Everything Is Noise is thrilled to premiere a new song and music video from Maria Basel, a phenomenal musician and producer. “Lioness” begins with a deep breath – a cluster of clear voices moving over keys. When a drum machine replaces the choir, when synthesizers start to envelop the Rhodes, Maria Basel will give space for another deep breath, clarifying her purpose among her layered synthetic orchestra. She is not here to drown you, but to teach you how deep you can swim.
The new video is a sprawling collection of images – a ceremony, a seaside, dark spaces – interspersed with a beautifully choreographed dance. Two women ever at odds with each other nevertheless collaborating in whirling movement. At one moment, one appears to tackle the other; the next, it is clear she is being carried. It’s a remarkable performance, evocative of the primordial spirits that fill the lyrics. The repeated phrase ‘You fought hard for this/Now your strength is missing‘ sometimes feels hopeless, but the dance performance is one of rejuvenation and healing. It’s well matched to the music, and to Basel’s voice, which asserts quietly but powerfully across the mix.
Maria Basel has a unique style of composition, building waves of synthesizers over starkly minimalist drum machines. The result feels like music performed in a huge underground cavern, fragments of sound swirling around a space you can feel even without seeing. When she sings, though, she is close, listening carefully to the echoes and drawing energy through their rhythms.
The new video ends in rumbling ocean waves, as a character previously imagined to be flying surfaces in the ocean. Maria Basel has created so much space here, for deep breathing and for reflection and rebirth. “Lioness” will leave you feeling a calm energetic confidence. It will remind you to breathe. It will let you feel, for a moment, the edges of the cave.
For more music from Maria Basel, including information on her album in progress, check out the internet – she’s on Facebook and Instagram, and she has a great mixtape on SoundCloud.
