The Marias
Ashley SerynThe Marías bilingual debut, CINEMA, received a Grammy nomination last month for best engineered album, non-classical — a rarity for an album that features Spanish lyrics.
The nomination in that category goes to the engineers and mastering engineers, not to the recording artist. However, Josh Conway, one of the L.A.-based indie pop quartet’s members, is credited as one of the engineers on the album. So, Conway is nominated, along with fellow engineers Marvin Figueroa, Josh Gudwin, Neal H. Pogue and Ethan Shumaker and mastering engineer Joe LaPorta.
The best engineered album, non-classical category has been presented since the Grammys’ first ceremony in 1959 and traditionally recognizes fluid, orchestral, and instrumentally-driven bodies of work. Besides CINEMA, the other 2022 nominees are: Yebba‘s R&B/jazz fusion album Dawn, Low’s percussion-fueled Hey What, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga‘s collection of Cole Porter classics Love For Sale, and Pino Palladino & Blake Mills‘ collab Notes With Attachments. (Mills is nominated as one of the engineers.)
Drawing influence from film and specifically Pedro Almodovar classics, CINEMA’s genre-bending sound features reggaeton, indie, and rock en Español.
In conversation with Billboard, Conway (who does vocals, drums, engineering and producing on CINEMA), María Zardoya, the quartet’s lead singer, engineer Pogue and mastering engineer LaPorta reveal the process behind putting together the debut.
Conway recalls CINEMA’s conceptual motifs and sonic themes emerging around Zardoya’s birthday in 2020 when he turned his bedroom into a movie theater. According to Conway, a large part of the project’s muse came after spending entire weekends watching contemporary classics, such as Black Swan, Golden State, and “every Pedro Almodovar movie.”
“Talk to Her (Hable Con Ella) by Almodovar is the one film we just all fell in love with immediately,” remembers Conway. The film served as the inspiration behind both the track “Hable Con Ella” and the closing track, “Talk to Her,” the latter detailing a dark time during The Marías’ first tour as a supporting act in 2018.
Once the album’s overarching theme was established, Conway’s instrumental-heavy and melody-focused production style made its way into the album’s infrastructure — leading listeners through a narrative starting with an introduction, a climax, and an ending.
Of the mixing process, Conway kept in mind the advice of “our very trusted A&R, Ricky Reed, he told me once, ‘Try and get the mixes as close as possible before handing them off.'”
Previously, The Marías had operated independently — meaning no fancy pool of mixers to choose from, just Conway and occasionally a few mixing friends who would offer a hand on select songs. But with a label, all that changed and Conway got to work perfecting every mix. “That made things very hard, just a lot more time-consuming but I’m so glad that I did that because you can’t put that much pressure on the mixers. Once I gave it to them, I was beyond thrilled with what I got in return.“
After combing through the many layers of CINEMA‘s production process, both Conway and Zardoya point to their recording space in Los Angeles’ Beachwood Canyon as the atmospheric backdrop that served as sanctuary during last year’s quarantined summer.
“We were recording in our neighbor’s house. She had left for a couple months and asked us to house-sit. She was like, ‘Can I pay you?’ and we were like ‘Well, you wouldn’t have to pay us if we can move our studio in here!'” says Conway with a laugh.
“It was a very long process working on the album,” shares Zardoya. “Right when we were at the mixing stage, our studio flooded. It was just a lot of obstacles that we had to overcome and obviously this album was recorded during the pandemic. When we finally got the mixes in line from Neal [Pogue], who is just amazing to work with, seeing the track listing and seeing it all together, we both had a moment of relief. We were just really proud of ourselves for sticking through it, for having this project to show these really crazy but special, beautiful moments of our lives.”
The band’s first EP, Superclean Vol. I, dropped in 2017 and was followed up by its second in 2018. Both projects reflected the band’s euphoric soundscape of jazz percussion, spellbinding guitar riffs and Zardoya’s distinctive satin vocals.
Sultry and romantic details unravel across The Marías’ discography, adapting the sound to fulfill different moods, themes, and genres. With Spanish film as the core inspiration for CINEMA, Zardoya says her love of movies and music can be traced back to her bicultural childhood, acknowledging the ways in which her Puerto Rican and Spanish ancestry materialize throughout her artistry.
“I grew up listening to a lot of music in both languages and so [CINEMA] has that perspective [of] growing up in the culture,” explains Zardoya.
Beyond the album’s cinematic roots, Pogue — who is also nominated for album of the year as an engineer on Doja Cat’s Planet Her (Deluxe) — cites vocalist Zardoya as the “glue” of the operation in pushing the project forward.
“She is the main detail no matter what style they’re doing from song to song. She keeps it together,” he explains. “They have a sound like no other. The different musical cultural influences they bring to the table creates a special sound. Whether they know it or not, they have an old-school style that I relate to which made me fall in love with the project more and more as I mixed each song.”
“The band’s very specific vision for the record helped facilitate great results in the mastering stage,” says LaPorta. “Neal, along with Josh Gudwin and Josh Conway, already had the mixes in a great place, so it was all about the subtleties when it came to bringing them all together within the album context.”
On the album, “’Un Million’ has the most recognizable reggaeton roots and ‘Fog As a Bullet’ has Spanish guitar – nylon string guitars are really all we use,” Conway adds, outlining the unique blend of instrumentals and complex chord progressions at the heart of the band’s sonic exploration. Moreover, in “Hush,” Conway’s pulsating bass experimentation unspools tiny details that dance with every brooding “Hush,” that snaps you back into the chorus.
“Then the melodies came out for the chorus and we both just kind of looked at each other – We were like, ‘Okay, this is our Britney moment'” – referring to the snappy, futuristic pop beat supporting the delivery of the lines: “(Every night) Got you running in circles, I know (Touchin’ me) Get your paws off my Dolce Cologne.”
