“She said she realised while in space that the most inspiring view we have is the one we see when we look up from Earth,” says Tiffany Majette, better known as Orion Sun, as she gracefully gushes over a speech given by Mae C. Jemison, the first African-American woman astronaut in space. Since having seen Dr. Jemison speak in April of this year, Orion Sun—whose artist name is an ode to her own celestial connection—still finds herself inspired by these words.
In recalling Dr. Jemison’s speech, Majette states that she too believes Earth is the most inspiring place in our solar system. She recalls the first time she heard the saying “the grass is greener on the other side” and how its meaning was lost on her. She explains: “I didn’t think of it as, ‘I’m not satisfied here, I want to be elsewhere,’ but rather, ‘I want to see every single place on this planet.’” Majette asserts that we should cherish our time on this planet, even through the wars and pain we endure. She confides, “The more I look at this planet and its nature, the more I understand about myself.” This sentiment is translated throughout her discography, as she continuously binds ideas of love and self with references to nature, creating sonic still-life.
Most recently, we saw this combination of self-exploration to nature when the singer-songwriter revealed the album artwork for her upcoming project, Orion. The album cover art, painted by Malene Laugesen, was inspired by the Nicolas Poussin painting, Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun. The dreamlike cover art depicts Orion Sun in goddess form; her head serenely floating above a body of water; a city lighting up her forehead, her mind occupied by the bustle of the urban landscape. Her eyes are shut in meditation as she seemingly attempts to focus on the fingers breaking the water’s surface before her. Atop one finger is a miniature version of herself, while on the other is a blossoming tree. In front of them, floating in the water atop a life-raft, is a guitar. This painting, with all its intricate details, shares the through line seen in each visual released by Majette for the album, which depicts her search for self in nature as she ebbs between moments of strength and softness.
The 28-year-old artist emphasises that her self-titled sophomore album, Orion, is not only a reintroduction to her audience but also a testament to the love she has received throughout her life—even that which came to her indirectly. She says, “I feel I’m not only the accumulation of everyone that has loved me, but of anyone who has loved themselves and whose work I have come in contact with.” While there is no manual to life, Majette believes she can piece together a road map for herself by combining lessons from the creative works of women who came before her—an idea that has helped her build the confidence to be vulnerable in her own art. “These artists left behind so much wisdom and so many tools for me to be able to live the life that I’m supposed to,” she says. “I don’t have to struggle when women have struggled before me and have gone out of their way to share their message for us. I want, at the very least, to be a part of that train.”
Through her surreal and vulnerable songwriting, Majette proves herself to be an imaginative decipter of her own spellbinding and often turbulent life. Over the 14-track project, we follow as she grapples with heartbreak and falls victim to her vices while yearning for stability, self love, and peace of mind. Offering a glimpse behind the shadowy veil of her lovelorn grief, Majette opens her project with a call to her past by singing, “When I was in love”; an introduction to her exploration through memory and dream as she melancholically indulges in her pain. On tracks like “Already Gone,” “Sick,” and “Nights Like This,” she weaves dreamlike imagery into her nostalgia to frame surreal portraits of idealistic relationships. “At the end of the day, dreams are hypothetical; you don’t have to attach real consequences to what you fabricate,” she says, continuing with a thoughtful laugh, she confesses, “If things get really bad, at least all of my exes are perfect in my dreams.”
On “Coming Home,” “Don’t Leave Without Me,” and “Gannie,” she shifts her perspective and begins seeking a way out of her toxic cycle, breaking the wheel by reflecting on her growth, where she’s come from, and the people who have loved her along the way. Bookending her self-titled project with “Gannie,” she mirrors the opening line of her project as she sings, “When I was young, grandma sang for me,” closing her work with a wish for her audience to feel the unconditional, transformative, and everlasting love that has shaped her into the woman she is today. “Gannie” wasn’t just an ode to her grandmother, but a gift; Majette wanted to create a song her grandmother could hear and sing while she was still alive, to have her be a part of her musical journey. “Last year, I opened for Daniel Caesar,” she shares, “and we were able to bring my grandmother in to watch. For her and my mom to see me perform was an amazing experience because I got to show them that the struggles they faced weren’t for nothing.”
For her upcoming live shows, Majette intends to create an atmosphere that encourages people to leave their hardships at the door, enter the space with a sense of lightness, and embrace a feeling of togetherness. While eagerly anticipating her headlining tour, she’s also grappling with anxiety about it. With her self-titled album being the first project on which she’s worked with many collaborators, she feels pressure to garner a positive reception—a part of the job she is working on blocking out for the greater purpose of her art.
“While it may not be perfect, it may help somebody else,” she says, actively processing the intention of her work. For a moment, it seems as though Orion Sun has let her nerves get the best of her; she then makes a statement that aligns her with the creative women who have come before her, making the creation of Orion worth the temporary anxiety. “In reality, it may add to this ever-growing amazing archive of ‘how to love, how to live, and how to be on earth while we’re here.’”
Listen to Orion…