Maro and Shai Maestro Open the Doors of The Guesthouse with “Gloria”

There’s a kind of music that feels like sunlight through sheer curtains – calm, warm, and full of possibilities. That’s also the mood in Gloria, the new single from pianist and composer Shai Maestro’s forthcoming album The Guesthouse, out March 6th via Naïve Records. Portuguese singer Maro’s haunting voice floats across Maestro’s intricate piano lines, creating a conversation of vulnerability, grace, and intimacy.

The Guesthouse is both literal and metaphorical – a space inspired by Rumi’s poem on welcoming every emotion as a guest. Each track is a room in this musical house, designed to hold joy and melancholy, restlessness and calm, together without forcing resolution.

“Emotions arrive like visitors, some gentle, some stormy. You open the door anyway.” Shai Maestro

Maestro opens these rooms to an array of collaborators, from saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins to producers Michael Mayo and Alon Lotringer, but it is in Gloria that the meeting of Maestro and Maro crystallises. Her voice doesn’t merely feature, it dialogues, responds, and inhabits the space with a tenderness that mirrors the philosophy at the heart of the album.

With The Guesthouse, Shai Maestro crafts a home for the listener – a place where melody, emotion, and human connection converge. The doors open, and everyone is invited to step inside.

photography by Ana Lopes

Shai, The Guesthouse draws inspiration from Rumi’s poem about welcoming all emotions. How did this idea shape the album?

Shai Maestro: There are two layers to the title. Literally, it’s a house full of guests. This is my most collaborative album so far – bringing in voices like MARO, Immanuel Wilkins, Michael Mayo, and Alon Lotringer wasn’t just decoration. Their sound became part of the walls of the house.

Then there’s Rumi. Emotions arrive like visitors, some gentle, some stormy. You open the door anyway. That philosophy guided every note. I wanted the album to reflect life’s contradictions – tenderness beside discomfort, beauty beside restlessness – without forcing them into a single emotional temperature.

Your music often balances melancholy with celebration. How do you translate that into the sound?

Shai Maestro: I don’t think of them as opposites. Joy and sadness can exist in the same breath. Sometimes the most uplifting groove carries a crack in it; sometimes sadness glimmers with light. The music mirrors these moments of intimacy beside wide, open soundscapes. The production, the arrangements, the electronics, they all serve that emotional layering.

Maro, your vocals feel so present in Gloria. How did you approach the duet?

Maro: Shai’s brilliance made it easy to be inspired. I responded naturally to his playing. The song itself invited me in. His openness in the music allowed me to be present, to let the notes breathe and live, to inhabit the emotional space without overthinking. When I first heard Gloria, I knew I wanted to be part of it – it felt like a gift.

“Shai’s openness allowed me to inhabit that space without reservation.” Maro

Shai, writing lyrics changes how you arrange for the quartet. How did that influence your process?

Shai Maestro: Lyrics bring a new gravitational center. The voice becomes the anchor. You carve space differently, leave air for words to land. That constraint is a gift – it forces focus, careful listening, and beauty in simplicity. You can’t hide behind the instruments; clarity is essential.

And your experiments with electronics and unique mic placements – any moments where a technical choice sparked a musical idea?

Shai Maestro: The arpeggiator is one. I programmed it in groups of five over a 4/4 grid. It creates subtle instability, like the floor shifting under your feet. It felt musical, emotional – not technical. That became the heartbeat under Nature Boy. Those are the moments when experimentation feeds composition.

“Joy and sadness can exist in the same breath.” Shai Maestro

Maro, did Shai’s philosophy of welcoming emotion influence your vocal approach?

Maro: Absolutely. It gave me freedom to be fully present. The song is about tenderness, reflection, and shared feeling. Shai’s openness allowed me to inhabit that space without reservation. It became a true conversation, not just a performance.

Collaboration seems central to The Guesthouse. How do you balance your own vision with your guests’ voices?

Shai Maestro: I want them to enter fully. With Maro, I had to stop trying to write “perfect” lyrics and imagine her voice in the space. The Heart Sutra inspired meaning outside my ego – it’s about creating room, not control. Every guest reshapes the house, and that’s the point.