The Marías

The Marias are an LA-based indie pop band led by Puerto Rican singer María Zardoya. They are mostly known for incorporating elements from lounge and jazz into their cinematic brand of music, often dabbling in psychedelia as well. The group’s origins date back to 2016 when Zardoya and drummer Josh Conway met at one of the singer’s gigs in West Hollywood. The pair quickly hit it off, spurring both a romantic relationship and a creative partnership. Guitarist Jesse Perlman, bassist Carter Lee, and keyboardist Edward James were brought into the fold shortly after and The Marias began making the rounds in Los Angeles’ club circuit. After a proposal to make music for television fell through, the band used the material they had recorded on their debut EP Superclean Vol. 1, released in 2017. The EP served as a fine introduction to the band’s melting pot of styles, which moved effortlessly between bossa nova, light funk, and dream pop. The Marias rapidly capitalized on the buzz surrounding their music as they accompanied The Strokes’ Albert Hammond Jr. on tour and made their debut at Coachella. Their second EP, Superclean Vol. 2, arrived in 2018 and was followed by their first studio full-length, the Grammy-nominated Cinema, in 2021. "Hush," one of the singles from the album, entered the Adult Alternative Songs chart at number 33. Over the following years, The Marias rubbed elbows with some of the biggest names in Latin music, featuring on Bad Bunny's "Otro Atardecer" (2022), Cuco's "Si Me Voy" (2023), and Tainy and Young Miko's "Mañana" (2023). Simultaneously, the band took a six-month hiatus following María Zardoya and Josh Conway's breakup - an event that greatly inspired the overall mood of their second full-length album, 2024's Submarine.