GOLD002: MARINA & THE DIAMONDS

We revealed last month our imminent collaboration with the amazing Marina & The Diamonds, and while some unforeseen delays have forced us to push back the release until the new year, we're thrilled to announce that Marina's debut single will at long last find it's way into the hands of the masses via Neon Gold this coming Valentine's Day. To make the wait more bearable, we've got the wonderful music video - beautifully directed on a non-existent budget by Tim Brown - above and are making the finished version of the track available for FREE download below. The demo remains one of our favorite tracks of the year, but the single version sports immense new production from Liam Howe that elevates the original to new heights of pop perfection. This is widescreen technicolor pop bliss that's sure to make Marina one of the most talked about new talents of 2009. Enjoy.

MP3: "Obsessions" - Marina & The Diamonds ((exclusive))


"Obsessions" is Marina's dramatic masterwork and the spotlight track here, but the single's another double A-side release with the equally impressive left field pop smash that is "Mowgli's Road" turning up the intensity on the flipside. While "Obsessions" might tempt hasty comparisons to other British starlets currently gigging around the UK, "Mowgli's Road" (available for streaming on our myspace) could quite easily be a standalone single in its own right, an unquestionably original breath of fresh air that puts Marina in a league of her own among her likeminded contemporaries. The two tracks combine to form an incredibly bold statement intent for such a young talent and establish Marina as a force to be reckoned with in the new year.

Limited to 500 copies worldwide (250 for the US and 250 for the UK/Europe) and featuring original artwork from the NYC's brilliant Mogollon collective, the record's currently available for preorder from the Neon Gold Shop (US customers) and Puregroove (international customers). Oh and did we mention the first 50 preorders will receive SIGNED copies? Because they will. Yeah, get on this. Grab the free mp3 above and sit tight for more details on the release, as there's plenty more excitement to come on this one, including remixes from Giantess, Little Boots and more.

// Tim Brown //

NEON DIAMONDS.

She is Marina. You are the Diamonds. "We've Got Obsessions" comes on one side and "Mowgli's Road" the other. Together these elements make up the principle ingredients of Neon Gold's second record, currently being readied in a North London studio for release in mid-December. We've been championing Marina to anyone who'll listen all year long, so we're understandably thrilled to have the honor of formally bringing her debut single into the world next month, when it will see a limited release on both sides of the Atlantic with our seal proudly stamped upon it. It seems others are catching on as well, as recent gigs across London (including a support slot for Little Boots on Halloween) have been drawing good press from all directions.

"Obsessions" endures as one of our favorite songs of 2008, all dramatic sparseness, haunting vocals and vulnerable beauty, like the best song Kate Bush never wrote or a week of sleepless nights that's head and shoulders above any other singer-songwriter fare we've heard this year. The new and improved single version, on the other hand, is a whole new kind of phenomenal, splashed in technicolor and reborn as a widescreen pop masterpiece that manages to outdo the original in nearly every regard, a feat we weren't sure was possible until we heard it for ourselves. We'll share that in good time once production maestro Liam Howe (he of Sneaker Pimps fame) has sprinkled his last bit of studio magic across it, but you'd do well to download the stunning original in the meantime. Trust us.

MP3: "We've Got Obsessions" (Demo) - Marina & The Diamonds