Ohio born, Brooklyn-based artist Maria BC shares their new single “Adelaide” and details of their debut EP “Devil’s Rain” via Fear of Missing Out Records.
Recorded in Maria’s apartment through April and May this year, “Adelaide” is the first taste of a deeply personal and intimate EP of haunting indie-folk. The new single was inspired by a friend but is addressed to their self, as Maria explains:
“A friend of mine used to work as a museum guard. Guests would almost never ask her questions, so she had a lot of downtime. She would spend hours journaling, building “memory palaces,” which are
a mnemonic device that has helped some people achieve total autobiographical recall.
My friend would spend six, seven hours a day making these palaces.
When she told me about this, another friend of mine said, “Aren’t you worried about getting lost in your interiority?” And I thought, damn, that’s so true. I’ve seen that happen to so many people.
It’s happened to me many times — this feeling that I’m stuck in the architecture of my own ego. “Adelaide” isn’t about my museum guard friend — it’s a song addressed to a depressed version
of myself, or someone who needs a hand to pull them back into the social world.”
Lockdown has been a time of great intimacy for people across the globe, interrogating thoughts previously buried under busy schedules, bustling commutes and never-ending to-do lists. The debut EP from Ohio-born, Brooklyn-based artist Maria BC leans heavily into this sense of closeness and emotional vulnerability.
Recorded in their apartment through April and May, the ‘Devil’s Rain’ EP is concerned both with nostalgia and carving a better path forwards. From religion to childhood memories and giving advice to a depressed version of yourself, it’s a debut statement that tackles the big questions with openness and grace.
Created in a period of what they call “extraordinary urgency,” Maria says they became “obsessed” with the project.
“Nothing about it is comforting. Music just seems necessary for whatever reason,” they say.
Musically, the EP is gorgeous and sparse, with Maria’s classical training as a mezzo-soprano mixing with hushed pop melodies and a love for the quiet grandeur of Grouper. In order not to disturb their neighbours and roommates during lockdown, Maria had to write and record the music on ‘Devil’s Rain’ quietly. The forced constraint helped them craft the songs as something approaching “hymns or lullabies.”
“Normally I belt when I sing,” they say. “It constrained the melodies I could write, knowing I would need to be singing quietly, and it meant I couldn’t rely on certain old tricks to craft an arc.”
This added layer of intimacy onto an already stark emotional period is stunningly portrayed on ‘Devil’s Rain’; it feels like you’re right there in the apartment with them.
“Devil’s Rain” is released 05 February 2021 via Fear of Missing Out Records.
Photo: Sergio Gutierrez
Maria BC - Devil's Rain EP
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