SOUNDS FROM THE WORLD | Marina Kaye (France)

Man, I take it all back, France DOES have freaking awesome music! 

I swear, I’ve never heard a voice like 17-year-old Marina Kaye’s.

Marina Dalmas was barely a teenager when France discovered her on France’s Got Talent in 2011. Auditioning -and killing it- with Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep,” the young girl soon won the audience over, and ended up winning the talent show at only 13 on December 14th. Although, success didn’t come right away for the young girl. For the next couple of years, Dalmas keeps it on the down low after being bullied at school. It’s in 2013 that Dalmas gets her real start, after being discovered by Norwich producer Jan Erik Frogg thanks to a cover she posted on her Youtube channel of Demi Lovato’s “Skyscraper”. Dalmas then develops a stage name, Marina Kaye, and works on an album with Capitol Records (Universal Music), first delivering an EP ‘Homeless’ on June 16th, 2014. With the EP, Kaye introduces her darker personal atmosphere, one that she claims and assumes proudly. Her first single, which also happens to be the title track of the EP, is soon catapulted to number 1 in the country when Kaye releases her debut album ‘Fearless’ about a year later, on May 18th, 2015.

The album, recorded in London and New York and almost fully co-written by Dalmas to the exception of one track, offers 11 pop tracks in English as well as a remix of “Homeless,” ranging from soft ballads (“Mirror, Mirror,” “Dark Star”) to high-tempo tracks (“Dancing with the Devil,” “Iron Heart”). Kaye’s mature and powerful voice surprises at the first listen, just like in her second single “Sounds Like Heaven,” in collaboration with violinist Lindsey Stirling, which has already gotten 1.5 million hits on Youtube in a matter of 3 months. Kaye’s unique voice is also highlighted on the one song she didn’t write on the album “Freeze You Out”, for it was given to her during one of her trips to the U.S. by no one else but Sia Furler.

Overall, Kaye’s debut album is very well written and produced, and has all the keys it needs to be a successful one. Kaye’s vocal control takes you on an emotional journey that you do not want to miss.