05 November 2009 (Music Interview)

 

She's been called the new Florence, a tag that's not wholly appropriate for this up and coming Greco-Welsh starlet. Still, there is something wonderfully eccentric and effortlessly unique about Marina Diamandis, AKA Marina and the Diamonds. She released her debut EP, 'The Crown Jewels', in June to critical acclaim, and is now preparing to release her full length debut, 'The Family Jewels'. I had a chat with Marina about her online persona, being tagged by the press and having a pair of concertina legs strapped to her waist for seventeen hours. | Words: Jenny Mulligan

 

Tell us a little bit about the history of Marina and the Diamonds. How did you get started?
I began Marina and the Diamonds about four and a half years ago. I grew up in Wales, went to Greece when I was sixteen and then I came to London when I was eighteen to be become a singer. In the beginning my roots were extremely pop, and because I was a dancer as well I used to go to a lot of auditions that I found in a magazine called the stage. So it was really awful, manufactured pop stuff, but I thought that was the only way that I could get into the industry. I tried that for about a year, but nothing worked and I never met anyone who could help me out. So, after that, I was in stage school at the time, I quit that, and went to a vocal college for a year and I began to song write there and that's where it took off.

The album is due out in February. What should the fans expect from it?
I think they should expect something that's very diverse. There are a lot of pop moments on there but it's quite experimental, and meticulously produced.

It was originally meant to be released in October, will you be relieved to finally get it out there?
I'm actually really glad that it wasn't released in October 'cause it was too soon. I'm such a slow worker in the studio because I'm so OCD about everything so it would never have been ready anyway. And I'm really glad 'cause I wrote two new songs in that time that are going on the album.

How did you find the recording process? Do you find songs change much from their original form?
Hugely, that's probably the most satisfying experience out of everything. And I think also when I first write songs that usually, two months down the line it can become a totally different song, it just depends if I've written it badly and if it needs improving.

Do you enjoy it?
It's a pretty good job to have compared to what I could do normally if I wasn't doing music, but it's probably my least favourite thing to do out of everything. I actually quite like promo, which is quite odd for an artist, but recording's not the easiest thing.

2009 has been called the year of the lady, with the likes of Florence and the Machine, Little Boots and La Roux put to the fore while you've been pitted as the underdog. Are you comfortable with that tag, or do you think it will all change next year with the release of the album?
Number one, yes, I think everything will change. And number two, I don't feel like an underdog just because they were fully fledged performers and artists and they were ready. I was slightly, I wouldn't say unfortunate, but I basically got tagged by the media very early on when I didn't have a release. I still don't. So early on, for some reason, online stuff got very buzzy. I'm actually very pleased to have this position. I've been able to grow up without having too many tags put on me and just do my album in peace 'cause I'm not good under pressure. I'm in the wrong industry, aren't I? *laughs*

 

You've made some great videos recently. Tell us about making 'Mowgli's Road'
It was a seventeen hour shoot, and to shoot the effect that we did, I had a pair of plastic concertina legs strapped around my waist, and basically the legs were operated by these two puppeteers who were each by my side. So it was weird because I was doing the choreography but they would follow you everywhere, so if you went back they'd go back, if you went forwards they go forwards, and it was quite a weird sensation having two people on their knees on either side of you. But it was really fun, it was really good.

And did you enjoy getting all bedazzled with paint and jewels for the 'I Am Not A Robot' video?
That was way harder, actually. Because the black look they did in the morning at half seven, and they had to literally scrub my skin for forty minutes to get the black oil off. So by the time it was nine o'clock I was like 'Oh my bloody Nora, I'm going to cry'. And by 10pm my skin was just rashing and swollen. So not fun, but really happy with what we achieved.

You've said that you consider you the visuals as important as the music. Is that why you try to make such memorable videos?
Yes, I just don't understand artists who want to do something really normal. And it's not that I want to do something weird and kooky every time, I just think, my label are going to give me a budget, which you could probably live off for a year as a normal person, so I may as well do something as visually stimulating as possible. It's good to promote people's imagination. Real life is boring, mine is anyway, and you can be something else in a music video so that's why I do it.

Do you have any ideas for a new video?
Well it's for a song that I don't think anyone's heard, it's called 'Hollywood... your Brain' and I've definitely got some ideas but obviously my creative team will have a lot of treatments that come from directors that will be much better than my own ideas.

 

You are a regular blogger. Are the certain things in society that you want to comment on, or do you just like having a place to write down all your random thoughts?
I don't do it because anyone tells me to. I know some labels are like "You have to have an online presence" but I don't really care about that. If something's not natural I won't do it. I think with my blog my intention is... I just want it to be a like a debating forum that people can tell me what they think about things. I'm really interesting in pop culture. It's never used to slander anyone intentionally or like be really extreme about things, but I'm interested in seeing what people think, and it's a really good way to see that

So do you think the most interesting part is reading the comments from your readers?
Yeah, I absolutely love it. Someone asked the other day 'do you read the comments on your blog? I was like 'Of course I do, that's what I live for'.

There seem to be loads of different remixes for your songs running around the internet. Are you enthusiastic about other people taking your songs and making them into something different?
I'm not going to lie, I'm not a huge remix person. I don't mind listening to the ones that we've commissioned ourselves. I've never really been into them but the ones for Mowgli's Road are really good. Like when you listen to a remix that's amazing you're like 'Oh God, this is so worth it.'

What music are you listening to at the moment? Are you still listening to Gwen Stefani?
No, she's more something that I listened to when I was 11 or 12. At the moment I'm catching up on lots of albums by Metric. I've got two at the moment, 'cause I've literally had nothing of hers, or of theirs before, so I've been going mad on it.

Your EP was 'The Crown Jewels', the album is 'The Family Jewels'. Are you going to try and keep the theme going?
Probably not. Jewel overkill! We'll see, maybe I'll just go for a one word thing. I'm going to run out soon.

I saw you have next week's Irish gigs listed on your myspace as 'Gigs for my Emeralds'. Are your Irish fans emeralds while the rest are diamonds?
Yeah, I can't think of anything for the Welsh at the moment! *laughs*

Are you looking forward to your Irish shows next week?
Massively, just because you guys were amazing at the Electric Picnic gig, so I have high expectations.

What should fans expect from the live show? Is it theatrical as the videos?
Yes definitely. They've become a little bit more controlled. I've reigned it in because I've realised that I can do Britney's choreography and sing like Whitney *laughs*. So I've changed a few things and I feel much more confident as a performer now, so I'm looking forward to going back.

What will you be doing in 2010?
Meeting lots of different fans and people. I'm looking forward to going to different countries. I expect it'll be lots of promo, which I just love. I think it's just because I know that I don't have to go back into the studio for another two years, I'm so looking forward to it!

 

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Marina and the Diamonds plays The Academy, Dublin, next Wednesday November 11th, and the Heineken Green Spheres at Dinn Ri in Carlow on Thursday November 12th with Digitalism and Miike Snow.

'Mowgli's Road' is due for release on digital download on November 13th.

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