{"id":807,"date":"2026-01-20T05:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T05:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resources.onestowatch.com\/not-for-radio-maria-zardoya\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T05:01:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T05:01:47","slug":"not-for-radio-maria-zardoya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onestowatch.com\/live\/not-for-radio-maria-zardoya\/","title":{"rendered":"Not For Radio, Mar\u00eda Zardoya: The Solo Project Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last updated: September 13, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

What Not For Radio Actually Is<\/h2>\n

Zardoya announced Not For Radio on Instagram in August 2025<\/a>, writing: “There are layers to who we all are as individuals, and this is another layer of me, another flower in the garden.”<\/a> The project is her own distinct artistic outlet, separate from The Mar\u00edas and fully centered on her vision.<\/p>\n

Zardoya told A Rabbit’s Foot that Not For Radio feels “more romantic and connected to nature,”<\/a> while The Mar\u00edas carry “this 90s, edgy, Thom Yorke\/Radiohead-inspired thing” driven by her bandmates<\/a>. The two projects live side by side as different sides of the same person.<\/p>\n

Is Not For Radio A Band?<\/h2>\n

This project functions as Mar\u00eda Zardoya’s solo venture with no permanent band lineup. Every release and every live performance under the Not For Radio name comes from her creative lead.<\/p>\n

The related searches “Not For Radio band members” and “is Not For Radio just Maria” point to the same reality: it is a solo project. Not For Radio exists as its own artistic identity<\/a> rather than an extension of the band.<\/p>\n

The Mar\u00edas continue in parallel. Zardoya addressed fan fears directly in her announcement post<\/a>, stating: “Don’t worry, the band will be here forever.”<\/p>\n

Why Mar\u00eda Zardoya Created Not For Radio<\/h2>\n

Zardoya began considering a solo project in 2022<\/a> after breaking up with Mar\u00edas drummer and producer Josh Conway<\/a>, at a moment when the band’s future felt uncertain. The Mar\u00edas’ 2024 album Submarine<\/em> reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy Best New Artist nomination<\/a>. That success gave her the security to step away and explore something more personal.<\/p>\n

She told A Rabbit’s Foot that as The Mar\u00edas grew more mainstream, partly through TikTok, “there was a part of me that didn’t want to go further into that; I wanted to go more inward and against the grain.”<\/a> She wanted to make songs over four minutes, without obvious internet hooks<\/a>, and invite listeners to “put on headphones, sit under a tree, and really listen.”<\/p>\n

The name itself acts as a statement of intent. Zardoya explained: “Calling the project Not For Radio gave me the confidence to be unconventional, to do a more theatrical production, with people sitting down, and to bring them into a different kind of world.”<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sound: Trip-Hop, Winter, And Isolation<\/h2>\n

Tastemakers describes Not For Radio’s sound<\/a> as keeping the dreamy, slow-pop backbone of The Mar\u00edas while pushing it into a darker, more unsettling space. The result adds distortion and hypnotic effects and pairs them with a gothic, woodsy visual aesthetic that feels haunting and intimate.<\/p>\n

Rolling Stone’s Maya Georgi framed the Melt-to-Bloom arc<\/a> as a seasonal journey. Melt<\/em> is a winter album, recorded in upstate New York in the cold, and Bloom<\/em> is Zardoya “shaking the frost from her winter album and stepping into a sun-soaked garden.”<\/a> The trip-hop lineage of the project is reinforced by a 2026 remix of the Melt<\/em> track “Puddles” by British downtempo duo Zero 7, which places Not For Radio firmly in that tradition.<\/p>\n

Clash’s James Mellen characterizes Not For Radio as cinematic and vivid, with a tender, romantic quality distinct from The Mar\u00edas. “Swan,” the fifth track on Melt<\/em><\/a>, offers a strong entry point for newcomers. It anchors the album’s wintry isolation and directly inspired the theatrical staging of the live show.<\/p>\n

Melt And Bloom: Releases That Define The Era<\/h2>\n

Melt<\/a><\/strong> arrived on October 10, 2025 via Atlantic Records as a ten-track album recorded in upstate New York with collaborators Sam Evian and Luca (Gianluca) Buccellati. It peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200<\/a>, signaling strong interest in Zardoya’s solo vision.<\/p>\n

The record moves through songs like “Puddles,” “My Turn,” “Moment,” and “Swan” in a continuous emotional arc. The full tracklist also includes “Back to You,” “Not the Only One,” “Magnet,” “Vueltas,” “Water On Your Nose,” and “Slip.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Bloom<\/a><\/strong> followed on April 17, 2026 as a surprise “mini EP.” Its three tracks, “Kitten,” “Ache,” and “Living Room,” run about 12 minutes in total and feel like a thaw after Melt<\/em>‘s winter. Zardoya announced that it would be her last release under the Not For Radio name “for a while.”<\/a><\/p>\n

Winter In The Garden Tour<\/h2>\n

The Winter in the Garden tour launched in January 2026 with intimate, multi-night runs and a focus on theatrical storytelling. The production leaned into the project’s wintry mood and nature imagery.<\/p>\n