EP Review: Theia

I have had a casual eye on Theia for a wee while; she has been floating around in my music filled memory banks since I heard Roam, so I was rather excited to have an opportunity to review her debut self-titled album.

Theia’s music, which is described as glitter-pop sent me straight to Google to find out what the fanciful term “glitter-pop” actually means, it had conjured up images of a sparkly, colourful singing princess, then throw ethereal into the mix and my mind went into overdrive with visions of glittering, floating faeries with angelic voices. As her new stage name suggests, she is clearly not a faerie / angel, she is a divine goddess of light.

Don’t let any of my fantastical musings fool you, when I came back down to earth it quickly became apparent that this young lady means business. Her influences are diverse and extensive, ranging from Crowded House to Bjork and the Mama’s and the Papa’s to Amy Winehouse.

Theia (Em–Haley Walker) 26 years old and has already been compared to Lorde and Broods. Formerly known as PLUM, the singer from Christchurch released Roam almost a year ago sparking an incredible streaming frenzy on Spotify of almost 3 million. Let me amend that figure, it has now surpassed 4 million as I write this.

With a change in name also came a change in image and an advanced polished version of Em-Haley Walker has emerged. She has a very well thought out style, which is rather unique yet seems to be influenced by her love of Rihanna. Whatever her image has become, is extremely marketable and appealing to the younger generation much like her music. The whole Theia package is rather refreshing and forward thinking, everything you could possibly want in an up and coming pop star (or ancient planet as the case may be).

Fast forward to June of 2017 and a 6 track EP has emerged, all those hours locked away in studios creating magic has come down to this. Her self-titled album. Theia.

This is a skilfully engineered album; a lot of thought has been given to the lyrics and the song writing process. There is indeed an ethereal quality in her vocals, I tried to find another descriptive word instead of the over used “ethereal”, but it actually perfectly describes her sound. There are multiple layers to her music, combining light with dark and bass with synth, wrapping it all in RnB/Techno-Pop with perhaps a sprinkling of glitter.

Theia has released six very appealing, highly marketable tracks ranging from the funky track Silver Second, to the moody Champagne Supernova and my personal favourite, the catchy and reflective Everything. Included in this EP is the popular Roam. The current tour to promote Theia has an all-female line up and word is she is every bit as professional and polished on stage as she is in the studio.

The songs she writes are based on life experience and are personal; it seems she is sharing her life with us through music, connecting with her fans. All the research I did surrounding Theia and her album pointed to the fact that she is a genuine, caring, sweet and lovely person (and incredibly stylish with cool hair). It seems she is able to communicate with people on many levels and the fact that she used to teach Te Reo to primary School children, and that she went back to perform at that School, ensures a place in the hearts of even our youngest music aficionados.

A talented performer showing the world just what she is capable of. A young lady with a glittery future on the verge of creating a big bang.

To keep up to date with everything Theia go to www.theiaofficialxo.com and usual Social Media sites.