Marina and the Diamonds (real name: Marina Lambrini Diamandis) is breaking hearts and taking names with her brand-new album, Electra Heart. Studio producers for the record have already worked with top-10 hitmakers including Dr. Luke (Nicki Minaj), Greg Kurstin (Kelly Clarkson) and Liam Howe (Adele). Her pop tunes combine all those artists to blend into a sound uniquely her own.
Despite (or possibly because of) awkward lyrics like "He says, Oh my god, you look just like Shakira/no, no, you're Catherine Zeta/actually, my name's Marina," people have grown to love her.
The Greek singer is opening for Coldplay and is headlining her own tour. Windy City Times talked with her late one evening about her Diamond life.
Windy City Times: Hi, Marina. I have been trying to track you down since your last album, The Family Jewels.
Marina Diamandis: Well, here I am!
WCT: So you are Greek. I didn't realize that until I read it.
Marina Diamandis: I am. [Laughs] I don't know why you are making me laugh already but I can tell you are a lovely person.
WCT: Thanks. Did you grow up in Greece?
Marina Diamandis: I was raised mainly in Wales by my mum. I lived there for about 14 years. I lived in Greece when I was 2 to 4 years old, then 16 to 18 years old.
WCT: Do you currently live in America?
Marina Diamandis: I'm living in London but I am hardly there, so I guess I am living in a tour bus.
WCT: You are a gypsy now.
Marina Diamandis: I am. I'm a gypsy!
WCT: From what I have read, it seems like you always wanted to be in the world of music.
Marina Diamandis: Yes. I kind of knew it was going to happen. I know it sounds cocky but when you have a really strong instinct about something you have to pursue it until it happens. I didn't have anything else I was interested in, so I am really happy that it worked out and I wasn't just deluded. It was something I was good at. I kind of love being away from home so I think I am suited for the job!
WCT: From your name, many people think there is a back-up band called the Diamonds.
Marina Diamandis: No, I am a genius and I just create everything so... [Laughs]
WCT: It is your last name translated in English.
Marina Diamandis: It is all me. I have a lovely touring band who comes everywhere with me though. [With] some of the songs I write with these producers, I need a 100-pound keyboard with me.
WCT: I originally heard about you from your gay fans. You have a lot of them.
Marina Diamandis: I know. It's fantastic.
WCT: Berlin Nightclub is having a release party tonight for you. They were playing a remix of "Primadonna" the other night.
Marina Diamandis: Oh, I love it!
WCT: Did you come up with that video?
Marina Diamandis: Yeah, anything you create is a collaboration between you and the people you have worked with. I like to come up with treatments for what we are doing. Sometimes it changes if the director has a better idea or sometimes it doesn't. "Primadonna" pretty much was on key to what I was headed toward.
WCT: Why did you name the album Electra Heart?
Marina Diamandis: I have a great skill for making up porn-star or drag-queen names. Electra Heart was one of many. At the time, I was really heartbroken. I was in love with a guy that didn't love me back so it was very fitting. I decided to write with this name, a fictional character. It was like a soap opera, like a Mexican soap opera. I wanted that kind of high drama.
WCT: Like a novela…
Marina Diamandis: Yeah, a telenovela. So that was a way of writing and where that character had begun really. I wanted to make an album about heartbreak, but in a dark humorous way. Not like "Baby please come back"—more like "Screw you!"
WCT: Go get 'em, Marina! The videos are very dramatic from what I have seen.
Marina Diamandis: They are. I like melodrama. I like the humor of it.
WCT: What has your live show been like so far? Do you dress in crazy costumes?
Marina Diamandis: It is based on a dirty honeymoon-suite theme. It has a television onstage and a chaise lounge. It has a really nice hat stand where I have all of my costumes so I do lots of costume changes onstage. It is very camp and kitschy. It is kind of like a play. It is almost like a living room.
WCT: You opened for Katy Perry?
Marina Diamandis: I did two weeks with Katy Perry last June.
WCT: She does a lot of costume changes.
Marina Diamandis: A lot? In one song she did 10! For "Hot N Cold" she does this trick where she walks through a screen. There is a wire mechanism in the dresses where one just pulls off and the next one appears.
WCT: It was like a magic act when I saw it.
Marina Diamandis: It was insanely good.
WCT: What is this Marilyn Dog on your website?
Marina Diamandis: Okay, Marilyn is my slightly druggie toy dog who rose to fame on the "Primadonna" video. I don't know why I created it. For some reason it just works, but I don't know why.
My record label said I could not go on live TV like that and I said, "Yes, I am." People will look back at it and say, "Did you know Marina was followed around by this half-drunk toy dog named Marilyn and got paid for it?" So Marilyn is becoming quite iconic on the tour now. It works.
WCT: So there is no real dog?
Marina Diamandis: No, it's fake.
WCT: Well, you are never at home so it wouldn't be good to have a dog anyway.
Marina Diamandis: I just feed her batteries and that is it. It is much easier.
Marina brings her Lonely Hearts Club tour to the Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., on Saturday, July 21, and then returns to our town Tuesday-Wed., Aug. 7-8, to open for Coldplay at the United Center. Buy tickets at www.jamusa.com . For more Marina, visit www.marinaandthediamonds.com .
