Marina Lambrini Diamandis is a Welsh singer-songwriter of Greek origin, known under the stage name Marina & the Diamonds.
Marina was born in October 1985 in Abergavenny (Wales). Later, her parents moved to the small village of Pandi, where Marina and her older sister grew up.
Marina attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, where she often missed choir lessons. But her teacher convinced her. He said that she is a talent and that she should continue to make music.
When Marina was 16 years old, her parents filed for divorce. Together with her father, Marina moved to live in Greece, where she entered St. Catherine's School at the British Embassy.
A few years later, the girl returned to Wales. She persuaded her mother to give her permission to move to London on her own. In London, Marina studied at the dance academy for several months. Then she completed a year-long vocal course at Tech Music Schools.
Then she entered one of the universities of East London for a musical specialty. After the first year, she transferred to the University of Middlesex, but also abandoned it. As a result, she did not receive higher education.
First steps to fame Marina & the Diamonds
She tried herself at various auditions and castings, among which The West End Musical and The Lion King were singled out. To find my place in the music industry. She even auditioned for a reggae band in an all-male band on Virgin Records in 2005.
In her words, it was "nonsense with a drive", but she decided and, dressed in a man's outfit, attended the casting. Hoping that through her reincarnation, attention will be paid to her. And the label owners will smile and sign a contract with her.
But the idea was not liked, and Marina returned to her apartment with a failure. A week later, the same label invited her to collaborate. Marina is a synesthetic, able to see musical notes and days of the week in different shades and colors.
Creativity Marina
The pseudonym Marina & the Diamonds Marina came up with in 2005. She recorded and produced her early demos herself using Apple Software. Thus, she released her debut mini-album Mermaid vs. Sailor. It was sold through a personal account on the MySpace platform. Sales amounted to 70 copies.
In January 2008, Derek Davis (Neon Gold Records) noticed Marina and invited Australian Gotye to support her on the tour. After 9 months, 679 Recordings signed a contract with Marina.
The basis of the debut single released on November 19, 2008 under the direction of Neon Gold Records in the USA, were the tracks Obsessions and Mowgli's Road. Six months later, in June 2009, the second single I Am Not A Robot was released.
Album The Family Jewels
In February 2010 Marina released her debut album The Family Jewels. It peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver in the UK a few days prior to its release on the platforms. The main track of the album was the single Mowgli's Road. The next track Hollywood took 1st place. The third single was the re-released track I Am Not a Robot in April 2010. The first tour began on February 14, 2010 and consisted of 70 performances in countries such as Ireland, the United Kingdom. And also in Europe, Canada and the USA.
About the collaboration with producer Benny Blanco and guitarist Dave Sitek in Los Angeles, Marina spoke admiringly: "We are such a strange trio together - a combination of pop music and true indie." In March 2010, Atlantic Records recorded Marina & the Diamonds at Chop Shop Records in the US.
Album The American Jewels EP
2010 was a very busy year. In March, Marina & the Diamonds received a Critics' Choice nomination at the BRIT Awards and placed 5th on Ten Artists To Watch in 10. She also won the Best UK & Ireland Act at the 2010 MTV EMA Awards and made her North American debut. In May, she released The American Jewels EP exclusively for listeners in the United States.
Her performance was included in the category "Best European performance", but Marina did not get into the top 5 nominees.
The artist announced the new album as an album about femininity, sexuality and feminism. In January 2011, it became known that Katy Perry's tour would be opened by Marina, speaking "as an opening act".
Demo versions of several tracks hit the Internet before their presentation. And this only increased the interest of listeners to the new album. The compilation was recorded with producers Diplo, Labrinth, Greg Kurstin, Stargate, Guy Sigsworth, Liam Howe and Dr. Luke.
In August, music videos were released for the promo single Fear and Loathing and the single Radioactive. The track Primadonna took 1st place. The single How to be a Heartbreaker didn't like it because of the constant rescheduling of the release of the track for the American charts.
Album Electra Heart
By September 2011, Marina announced that soon Electra Heart would appear on the stage instead of her. For a long time, the listeners were at a loss as to what was at stake. It turned out that Electra Heart is the alter ego of the performer: a spoiled, daring, spoiled blonde, the embodiment of the antipode of the American dream that everyone aspired to.
The release of the new album took place in April 2012. A year later, Marina released the song of the same name from the album Electra Heart, posted a video clip on her YouTube channel and announced a break in work. For a long time, information about the recording of a new album did not appear.
Album Froot
In the fall of 2014, the first track and video clip from the upcoming Froot album was released. The track Happy became a Christmas present for the fans, and the track Immortal and its video clip became a New Year's gift.
The first official single "I'm a Ruin" increased the interest of fans in the new album. But on February 12, 2015, the album was posted on the Internet. The official world premiere of this album took place only a month later (March 16, 2015).
In the summer of 2016, in an interview with the Fuseruen TV channel, Marina announced that she was writing lyrics for the following recordings. In December 2016, the electro group Clean Bandit confirmed that the track Disconnectruen, which they performed at the Coachella festival in 2015 with Marina, will be included in their new release. It was released as a single in June 2017. And with the same lineup, it was re-performed at Glastonbury.
In September 2017, Marina created her own Marinabook website, where she regularly posts informational posts dedicated to the art of music, artistic creativity and stories about interesting people.
Album Marina
The singer decided to publish her fourth album Marina, removing and the Diamonds from her pseudonym. The new track Babyruen was released in November 2018 and subsequently charted at number 15 in the UK.
This track was the result of a collaboration with Clean Bandit and Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonti. In December 2018, Marina performed the track Baby with Clean Bandit at the Royal Variety Performance.
On the social network Instagram on January 31, 2019, Marina published a poster with the inscription 8 Days. And in an interview a few days later, she announced that the new album would be released in the spring of 2019. The release of the single Handmade Heaven from the new album took place on February 8, 2019.
The new double album Love + Fear, consisting of 16 tracks, was presented on April 26, 2019. In support of him, Marina launched the Love + Fear Tour with 6 shows in the UK, including performances in London and Manchester.
Marina discography
Studio albums
The Family Jewels (2010);
Electra Heart (2012);
Froot (2015);
Love + Fear (2019).
Mini Albums
Mermaid vs. Sailor (2007);
The Crown Jewels (2009);
The American Jewels (2010).
