María Zardoya On How Nature and ‘Lord of the Rings’ Inspired Her Solo Debut

“I went into Not for Radio with the volition of not penning immoderate popular songs,” María Zardoya says. It’s a crisp departure for an creator connected the heels of a breakthrough successful the genre: With the indie-pop quartet The Marías, Zardoya has enjoyed crossover occurrence this year, from performing astatine Coachella to landing 3 Billboard Hot 100 hits, including the group’s viral smash “No One Noticed” — and present contending for a Grammy information successful the champion caller creator category. Yet Melt, Zardoya’s solo debut arsenic Not for Radio, plays similar a emotion missive to the situation alternatively than a broadside quest for solo stardom.

“It’s a task with songs that I privation radical to acquisition the mode that I emotion experiencing euphony — retired successful nature, lying nether a histrion oregon going connected a walk,” she says. “[It’s written] wholly retired of my comfortableness portion and distant from the industry.”

Penned during the wintertime successful upstate New York, Melt (out Oct. 10) was created successful collaboration with Sam Evian and Gianluca Buccellati and offers a lush postulation of reflective ballads infused with gothic romanticism and a interaction of psychedelia. As Zardoya describes, the medium is an invitation to reconnect — with oneself, with emotion and with the earthy world.

Winter Walks

We went into a compartment successful the woods successful upstate New York successful the dormant of wintertime — and I’m Puerto Rican, I hatred the cold. (Laughs.) But I wanted to marque myself uncomfortable. I made it a constituent each azygous greeting to spell connected a two-hour quality walk. It didn’t substance if it was snowing, raining, sleeting oregon crystal everywhere. I was like, “Let’s conscionable enactment connected immoderate cogwheel we person and spell trekking done the woods.” You tin spot that reflected successful the music. I was truthful inspired by quality and everything that I was seeing connected those walks — however the airy [sparkled], the moss sprouting from the snowfall and the small greenish sprouts.

Lord Of The Rings

The archetypal time there, I discovered that Sam and [Gianluca] were some immense fans of Lord of the Rings. Luca was speechmaking the books, and Sam had already work it. They were geeking retired implicit the story, and I felt benignant of near out. So I watched the movie; I truly liked it, but I got spooked that I couldn’t decorativeness it. It felt precise overmuch successful enactment with however we were experiencing life, similar hobbits successful the woods. I deliberation that movie aboriginal connected showed itself to us. We were loosely inspired by the visuals and the essence of the movie.

Broadcast At Dawn

We were besides listening to a batch of [indie band] Broadcast connected our mode to the hikes, Hope Sandoval’s solo projects and Thom Yorke astatine night. We were sharing euphony backmost and distant with each other. I privation Not for Radio to beryllium precise overmuch of the season. We wrote the full medium successful 3 weeks, and what’s absorbing is that the tracklist [follows the] bid successful which we wrote the songs. It’s precise overmuch of the moment.

Natural Psychedelia

Sam and Luca dabbled a small spot with psychedelics, but I conscionable felt similar I was already surviving successful a psychedelic clip due to the fact that I was experiencing a satellite that I had ne'er experienced before. I had ne'er been successful upstate New York trekking done snowy woods. There was 1 greeting that we walked connected a frozen water — virtually walking connected wate...