about-weightless

WEIGHTLESS
Full Album Out Now

Giving life to mystic worlds within stories, dances, and universes born of the heart, Marya Stark creates from someplace profound; she makes the invisible visible. Carrier of myth, mystery, and medicine songs. Sometimes melodies manifest from spaces esoteric, others through the untold intimacies of a messy interpersonal relationship. Marya Stark understands and communicates archetypal voices, assigning them their own personalities in her songs; she sings hymns for nature guardians, serenading the great mythic heroes that live inside our collective memory.

In September 2023, Marya released her fifth solo LP, Weightless; an exquisite collection of songs soft and vulnerable, human and dreamy. Something of a departure from 2020’s grandiose Sapphire, on Weightless Stark’s trademark celestial tones swim and soar atop delicate, barebones arrangements, basking in the dark heart of the cello, courtesy of collaborator Barry Phillips.

A baptism in surreality summoned from the depths of political and cultural unrest, Weightless was recorded at the end of 2020 and into the next year, just before Marya moved away from her beloved, longtime homebase of Santa Cruz, CA. Unpacking paradoxes of longing and wonder, reclaiming creativity in a time of chaos, and elegantly side-stepping the oncoming apocalypse, Weightless is Stark’s latest in a string of stirring sonic ceremonies, another lucid excursion through the caverns of the soul.

- B.Getz

“Hauntingly Beautiful”- Buzz Music

“The vocal performance is dreamy and ethereal, lush – with outstanding vocal harmonies at the same time powerfully moving, memorable, and completely authentic. Marya’s voice has one of those soothing qualities we don’t soon forget. ‘Keep The Light On’ showcases Marya’s unique artistic vision and impressive musicianship.” - Dyan Garris

Marya Stark’s music promises to give you a feeling that you are “Weightless.” It could be the weight of the day or something you have been carrying. Whatever the case may be, this music will lift it all away. - Musik Man

"Keep the Light On" is the first single from Marya Stark's upcoming album, Weightless, due out the summer of 2023. The album was recorded in 2020-2021 when the world was quieter and the Covid lockdowns were still in effect in many places around the world. The goal for this album was to create a less-produced sound that is closer to a folk music style, and I would say from this track that they succeeded well! A multi-instrumentalist and vocalist as well as a composer/songwriter, Marya Stark is also a "discoverer of archetypes, storyteller, bard and muse.... a carrier of myth, mystery, and medicine songs with which she embarks to create a ceremony of the human experience, taking her audience on lucid journeys through the caverns of the soul"
"Keep the Light On" features cello accompaniment by Grammy Award winner Barry Phillips, along with acoustic guitar, light percussion and other instrumentation. "Keep the Light On" is beautifully melodic and soothing as it gently uplifts. Marya's voice is warm and earthy as she expresses the poetic lyrics, sometimes with layered vocals. I haven't heard the rest of the Weightless album yet, but this is certainly an intriguing preview! I thoroughly enjoyed Marya's 2020 album, Sapphire, and I fully expect the new album to be even better!

Kathy Parsons

MainlyPiano.com