RedHanded: Do you think pop is exciting again?
Marina Diamandis: Yeah. I think that’s a good way of describing it, because we’ve seen the return of true artists who have a real vision and actually write the songs themselves.
Has what’s happened in pop with the success of Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine or La Roux affected your music?
No, it hasn’t because I genuinely believe that, for me personally, I would be writing exactly the same songs even if Indie bands, dance acts or whatever had been in fashion. I’m so uneducated in music that I really never think about genres or the rules of songwriting. I just do what I think sounds good. I’m only interested in creating unique sounds. If that’s pop, like at the moment, that’s great. But, really, I don’t mind if it’s pop, Indie, garage or whatever it is that’s in at the moment. I don’t care about any of that.
If you’re not very musically educated, where did your love of music come from then?
It’s a bit weird but it’s not really based in anything, because I didn’t love music when I was growing up. If anything, it was more a need to be a singer, because I loved the feeling that singing gave me. But I’m not a trained singer – I wasn’t even good when I came to London. That’s why it took me so long to get somewhere!
Is singing a cathartic thing for you - a way to get your emotions and feelings out?
Yeah, I think so – a little bit. But I guess it’s the same for everyone who loves singing, isn’t it? That’s what an artist is, really.
Some people just want to sing, to be famous or make money though, don’t they?
Do they? Then they’re not artists. They’re just performers. If it’s not about wanting to sing - if it’s just about money or fame – they’re not artists.
Do you think it’s helped you that there are so many strong-minded, interesting women in pop at the moment?
Who knows? Maybe I would have been ignored if this had been seven years ago - or maybe I wouldn’t have. Actually, I don’t think I would have been ignored. I think I maybe would have just had more of an alternative slant put on me. So, if it’s helped, great. If it hasn’t, so what.
How has finishing runner-up in the BBC Sounds of 2010 poll affected you, if at all?
I think you make of it what you want to. So, if you say, ‘Oh, my God, there’s all of this hype around me, people are going to have high expectations about me and it’s all going to be bad,’ then you’re wasting a huge opportunity. For me, I saw it as a huge blessing in that I’d finished my album already, so it’s given me a lot of press at the beginning of a very important year. I really couldn’t be more grateful for it, so it’s great.
Was it disappointing not to win?
No! I was just really happy that I came number two, because I honestly thought I’d come eighth or ninth! So, yeah, I was really thrilled. But you know what? It’s all speculative, because it’s people who are in the industry, who are very experienced, saying she has the potential to be big. That’s all it is. The rest is up to the public! Luckily, most people who are shortlisted for it have done ok, so we’ll just see (laughs).
You said that you didn’t listen to music when you were growing up, because you lived in such a remote part of Wales, but surely you must have listened to something and been influenced by it?
I genuinely didn’t. There was stuff like Alisha’s Attic – you know, normal kiddy pop stuff – and my mum listened to Dolly Parton, George Michael and Enya, but apart from that the only album I remember buying was Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt because I loved them and thought Gwen Stefani was such an over-the-top personality with great aesthetic appeal. But after that, I didn’t buy another album until I was 19, when I got into quite rough female singer-songwriters, like Patti Smith, PJ Harvey and Juliana Hatfield, who I really love. So, any influences were from my mum or my dad, who listened to a lot of Greek, traditional music. Actually, I think it’s my dad’s [Greek] music that I take the most influence from, musically and melodically speaking.
Was your upbringing, in Abergavenny as sheltered as Duffy’s upbringing in Nefyn? She’s said that she didn’t even know what was going on in the outside world.
Yes! That’s exactly it! I can relate to her saying that because I was very isolated. I mean, in the village I had like two friends and we didn’t have the Internet – it was non-existent – so it was really like that. I think that’s why I’m the way I am.
With that sort of upbringing, how come you ended up wanting to be a pop star?
It was more a need to be a singer because I loved singing – and the feeling singing gave me – rather than I loved music. It was more an urge - a need - to express myself. That’s why I became a songwriter and singer. I think the desire to be a performer or artist is an innate thing; you kind of want to be seen and you want to perform, and put out something. But it’s weird - it feels embarrassing doing it too, because it’s kind of showy and egotistical! But, I think if you feel that you really have to do something with your life, then you just do it.
Is singing a catharsis for you then, a way of releasing your emotions and feelings?
Yes, it is. That’s exactly what it is. But isn’t it for every singer? It’s about releasing my feelings and emotions.
Tell us a secret about yourself…
I have a really bad attention span, especially book-wise and with films. It’s almost as if I’m a blank slate sometimes and I don’t feel like I know anything – everything’s quite fuzzy to me – even though I had a good education. But, in a way, that helps as an artist because it means I’ve got a big imagination!
Is your problem with attention like having ADHD?
Yeah, a bit. But I feel like maybe that’s just a product of our generation, how social interaction is evolving and how technology affects things. But it’s something I’d really like to conquer! I’d really like to shut myself away for five years and just read - catch up – so that I can get to a level that everyone else is at!
Do you have any other quirks?
Well, I’m quite OCD. I like everything to be quite neat! But it’s either one way or the other; my house is either an absolute tip, with rubbish spilling out everywhere, or it’s spotless. But it’s much more towards totally clean, because I don’t like living in a mess.
Any hidden talents?
I love baking cakes; I’m really good at baking carrot cake. It’s weird how it doesn’t taste of carrot though!
So, you’re secretly a domestic goddess then?
Hmm, well my secret dream is to be this nice housewife, who has everything intact. But that’s never going to happen!
Are you going to have half a dozen kids running around then?
No, just two!
In another life I would be…
I think I’d be a psychologist, delving into people’s minds because I love to try to understand people. But I definitely wouldn’t have pursued it [Psychology], because I didn’t have a Plan B, except this.
Why didn’t you have a Plan-B?
Because if you do - if you say, ‘Well, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll do this’ - then I just think you’re accepting failure. So, this is all I’ve ever thought about doing. So, if this doesn’t work out, then I’m high and dry because I’ll be like 35, with no money, no life and everything’s about to end! But that isn’t going to happen, so I’ll be OK!
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