Marina & The Diamonds
by ashbrw
© Rankin
One of my favorite things to do in the morning (besides drinking coffee) involves turning on my laptop and reading the latest music updates in the interwebs. From the latest music blogs, tweets, and videos, I love engrossing myself in the always-changing entertainment industry. One of my favorite sites to check out is called the Daily Swarm. The Daily Swarm is not an original blog, nor a site that entertains you with their favorite artists and why they like them ( like your favorite site, Familiarize Yourself), but it IS a summary of the best music blogs found on the Internet.
The latest article to catch my attention was from Pollstar, and the headline read Women to take over the entertainment world in 2010.Instantly intrigued by the title, and since the latest releases from Kesha or Gaga were hopefully left to die in 2009, I wanted to see which artists they expected to top the new decade.
The British are coming! The British are coming! With honorable mentions to Ellie Goulding, the song that has been stuck in my head for the past 48 hours belongs to the newest Welsh sensation, 24-year-old Marina Diamondis. Stage named ‘Marina & The Diamonds,’ Marina’s last name, Diamondis simply translates from Greek to “Diamonds.” Instead of taking her legal name, Diamondis insists that her stage name refers to her fans. As her myspace page states, “I am Marina. You are the Diamonds.”
Marina began her career as a self-composed, self-produced artist through Apple’s user-friendly software, Garageband. In 2008, record label SixSeveNine Records picked up the songwriter’s debut record, and within a year had Diamondis taking the stage at noteworthy Glastonbury, Reading, and Leads festivals. Her first major-label single, “Mowgli’s Road” was released in November 2009 and recently hit the #2 spot on BBC’s Sounds of 2010 poll.
The video for “Mowgli’s Road” was what first grabbed my attention after reading Pollstar’s article. Diamondis has to credit her team for the orginial concept. Diamondis and two background dancers are featured as they perform a dance routine where their body parts change into paper limbs. “Mowgli’s Road” could easily stand on its own without the clever video performance. The introductory bird-like call and response carries Diamondis’s dynamic vocals. The additional vocal layers add an appealing element over the rhythm section created by acoustic guitars, keyboards, and the drums never allowing for a dull moment. The rest of her debut studio album, available in the UK only on February 15th, is just as strong as this single. Noteworthy tracks include “I Am Not A Robot” and “Obsessions.”
The British have great taste. This is the kind of talent we should be celebrating and fostering instead of record-label trash that sells to the AACÂ crowd who needs to be spoon fed their musical tastes.
Rant over. Listen and appreciate.
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