says. “Often humming melodies to myself and thinking about lyrics.
“I find working alone out on the land quite recharging – it can in turn give me energy for music and gigging.
“My love of nature and animals feeds into the sound. I like to find sounds or riffs that might conjure landscapes in my head – for this album that’s otherworldly sounds or creatures in particular.”
Immersion in the natural world has always influenced her creativity – it was a dominant force in her earlier writing for The Keeper, which was inspired by mountains and valleys she’d seen in real life.
Tickets for all dates are available HERE.
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