By the end of 2022, OSKA arrived at a crossroads. The indie-pop singer/songwriter had just wrapped up a European tour with Tom Odell in support of her acclaimed debut album My world, My love, Paris. Traveling through Sicily, OSKA (first name Maria) took up writing what would become the start of her forthcoming sophomore album, Refined Believer, her most personal to date. It pulls you in with her whispering soprano and holds you close with intimate melodies that glide from blissful and serene to a purge of catharsis.

Signing to Netwerk in 2020, OSKA released her debut EP, Honeymoon Phase, the following year to critical acclaim and won a litany of industry recognition, including the XA Music Export Award at Waves Vienna Showcase Festival 2020 and five Amadeus Austrian Music Award nominations between 2021 and 2022. She was also nominated for the Anchor Award at the Reeperbahn Festival in 2021, where she was also discovered by jury member Tom Odell, who invited her to join him on his European tour. In addition to touring Europe with Odell, labelmate Stu Larsen, Matt Simons, and HAEVN, OSKA played the Eurosonic Showcase Festival in 2023, where she won Music Moves Europe Talent Award (previous winners include high-profile names like Rosalía, Dua Lipa, Stromae, Hozier, Adele, Mumford & Sons, and Christine and the Queens). In 2024, she made her SXSW debut, with LUNA Collective calling her “Vienna’s Rising Star” and Indie Shuffle naming her a “best act” and “crowd silencer.” That summer, OSKA was invited to open for Coldplay and Maggie Rogers across four nights in in her hometown of Vienna.

Part of OSKA’s journey to Refined Believer involved uprooting her entire life in Vienna. At first, she imagined moving to Berlin, but, on the advice of a Tarot card reading, decided against it. So, she temporarily moved in with her mother in the Austrian countryside and started traveling periodically to London, where she recorded with producer David Kosten (Bat For Lashes, Marina and the Diamonds).

Throughout Refined Believer’s 10 captivating tracks, OSKA illustrates her experience with losing faith in certain friendships and romantic relationships, only to connect with someone who reaffirms her conviction. “Something that I was going through in my life was trusting some people again,” OSKA says of the title Refined Believer and its title track, which alludes to the singer inching back to a place of trust after a period of holding back. “I feel like I can believe in something bigger than myself again, which doesn't have to be something religious. It just means that I'm finding the ability to hope again.