Maya’s Radio Orchestra
‘Garden Variety’
Glasgow-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maya’s Radio Orchestra returns with her emotionally intimate and rhythmically immediate, genre-blurring new single ‘Garden Variety’.
A harpist, fiddler, vocalist, and string arranger, Maya combines classical instrumentation with modern pop textures to striking effect. In ‘Garden Variety’, disco-inspired strings, layered harp, and urgent percussion underpin lyrics that examine the often-blurry line between compassion and overreach.
“It came together after I gave someone what I thought was helpful advice — but it clearly wasn’t wanted. That made me reflect on the balance between caring for others and maintaining your own wellbeing.”
The track began life as a sparse harp-and-voice demo but transformed after a collaboration with drummer Edwin McLachlan, who brought in an unpredictable, high-energy drum part. Maya re-composed the strings in response, drawing from 70s and 80s disco orchestration. The final result is a confident blend of genres, grounded by the refrain: “You don’t like my common garden variety advice / Your rage blooms, and I’m terrified.”
A harpist, fiddler, vocalist, and string arranger, Maya combines classical instrumentation with modern pop textures to striking effect. In ‘Garden Variety’, disco-inspired strings, layered harp, and urgent percussion underpin lyrics that examine the often-blurry line between compassion and overreach.
“It came together after I gave someone what I thought was helpful advice — but it clearly wasn’t wanted. That made me reflect on the balance between caring for others and maintaining your own wellbeing.”
The track began life as a sparse harp-and-voice demo but transformed after a collaboration with drummer Edwin McLachlan, who brought in an unpredictable, high-energy drum part. Maya re-composed the strings in response, drawing from 70s and 80s disco orchestration. The final result is a confident blend of genres, grounded by the refrain: “You don’t like my common garden variety advice / Your rage blooms, and I’m terrified.”
Photo by Laura Meek
Originally from a village near Cheltenham, Maya moved to Scotland to study theology — later switching to physics — before turning fully to music. She trained in clàrsach (Celtic harp) and pedal harp at Edinburgh College and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and now works as a performer, arranger, and session musician. Her music fuses traditional instruments with unexpected influences, often layering harp and fiddle over bold textures.
Maya’s Radio Orchestra has earned radio play on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 3, and BBC Radio Ulster, and was featured in SNACK Mag, Teal Cheese, and Rattler. Maya was awarded the Paolo Nutini Songwriting Scholarship in 2022, and recently was a finalist at Bread and Roses at Glastonbury.
Beyond her solo work, Maya plays with The Willow Trio and the symphonic metal outfit Catalyst Symphony Band, and regularly collaborates as a session musician, contributing strings to releases by Outi Smith, Fergus McNeill, and Rusina Lekukh.
Maya’s Radio Orchestra has earned radio play on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 3, and BBC Radio Ulster, and was featured in SNACK Mag, Teal Cheese, and Rattler. Maya was awarded the Paolo Nutini Songwriting Scholarship in 2022, and recently was a finalist at Bread and Roses at Glastonbury.
Beyond her solo work, Maya plays with The Willow Trio and the symphonic metal outfit Catalyst Symphony Band, and regularly collaborates as a session musician, contributing strings to releases by Outi Smith, Fergus McNeill, and Rusina Lekukh.
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