Shazam Meets… Marina And The Diamonds.
After being crowned second in BBC’s ‘Sound Of 2010’, it looks almost certain that the next few months promise big things for Marina And The Diamonds. Having wowed us with her ‘Crown Jewels EP’ last year, Marina has announced her debut album ‘The Family Jewels’ will be released through 679 later this month. The album is preceded by the single ‘Hollywood’ – an ode to the weird and wonderful influence America has had on the Welsh/Greek chanteuse. We caught up with the singer to chat about the single, her thoughts on the hype surrounding her and what she has planned for the rest of the year.
You’ve had a pretty good start to the year, what with being voted second in the BBC ‘Sound of 2010′. How much do you take notice of that kind of thing?
Marina: I use it just for encouragement because it’s all speculation, I haven’t achieved anything yet, but maybe people think that I will achieve something! It’s really nice to be on it - I didn’t think I would.
You obviously don’t feel you have anything to live up to then?
No, but only because my album’s done. I completed it in November so I can’t really do anything about it now! On my terms I’m really happy because it’s the album I really wanted to make.
Your latest single, Hollywood, describes how America has been a huge influence on you. What is it in particular that’s had such an effect?
I think the portrayal of the (American) ideal, especially for women, has had a huge influence on my album. Whether that’s connected with America alone or whether it’s a western thing is questionable. But I’ve always been drawn to American culture, mainly because it’s so odd! It’s a very fascinating country and a very young society. ‘Hollywood’ isn’t like a cynical anti American comment, it’s quite the opposite.
Is it true you started out in music by auditioning for musicals and more ‘traditional’ pop acts? At what point did you realise you could take a different path?
I think there was two months of manic auditions where I didn’t get anything because I wasn’t trained as a dancer or a singer. And for me, even if I went to a girl-band audition, it’s not like I wanted to be in a girl band. I wanted to get to a level where I had public recognition, and then I could go and do my own thing. Being an artist was at the centre of that and writing my own songs. But I stopped after a year of doing it…
Was it a case of thinking that route was your only option?
I think so. I think I viewed ‘making it’ in a very traditional way. I was kind of obsessed with Madonna biographies (laughs) and how she made it and how other stars did it. But you always have your own route – there’s no one way into it.
As a performer on stage and in videos you don’t come across as being particularly shy, but your lyrics and blog entries hint that sometimes you suffer from insecurities. Is trying to find the balance between those two sides of you a major influence?
I think it is and I don’t think it’ll happen for a while. I’m a very black and white person and I’m very led by right and wrong – I think that’s probably evident on the album. So, I don’t think I’ll change anytime soon but I wish I would. Even with blogs I write them and think “why did you write that, I’m gonna delete it!” I’ve deleted and restarted Twitter about three times! If I do it again, I’m literally going to the asylum (laughs). I’m very torn by it, I wouldn’t say I’m addicted to it but I’ve stopped doing it in the past few weeks because it’s so time consuming. As everyone knows you can waste so much time on the internet, so I don’t tweet and blog as much anymore. But I definitely want to keep the blog up, just to have a path to the fans without a label between us.
After starting off so well, what else is planned for 2010?
I would really like to see my album work on an international level, I really want to be recognised as an artist who is global. Mainly because I don’t feel strictly like a UK artist, since I’ve moved round and traveled around a lot. So, that would be my aim and I’d really like a big stage show, with some nice designs and costumes.
Obviously America is a target, it’s sometimes a daunting task for an artist. How do you think you’ll fare?
I have a funny feeling it’s gonna work, but it’ll be a slow process. I’m not gonna be bang on the mainstream radio straight away. Number one I refuse to write music to fit in their sound, because I think it sounds all the same. Some of the radio stations I heard when I was out in LA and New York… I’m not really that kind of artist. So, hopefully they’ll like me for what I’ve got - we’ll see.
‘The Family Jewels’ is released through 679 on February 22nd. ‘Hollywood’ is currently available on iTunes.
