PREMIERE: Molijah finds love in uncertain moments on debut single 'Going'

Emerging new artist Molijah has shared her debut single 'Going', premiered below by Hot Press and diving deep into love during difficult personal circumstances.

The Tallaght native (real name Lucy Shah) wrote 'Going' in collaboration with long-time friend and producer Ois, and recorded at various home studios in Dublin. The track will land on all major streaming platforms tomorrow.

With her Dublin accent front and centre on the offering, her raw penchant for R&B and hip-hop mingles effortlessly with the smooth vocals on the chorus. Twinkling synths and captivating beats back the track.

The song lyrics emerged from a tenuous period of Molijah’s life while her mother was ill: "I was going through a very difficult time, and had decided that any kind of romance was off the cards for the time being. And then I saw her in the George..."

"The hook came first when I was jamming the song out with my producer," the rapper/singer continues. "The hook inspired me to write the verses a good while later. It’s about how you can find something good in the worst of times - when you least expect it - and the comfort of having support when you feel lost."

Molijah's melodies and style are inspired by the basslines and the harmonies of Thundercat; the musicality of Tyler, the Creator; the synth lines of the '80s and 90s hip-hop.

"The production of 'Going' took a while to come together," the artist explains. "Although we had jammed the song out we hadn’t completely finalised the song structure acoustically as we usually would. The song didn’t have any verses, it had lots of nice melodies and the chorus but we weren’t sure what its final shape would be."

"Ois had been experimenting with various structures during this phase, and was taking inspiration from Tyler the Creator’s IGOR album with his production techniques. One day I came to him with lyrics and they fit in well - the song took a more coherent shape from there. All the instruments were played and recorded live by Ois. He put down the drums in Logic. All the production took place on my ancient Macbook in our shared apartment."

‘Going’ marks the first cut from Molijah's forthcoming EP, slated to be released in 2022.

"I’ll release another single early next year too. I’m excited to get this set of songs out as I’ve been working on them for quite a long time. I’ll be working on my live show then over the next few months and hopefully get gigging next spring. I’d really like to collaborate with some other artists and producers as well."

Molijah found influence in the sounds of the Motown, soul and funk - all of which filled the house on Sundays while her dad cooked. The sounds of ABBA, Joni Mitchell and Mary Black from long car drives with her mom also played a pivotal role. Molijah sang throughout her school days, wrote music during her 20s, but really started to find her feet in the last few years following a one-year stint in BIMM Dublin. She started writing and recording songs in 2018 alongside her friend and collaborator Ois.

In her teens, Molijah listened to Lauryn Hill, TLC and Outkast; drawing lyrical influence from Noname and Loyle Carner in current times. The creative has vowed to keep vulnerability and honesty at the core of her lyrics. Racism, identity, religion, love, and loss are all themes which will appear in full form on her brand new EP, which will surely showcase a rising Irish star on the scene.

Listen to the powerful 'Going' below: