The Marías - No One Noticed

You're listening to Song Exploder, where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made. I'm Rishikesh Herway. The Maria's is a band from Los Angeles made up of Maria's Ardua, Josh Conway, Jesse Prolman and Edward James. They released their first EP's in 2017 and 2018 and their first album in 2021. But then, as you'll hear, there was a period of a lot of uncertainty around the band's future. Eventually, their second album, Submarine, came out in 2024 and it was incredibly successful. Stary Agum called it one of the best albums of the year and the band was nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist. But all of that almost didn't happen. I talked to Maria about the making of their hit song "No One Noticed". The story's beginning, middle and end all took place during different eras of the band's existence. In the middle section, when maybe they weren't gonna even be a band anymore, Maria enlisted the help of Grammy nominated producer Jean-Luca Puccillade and I spoke to Lucca for this episode as well. ♪ No one noticed ♪ My name is Maria and I'm in a band called The Maria's. Do you remember what was happening on the first day that you started thinking about this song? Yeah, it was 2020, peak pandemic. So we were just in our apartment writing songs. And when you say "we", who's that? Josh and I, Josh and I lived together at the time. Josh is also the drummer of The Maria's. And so you just wake up and write songs, go to bed, write songs. You know, we couldn't do much else except for write songs and then just kind of spend time in nature and go on long walks. And so there was one morning I woke up and I just, I was just a beautiful morning. I had all the windows open and I just grabbed my guitar and there's a court progression that I just always find myself gravitating. Towards what's that court progression? I'll play it for you. I can write 100 songs with this court progression and I think I have. This is just kind of what I jam to but. I think the first complete song that I ever wrote on guitar was a similar progression. So I think it's just something about it that speaks to me. So yeah, that morning I was in my bed and I was playing the chords and then the melody. Just kind of came out and I was like, "Oh, there's something here." And so I just hit record on my phone. (Bell) Had you and Josh been making music together for a long time before this moment? Yeah, so we started making music together in like 2015 and we were working on our debut album at this point. And he was teaching me production at the time. I really wanted to learn how to like make my own demos. And so we had two work stations set up in my living room. So it was like his work station with like a giant desk and that's where we would record most where things. And then in the corner of the room was like my little desk and like a little keyboard and my little laptop. And so after kind of jamming on the guitar and having kind of a structure for the song, I was like, "Okay, like I think I'm ready to like make my demo." Well, you helped me kind of put some of the foundational pieces together. So that's the loop that Josh made when he was teaching me production. The genius of Josh is like finding the right groove and we call him like the heartbeat of the Maria's because he's the drummer but he's the producer as well and he put that together so quickly in like 20 minutes. I had a lot of the words written and then when he passed me this track, then more started coming out. And so I came up with the pre-chorus. I just want to go back to the fact that this was string COVID times. Do you think that what you were feeling around that was playing into what you were writing? Definitely. I think, I mean, you can hear it in the lyrics. Please be my virtual connection, you know, because we were connecting virtually with everyone. I'm so over being lonely. I kind of like it if you'd call me. It's like we're together feeling so connected and like the virtual ways that we can connect. Everybody was zooming. Everybody was doing their Instagram lives, you know, ways of connecting but still feeling separate and still feeling alone. And that same day, I was just kind of feeling like, well, I just made this little demo that I really like. I'm just going to put it out. So I just like put it to a scene of Paris, Texas. I had just seen that movie like the night before. And there was a scene of like the woman crying like behind the booth. I hear your voice all the time. Every man has your voice. It was like she was feeling lonely but still together because there was a wall between them. And that's kind of how I felt during the pandemic. So yes, I put the demo to that scene and then I put