Maria Usbeck releases ‘Floating’ from upcoming third solo album ‘Naturaleza’

Ecuadorian-born, New York-based artist, Maria Usbeck, shares her second single ‘Floating’ out now, from recently announced new album ‘Naturaleza’ out now, via independent LA-based imprint, Cascine.

‘Floating’ opens the album, combining tactile electronic sounds with moonlit sax and introspective chords, immediately recalling sophistipop greats the Blue Nile. During the process of creating the opening single, and ultimately the album, Maria channeled four years of time spent largely in the woods of rural Connecticut where she decamped from her primary home in Brooklyn, finding inspiration in the rhythms of nature. ‘Floating’ reflects this within its lyrics and respective music video. The words centre around the enchantments of the ocean, with the contrasting devastations of the pollution within it. The video mirrors these themes - Usbeck is free one moment, then tangled in a net the following one.

Moreover, Maria Usbeck’s third album for Cascine follows the striking debut Amparo from 2016 (which featured co-production credits from Caroline Polachek) and 2019’s expansive, exploratory Envejeciendo, which found Usbeck stretching her legs into the warm glow of 1980s electronic music and the spacious grooves of city pop. Moving forwards, her recently announced incoming album ‘Naturaleza’ feels like the culmination of Usbeck’s incredible career, while offering endless, thrilling paths from which her music could take next. Reflecting on her project, she explains: “Humanity stands at a breaking point; we've lost our bond with the natural world. We deem ourselves superior, advanced, yet it’s only through harmony and a symbiotic relationship with nature that we can avert an inevitable doom.”