Introducing... Marina and The Diamonds

Gigwise

“I decided I wanted to do this when I was about fifteen but I’d never sung in public or written a song so when I was eighteen I left home and moved to London and began trying everything I could to get noticed. When I was 19 I started writing a lot of songs and went to three different colleges to study music and dropped out of all of them but as I left the third college I started to produce my own stuff on a very basic level on my computer. After that I got a manager who worked for 679 (Record label, home to Little Boots) but we parted after six months then about a week later I got signed by Warners.” That is the history of Marina Diamond in a sort of to the point, Wikipedia fashion but what makes her tick? Which records have shaped her and how does it feel being compared to every other girl with a mouth and a microphone in 2009?

So, influences- “Drain The Blood by The Distillers, massive song and a huge thing for me growing up. ‘Them Heavy People’ by Kate Bush too and probably ‘Jolene’ by Dolly Parton, that song is my first musical memory.” These range of influences have all bled together to create Marina and The Diamonds sound, an interesting and unique blend of theatrical pop and quirky Regina Spektor esque flights of fancy. “My song ‘I Am Not A Robot (from the soon to be released ‘Crown Jewels EP’) is basically about being emotionally retarded. I wrote it about five months ago and it’s basically saying that it’s OK to fuck up and you don’t have to be perfect all the time. I write songs when I’m really depressed or if I’m angry or upset, it’s never when I’m happy!” Would Marina then follow the Lily Allen method of sabotaging a relationship in order to gain song writing material? “I could never do that, I don’t get enough boyfriends to get away with it!”

The video that accompanies ‘I Am Not A Robot’ saw Marina covered head to toe in black paint, how was it suffering for her art? “There are four different looks. One is me with grease all over me, one is a natural look, another is me covered in black and the last is a bejewelled look. It’s a really simple idea it wasn’t a big budget thing at all it’s just showing the transition from something really ugly into something that’s natural and not weighed down by things which is kind of what the song is about. I just saw it today and it looks really good.” Presumably removing that amount of paint is a task and a half? “Oh my God yes! I’ve not been scrubbing and scrubbing. All white surfaces have been avoided.”

With an EP and video in the bag Marina is set to hit the Summer’s festival circuit hard, turning up in pretty much any field with a stage. A self confessed “festival hater” she claims to have never been to one as a fan but that she has “a big personality on stage” and “always takes care of the outfits too which is important.” A bundle of energy and charisma Marina claims to have stopped Googling herself after it became an obsession, something she “Discussed with Little Boots and we both decided it was just not a good idea any more.” She also says her most hardcore fan is a man called Alan who turns up to all the shows dressed like Jesus but that he “Really gets the party started”. With Jesus on her side it’s going to take a lot to stop Marina taking over this year.

Introducing... Marina and The Diamonds