it out on Instagram and that was it until it wasn't. With no one noticed, it was kind of a more melancholic kind of sleeper song. And at the time, we were getting a lot of pressure from our label to write more up tempo. They're like tempo tempo tempo. We want to hear Maria's bangers. So I think that's why this demo was kind of ignored for so long. Fast forward a year later. Josh and I separated romantically. And I was kind of at a crossroads of, okay, well, what do I do now with my life and what do I do? You know, with music, I thought like the band was over. So I was just kind of trying to figure out how I wanted to go about you know, music. And I remembered this song and I had a friend in the neighborhood who was a producer. My name is John Luca Bucillati. And so I hit him up. I was like, hey Luca, I'm really going through it right now, man. Like I have this song that I kind of want to work on right now. I need an outlet. I don't know what's going to happen with the band, but I still want to make music. Well, you work on these songs with me. And he was like, yeah, come over. Like come over right now. So she just came over. And we made a few songs and then one day she brought in the beginning stages of what became no one noticed. So we took the track that Josh had created with the drum loop and the guitars. And I was like, look, I kind of have a vision for this song, but let's like be in the moment and hash it out together. Luca's superpower is that he's so gentle in his approach and so like you can just spill to him. And like he's just open ears, open arms, open heart. It was very free flowing in terms of, hey Luca, I have this idea. Oh, let's try it. Yeah, so that was an idea that I had. And I was just throwing it out. I was like, Luca, what if we did this line on piano? Just like it feels very kind of like fairy like. We had these layers. A lot of what I do like with producing is these like hidden kind of sounds that like fill up the space, but they you don't really know they're there, but they're doing something. And so that's Luca playing that acoustic guitar. You really want me to record that acoustic guitar part. And I think we tried it. And I think I like fought him on it and I was like, please you just do it. I'm good enough to write music on instruments, but when it comes to like recording them, I'm like, let me leave it to the pros. And then you hear the acoustic guitar sort of like soloed at the end and it kind of brings you back to the inception of the song, which is really nice. The story of no one noticed continues after this. I have a new album of my own coming out on April 24th. It's been about 15 years since I last put out a full ink. And this is the first one that'll be out under my own name, where she case her way. I started making songy explode or when I was feeling lost in my own music career. And then for over a for a decade, I've gotten to have these. incredible conversations about the process of making music, talking to other artists, and it made me completely rethink my relationship to music and my way of writing songs. And this album is the product of all of that. It features contributions from some of my favorite artists, including some folks that you may have heard on this podcast, like Iron and Line, Kevin Morby, Vagabon, Fen Lilly, and the producer Phil Weinrobe. I'm gonna be on tour playing in cities across the US starting in April, and I'm trying to bring the spirit of the podcast with me. So every show that I'm playing will begin with a conversation about the album with a different amazing guest moderator in each city, like Adam Scott, Simeen Nasrat, Jason Manzucas, Josh Malina, Minjin Lee, Ken Jennings, John Roderick, Austin Cleon, and more. They're all gonna be my conversation partners on stage. And then I'll play with my band. The album is called in the last hour of light, and the first couple of songs are out now. You can listen to the music and get tickets for the shows on my website. Rishikesh.co, or just go to songexploder.net/live. That's songexploder.net/live. Thanks. (upbeat music) So how did things change lyrically between the original 2020 version? And then you said it was a year later when you went to-- Yeah, a year later. So did you feel like it was changing at that moment because of where you were in your life from this sort of like COVID loneliness song to like a breakup loneliness song? Definitely. No one tried to read my eyes. No one but you wish it weren't true. That was new. And then the bridge was written. That's like a more yearning relationship romantic part. I came up with an in a bathroom break. I like went to the bathroom and then just started like, come on, tell me me, it can't be that easy babe. And then I