After capping off a year full of career highs — including signing a deal with Atlantic at the start of 2021 and a first No. 1 placement on Billboard‘s Adult Alternative Airplay chart — the band is hopeful for what 2022 may bring. The Marías are slated to tour in January to perform their nominated album for the first time since its release.
“Whether it’s in the passion or in the nostalgic melodies, I think it goes beyond the language or the rhythm even — it’s the overall feel of growing up Latin that’s naturally is implemented in all the music,” says Zardoya, summing up the ethos of CINEMA.
NEWS
Fontaines D.C. members Carlos O’Connell and Tom Coll have been behind the production of the forthcoming second album from French indie outfit Film Noir. To introduce the project, the band has unveiled the paired singles ‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ and ‘VEGITA’, which you can listen to below.
The Fontaines D.C. guitarist and drummer worked alongside Film Noir at La Frette Studios just outside Paris. The renowned recording space is also where Arctic Monkeys created their two most recent albums, ‘Tranquillity Base…’ and ‘The Car’.
O’Connell is partnered with Film Noir vocalist Joséphine de La Baume, who is also known for her work as an actor, filmmaker and model. Together, they share two children, with their first child serving as the inspiration for Fontaines’ 2025 track ‘It’s Amazing To Be Young’.
Reflecting on the project while announcing his role in the album, O’Connell shared on social media: “In early 2020 I walked into a gig in a club in Paris and was introduced to a band called Film Noir. I fell in love with the singer, I went on to make babies with her to to fall in love twice again with them.
“A little while back myself, [Coll] and @filmnoirmusic went to La Frette and recorded their upcoming record.”
The guitarist continued: “Producing this record was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve had. Blessed to have so many. This album means the world to me & I hope it’ll mean something to many more.”
Film Noir have offered an early look at the still untitled album through the release of ‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ and ‘VEGITA’. O’Connell handled production duties on both tracks, while Coll contributed drums. O’Connell also took care of mixing on ‘VEGITA’.
Opening with a light acoustic arrangement, ‘VIENS TIENS TOI’ gradually unfolds into a dreamy sound shaped by shoegaze influences. In contrast, ‘VEGITA’ leans into a brighter, surf inspired feel that complements de La Baume’s floating vocal performance.
The group has also released a behind the scenes video capturing moments from the recording sessions for their sophomore album, which can be viewed below. At this stage, no official release date has been announced.
Back in spring 2020, O’Connell collaborated with Film Noir on a rendition of Lee Hazlewood’s ‘For A Day Like Today’ (via LiveForever). When the track arrived, the band described the guitarist as “a great supporter of the European rock scene and a common friend”.
Film Noir first emerged with their debut EP, ‘Vertiges (Men Of Glory)’, in 2019, followed by ‘Tendrement’ a year later. Their first full length album, ‘Palpitant’, arrived in 2022.
Outside of music, Joséphine de La Baume portrayed Marie in the 2011 film adaptation of One Day alongside Anne Hathaway. She has also appeared in Apple TV’s The New Look and the Polish period feature Chopin, a Sonata in Paris.
O’Connell also produced the self titled debut album from Dead Dads Club, the new project led by former Palma Violets singer Chilli Jesson. Released in 2026, that record was also created at La Frette Studios.
Speaking with NME earlier this year, O’Connell explained that the French studio “feels like a home”. He continued: “There’s nothing about it that feels corporate or constrained by time. My mind goes into this creative mode in which I can hear things in a certain way, and it doesn’t stop until I leave the building.”
Jesson also spoke about the experience, saying: “It was really organic. Carlos, on one of the tours we were on together, was working on a Film Noir album, and he was always mixing it and playing around with sounds. He’d just come out of the studio at La Frette and to see that process, with the production, I was like, ‘Holy shit.’ I’d been in a world where it was all on the computer, and then suddenly he’s talking about a fucking bass drum that’s two metres long.’”
More recently, Fontaines D.C. contributed music to the soundtrack for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man. The band also appeared on the collaborative charity release ‘Help(2)’, which supports War Child.
The group are preparing to return to the stage this summer for their first performances in nearly a year, beginning with three headline concerts in Spain before taking on their first ever top billing appearances at Reading & Leeds 2026.
Their schedule also includes a headline performance at Electric Picnic in Ireland, alongside appearances at European and American festivals including Frequency, La Route du Rock and Shaky Knees.
Discussing new material with NME at the beginning of the year, O’Connell revealed: “We’ve been writing, it’s been fun. We’re at [Reading & Leeds] and there are a couple of shows before that. I think if the music is there, it could get busy.”
Asked whether any fresh songs could appear during the Reading & Leeds performances, he responded: “I’d say so. If there is stuff written, then I would say so, yeah. That’s what we used to do all the time, play the new stuff live, songs that weren’t even finished. It’s a good way to test the songs.”
O’Connell was also asked whether elements of the visual production from the ‘Romance’ era might carry over into the band’s 2026 shows. “I think ‘Romance’ was so intense in every [way]… the visual, the production, the setlist… It wasn’t just about the music,” he explained.
“It’s almost a bit of the identity of the band now, but I guess that’s the decision to make. Does that become the identity of the band, or actually, it’s just a phase and you reinvent it? I don’t know.”
He went on to add: “I personally like the idea of revisiting some old stuff at Reading & Leeds, making the setlist maybe a bit more ‘Dogrel’ heavy. I’m excited about that. I’ve been listening to music like that much more. This morning I was listening to Sonic Youth. I want to go [in] that direction, but we’ll see, because anything could happen now, literally anything.”
‘Romance’ ultimately secured the Number Two spot on NME‘s list of the 50 best albums of 2024, finishing just behind Charli XCX’s ‘Brat’.
