Mariana Secca, best known as Maro, is a singer, songwriter from Lisbon, Portugal with a mellow voice that will leave you hypnotized. Maro grew up surrounded by music, she started learning the piano at only 4 years old, but it wasn’t until 19 that she made the decision to pursue music full time by moving to L.A and studying music at Berklee. In 2018, Maro released 3 self-titled volumes full of amazing songs, some in Portuguese and some in English. In Maro, vol.1, we have the song, “Not Ready To Say Goodbye” featuring Lisa Oduor-Noah. In this song, we can witness a slow intriguing percussive construction accompanied by the guitar and the sweet voice of Maro that contrasts with the groovy voice of Lisa to create a splendid balanced track. The calm instrumental and fluid jazzy breaks give the listener the space it needs to review itself in the lyrics.

In Maro, vol.2, there are two songs I would like to highlight, “All Over Again” and “See You In My Dreams”. “All Over Again” begins with soft gentle guitars and we can immediately sense a lot of Maro’s emotions through her vocals and great use of harmonies. The use of brass instruments transmits a sensation of hope, the final section is almost only layered vocals that create such a beautiful effect. “See You In My Dreams” starts with a fingerstyle guitar, progressing to a serene ambiance until the unexpected guitar solo and percussion rise that stops suddenly resolving in Maro’s dulcet voice.

Make sure you check out “Flying to L.A”, a happy tone full of hope and lifting song also from volume 2. In vol.3, we have, “Will I Regret It", a song that starts with the thump of the drums, and if you listen carefully you can also hear someone breathing heavily, maybe to transmit the sensation of nerves or stress. The song is fully detailed with harmonies, an instrumental part that also tells a story building up to the chorus. This track has such jazzy vibes with a solo playful but impactful brass and a big instrumental break leaving space for introspection on the meaning of the full song. 2018 was a year full of good releases from Maro, she also released the album, “It’s OK”. In this album we have one of my favorite songs, “Still Feel It All”. This song has an initial synth followed by a guitar pattern, it is full of soothing harmonies and vocal layers. The entrance of the dry, raw drums after the first chorus is quite interesting, it puts together all the intensity of the singer’s feelings.

In 2020, after the start of the pandemic, Maro came up with the idea of creating a series called “Itsa Me Maro”, where she sings covers with several artists, from Eric Clapton to her friend Jacob Collier with whom she has collaborated in the past.  In 2021, Maro joined forces with Nasaya, and together they released an electronic music EP called, “Pirilampo” (Firefly). The four-track EP is filled with samples, fast paced beats, tongue twisters, and good vibes. In 2022, Maro surprised us with a song for the Portuguese contest that chooses the song that goes to Eurovision. “Saudade, Saudade” shows the singer’s unique timbre, it is sung in both Portuguese and English with a strong presence of the percussion and tribal melodies that remote to pluralities of the Portuguese language. We can now have the sensation of how diverse Maro is, not focusing on only one genre of music, but putting together several elements of several genres, creating her own sounds. With a versatile set of songs, with a memorable, smooth, and peaceful voice, Maro doesn’t go unnoticed so make sure you too get lost in all the music she has to offer. Available on all streaming services!