walked out of the bathroom and I was like, Luca, what about this? I don't know where we should put it, but I kind of like it. And I really like the lyrics that I'm singing and so is like, let's just record it and then figure out where we want to put it later. ♪ Come on, don't leave me, it can't be that easy babe ♪ ♪ If you believe me, I guess I'll get on a plane flight ♪ ♪ To your city, excited to see your face ♪ ♪ You told me, can't so me ♪ ♪ Then I'll leave without a trace ♪ And so we recorded it and it ended up being kind of its own little part that worked so seamlessly with the rest of the song. ♪ Come on, don't leave me, it can't be that easy babe ♪ ♪ If you believe me, I guess I'll get on a plane flight ♪ ♪ To your city, excited to see your face ♪ ♪ You told me, can't so me ♪ ♪ And then I'll leave without a trace ♪ - What was your process for recording your vocals? - I just sang until like an SM7B with like Luca's special sauce in terms of vocal production. He's worked with Arlo Parks who has a very breathy voice and big pig who also has this like really beautiful breathy voice and so he, I think, vocally was able to like bring out some really special things. Stacking left, right, and center. ♪ No one tried to hit my eyes ♪ ♪ No one but you ♪ - It was very in the moment like if the first take sounded great, he's like, that song's great, let's move on. - She's just an unbelievable vocalist, unbelievable voice. It's so pure and nostalgic sounding. ♪ It's not right ♪ - It's like a one of a kind thing. So I think what resonated with me was just the excitement of working with a voice like that. ♪ Take a time ♪ (gentle music) - That's Jesse, Jesse Proman. We all, Jesse Josh, Eddie and I, all in the band during this time didn't know if the band was going to exist. So when I asked Jesse to come play on this song, Kudos to him for being brave enough to be like, well, I don't know what's happening with the Maria's. I don't know what the song is gonna be used for, but Maria really wants me to play guitar on this song so I'm gonna do it. So yeah, he came over and Luke and I just kind of let him do his thing. We let him listen to the song and play whatever spoke to him. That's a pedal that he has. I love that sound so much and that's very quintessential Maria's. He uses that pedal a lot in our songs and in the live performances as well. It just gives like this really dreamy kind of underwater quality to the chords and to what he's playing. (soft music) And then I had this melody, I came up with as a synth line when Luke and I were working. (singing) And then when Jesse came in, we were like, let's see what this line would sound like on guitar instead of synth. (soft music) And the tone was just so beautiful that we looked at each other and really, yes, this line has to be on this guitar. It like jumped out at you and really tugged at your heart strings. I feel like the emotion that it gives is longing. And then I was like, okay, well, what do we do now with this song? But then the Maria's did not break up. - Can we pause for one second? - Yeah. - So how did you go from not knowing what the future of the band was gonna be to deciding that you are in fact to keep going? - The label sent us to band therapy. I'm giving you so much information. The four of us went to band therapy and then Josh and I went to therapy together and then we all did individual therapy. And yeah, I think that honestly is what helped us the most and then coming to the conclusion that we all love each other and respect each other and have such a strong foundation and such a strong friendship, but also this music that we've created together is really special and we're not gonna let something come in the way of the music which is so much bigger than a relationship or romance or a breakup. I think we have something special like let's keep it. Let's work to keep it and we worked really, really hard to get to that place. You know, Josh and I came back together and started working past the romantic relationship and into a really beautiful friendship and we were working through some songs and we were working through this song in particular. Josh still had ideas like post-Luganized session in terms of like a range of things. Like let's cut this part out here. It's a little bit too long. Let's go straight into this part. So he had his producer hat on at the beginning and then at the end as well. And then after Josh made his final touches on the production, I had shared it with the label along with a couple of other slower songs that we were working on and you know, they kind of, we're like, these are nice, but let's see what else you got. That's a little bit more tempo. And I remember kind of just having like a sour feeling about it because I'm like, this song, like I like this song. I love this song and I'm also very impatient when it comes to writing and releasing. I mean, the day that I wrote the demo, I put it out on Instagram. So I was like, okay, well, if the label is not going to let us put it out, I'm just going to leak it on my own. And so I put it up on our website, let our fans to the site and they downloaded it, put it up on YouTube. And then it started sort of circulating on TikTok and it started really making its rounds and people were really gravitating towards the song. And then that's why we decided to put it on submarine. You kind of forced the label's hand. We did. