Maria BC
12
November
Maria BC (they/them), born in Ohio and based in Oakland, California, has gradually revealed more of their creative process over the years. From the recordings of the EP Devil’s Rain (2021), made in a single room while being careful not to disturb housemates and neighbors, through the raw apartment sessions of Hyaline (2022, Father/Daughter), to the home of a family friend with an out-of-tune baby grand piano where their Sacred Bones debut, Spike Field, was recorded.
Hyaline was one of the standout ambient-folk albums of 2022. On it, the singer-songwriter created haunting tracks that sound as if they were broadcast straight from the heart of a mystical, cobweb-covered attic. With Spike Field, their dreamy formula was further refined and the sound took on a more elaborate form, making the development of a young artist with a rapidly formed, distinct voice audible. Strings, plucked guitar parts, and humming sound waves accompany their classically trained mezzo-soprano, making the arrangements feel denser and more colorful than on previous work. Maria BC describes this as "filling the sonic space," with Spike Field building on the intimacy of Hyaline through liberating instrumental flourishes.
In 2026, Maria BC returns with their third studio album and second release on Sacred Bones, Marathon. Born from a sense of urgency, masochistic determination, and endurance, Marathon reflects what it means to keep going — whether you are resisting or simply trying to survive, you are in it for the long haul. On this album, Maria BC explores themes of resistance, ecological devastation, personal displacement, and destruction, woven together with musical rawness and drive.
