Below, Ecuadorian New York-based musician Maria Usbeck premieres the music video for her brand-new single “Mantarraya”: a preview of her forthcoming third record Naturaleza.
The video is awash with those whimsical, homespun qualities that characterise Usbeck’s impressive catalogue as a multi-disciplinary artist. Depicting her walking through New York dressed like a Manta Ray, it’s a lovely watch; one bound to place at least the smallest of grins on your face and inspired, the artist says, by a trip to an Ecuadorian island…
“I remember walking along the beach on Floreana Island, the sound of the waves surrounding me,” says Usbeck. “As I watched, manta rays emerged and disappeared with the current, their graceful movements captivating. It was a rare moment of perfect harmony, and there are few times I’ve felt so at peace.
The single itself, “Mantarraya,” exemplifies that balance of sincerity and synthy experimentalism which has made Maria a favoured artist of HighClouds over the years. Through the song, she sings in Spanish about the titular animal, delivering concise, simple and infinitely sweet lyrics about manta rays move through the ocean “without any problem”, like “jewels of the sea,” over a wash of synths that make the track sound like a warm bath or a cosy hug.
“Mantarraya” is the first release from Naturaleza: a record that, like her previous, sticks with a concept, this time focusing in on nature and our relationship to it.
“Each song on my new album, Naturaleza, tells a layered story of moments in nature, reflecting on the contrast between how we live and how we should,” she explains, adding, “And, of course, it touches on the usual existential dread. Are humans the true invasive species? How can we cultivate a more symbiotic relationship with our ecosystem?”
Maria Usbeck has always been a boundary-less and shapeshifting kind of artist, influenced both by the Brooklyn electronic pop scene and her Latin American background. After fronting the New Wave band Selebrities, she recorded her debut Amparo in 2016 with her friend, alt-pop royalty Caroline Polacheck, and followed it up with Envejeciendo, a highly conceptual, meditation on aging. Out in April, Naturaleza will definitely be an exciting new chapter in her journey…
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