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's kind of amazing how this is our biggest song on submarine. And it's not your typical up tempo sort of banger. And so that made me really happy because we know the vision of our band and we know the vision of our music and what we want to put out and what music we want to represent us. And so at the end of the day, let's just try to do our thing even if we have to fight for it. I just remember them telling me, oh, we're thinking of putting this song on the album. "Oh, yeah, great, awesome." And then, "Oh, yeah, we think we're gonna make it a single." "Oh, yeah, cool, yeah, that's exciting." And then I just periodically get texts from Maria being like, "Look, it's streaming, you know, a million times a day." Oh, and then they started playing it live, and I'd just occasionally just be getting videos from her of thousands of people screaming the lyrics to this song. (laughs) (soft music) I'm wondering how the four of you feel about this song, given how it kind of went through these different stages of your relationship, really, different kinds of relationships, you know, music-making, way of living together, and then all that stuff, this song kind of has existed through all those stages. Yeah, yeah, it did go through the process of Maria's and then not Maria's, and then Maria's, which was the process that we went through as a band. It wasn't an easy time for them, and any record that I've made that actually means something, the person that I'm working with is usually going through something tremendous. I mean, it kind of warms my heart and like, thinking about that, because we did break up as a band and as romantic partners, but then we came back together as a band stronger than ever, and you know, so I think this song is an honest reflection of that process. And so it being the biggest song, I'm like, "Wait, that's really beautiful and kind of poetic." (soft music) - And now here's no one noticed by the Maria's, and it's entirety. ♪ Maybe I ♪ ♪ Lost my mind ♪ ♪ No one noticed ♪ ♪ No one noticed ♪ ♪ It's getting more ♪ ♪ Could it be if it could be all alone ♪ ♪ Some sort of a behind ♪ ♪ May have lost it here for too long ♪ ♪ Can I show you? ♪ ♪ May have lost it here for too long ♪ ♪ No one tried to beat my eyes ♪ ♪ No one but you ♪ ♪ Let you hurt you ♪ ♪ Maybe I could only give it all ♪ ♪ It's not right ♪ ♪ It's just a real ♪ ♪ Make you my angel for too long ♪ ♪ Take out your lady, you such a woman ♪ ♪ Come on, don't leave me ♪ ♪ It can be that easy baby ♪ ♪ If you believe me ♪ ♪ I guess I'll get on a plane ♪ ♪ Fly to your city excited ♪ ♪ To see your face, hold me ♪ ♪ Consol me ♪ ♪ And then I'll leave without a trace ♪ ♪ Come on, don't leave me ♪ ♪ It can be that easy baby ♪ ♪ If you believe me ♪ ♪ I guess I'll get on a plane ♪ ♪ Fly to your city excited ♪ ♪ To see your face, hold me ♪ ♪ Consol me ♪ ♪ Then I'll leave without a trace ♪ ♪ Come on, don't leave me ♪ ♪ It can be that easy baby ♪ ♪ If you believe me ♪ ♪ Then I'll leave without a trace ♪ ♪ Come on, don't leave me ♪ ♪ Come on, don't leave me ♪ ♪ It can be that easy baby ♪ ♪ If you believe me ♪ ♪ Then I'll leave without a trace ♪ ♪ Come on, don't leave me ♪ (soft music) To learn more, visit songexploder.net. You'll find links to buy or stream no one noticed, and you can watch the music video. This episode was produced by me, Craig Ely, Mary Dolan, and Kathleen Smith with production assistance from Tiger Biscope. The episode artwork is by Carlos Lerma, and I made the show's The Music and Logo. Song Exploder is a proud member of radiotopia from PRX, a network of independent, listener supported, artist-owned podcasts. You can learn more about our shows at radiotopia.fm. If you'd like to hear more from me, I write a newsletter where I write about the making of some of these episodes, and I write about music and film in the creative process in general. You can find a link to the newsletter on the songexploder website. You can also get a song exploder shirt at songexploder.net/shirt. Thanks for listening.