How María Talaverano found creative freedom as valverdina

Now focusing fully on her alias, valverdina, the Madrid-based singer and keyboard player is moving away from the city’s indie-pop scene into a more experimental one.

María Talaverano made her name singing and playing keys in Cariño, a Spanish indie-pop trio who have spent the better part of the last decade building from Madrid’s local stages to major festivals like Primavera, Mad Cool and Coachella. 

After stepping away from the band, Talaverano is now fully focused on her solo project, valverdina, under which she’s already released an album and multiple EPs. As a solo artist, she’s building a musical language that’s fluid, genre-blurring and rooted in an exploratory mindset.

Leaning into this instinctive approach, Talaverano tells us she often creates music using BandLab, building tracks from lo-fi textures and fragmented samples recorded on her phone. These ideas are captured in real time – on the streets of Granada or inside Futura Basura, the art gallery where she works – giving the production an impulsive, immediate quality.

Looking ahead to 2026, after spending a recent period creating in private, Talaverano is now ready to let her backlog of “hibernating” songs finally come into the world.

Here, she discusses her new spontaneous, non-linear creative process.

What are some of your early musical influences?

I come from a house with a very eclectic musical education. My dad would play The Smiths non-stop, and my mum would play La Oreja de Van Gogh. Imagine the clash! When I started looking for my own path, I became obsessed with Spanish indie: La Casa Azul, La Bien Querida, and especially La Buena Vida. That was my PhD.

What inspired the decision to start your artist project valverdina?

It wasn’t a calculated decision. It’s my playground, a place where there are no rules. It’s where I allow myself to do whatever I want and experiment with everything that logically doesn’t fit within a band like Cariño. Honestly, the concept of valverdina has a lot to do with my ADHD. I’m constantly jumping to the next thing. It’s the perfect space for that – I don’t have to commit to one sound or one direction. I can follow whatever’s capturing my attention in that moment. I don’t think Valverdina is defined by a specific sound; it’s more of an attitude than a genre. It’s the musical equivalent of letting my brain do what it naturally does.

What themes are you exploring in your music at the moment?

For me, the corny love thing is more [a thing of] the past. For a while, that was my thing. But there comes a point where you get tired of that. Now I deal with more sexual themes, more desire. I don’t just want to write about pretty postcard love anymore. 

I’ve embraced the brat concept from Charli xcx: being authentic, a bit messy, unfiltered, imperfect. Sometimes I just want to write about desire without having to justify it, complain without having to empower everything, and be a bit chaotic without apologising. When I feel like being pissed off, I am. Beyond that, I write about the passage of time, nostalgia, and the almost obsessive need to appreciate the small things before they disappear. 

Now that you’re working as a solo artist, what’s something you look for in a collaborator?

I like collaborating with almost everyone. I’m interested in seeing how they think and how they express music. You learn from everyone. But it’s true that sometimes it feels like a Tinder date: either there’s no chemistry, or you know right away that there is. I look for that chemistry, honesty, authenticity and sense of humour. If you’re not laughing in the studio, something’s wrong.

What’s your writing process when it’s just you?

My writing process is completely non-linear – I don’t really separate lyrics from sounds, it all starts as a feeling or a vibe that needs to get out immediately. Sometimes it’s a melody that hits me while I’m walking, sometimes it’s a phrase I need to say out loud, sometimes it’s just a texture or a loop that won’t leave me alone. The important thing is capturing that initial spark before my brain moves on to the next thing.

That’s where BandLab has been crucial – I can literally pull out my phone wherever I am and start building something in that exact moment. I don’t wait to be in the studio or have the “right” setup. If I’m feeling something, I record it right there.

Has using BandLab complemented or changed your production process?

My brain works fast, so I need tools that move at the same speed as my thoughts, even when they don’t make logical sense yet. BandLab does that. It’s spontaneous in the way I’m spontaneous.

It’s been a total game-changer. It helped me so much to find my own voice, just by playing around on my phone in my room. I often prefer how the phone mic sounds compared to the studio; it creates a much more intimate environment that I love for recording. There’s something about that closeness, that imperfection, that feels more honest.

How do you see the valverdina project evolving?

I’m becoming a better lyricist every day. I write daily. It’s training! I’ve finally found my voice.

What else are you currently excited about?

I’m really fortunate that I’ve now been signed by the label Rabat Music, which is much more aligned with what I’m looking for as an artist. That’s what excites me right now. I have so much music saved up from all this time that I hadn’t released; songs that have been hibernating, waiting for their moment. It’s going to be like opening a time capsule.