From Russia with love: Russian-born singer/songwriter Marina V plays Las Vegas

By Meredith McGhan

There are those singer/songwriters whose talent stops at a technical proficiency, allowing them to merely carry a tune over processed instrumental pablum -- and then there's Marina V. Her classical training serves her musicianship well, lending it a timeless quality and ethereal beauty, while the emotion she pours into her singing transcends the ordinary.

The Soviet Union-born singer/songwriter/pianist infuses her heartfelt lyrics with vocal passion. Her unusual life has informed her songwriting, which stems from personal experience without being confessional or narcissistic. Her voice, reminiscent of Kate Bush and Tori Amos, soars and dips over the classically inspired instrumentation. At 25, Marina (the "V" stands for Verenikina) already stands apart from the herd of MOR-friendly Sarah McLachlan wannabes.

The vocal and instrumental similarities Marina shares with Amos may be the first thing you notice upon hearing her second release, Something of My Own. But in a recent interview, Marina says she doesn't consider Amos to be an influence, though she does enjoy her work.

"Any similarities between us are coincidental," she says, her Russian accent diminished by 10 years of Stateside residence. "I was doing my music before I ever heard of Tori Amos, and someone told me to check her out. My biggest influence is the Beatles, especially Paul McCartney."

The McCartney influence is clearest in "That's the Way It Goes," the sixth track on the CD. The piano work is light-hearted, ragtime-influenced. The lyrics, while lighter than the other songs on this CD, still impart a sense of mild frustration: "Every cloud has a silver lining/but mine looks gray/So my story's never ending/it is here to stay/That's the way it goes." And in the line "Maybe I'm afraid, maybe I'm amazed," Marina tips the proverbial hat to her idol.

Growing up in the Soviet Union, Marina had few chances to hear foreign music, so her first hearing of the Beatles was on a contraband cassette tape that had been recorded -- several times over -- from a vinyl record.

"They were the first foreign band I'd heard," Marina says. "Before that, I hadn't heard any rock or pop music, only classical."

Marina attended a classical music school in the Soviet Union for "eight years of drilled instruction," as she puts it, then took private piano lessons. Her exquisite vocals stem mainly from having a developed ear; she took "a little opera," but her main concentration was piano. Her world opened up when, at 15, she received a scholarship to study in the United States.

"It was an amazing experience," she says. "I had to go back to Russia, but I really wanted to return to the U.S. I got a student visa and came back for college."

And she's been here ever since. Marina plans to become a U.S. citizen in the next two years.

Her maturity is evident in her lyrics, which are always tinged with a poignancy that comes with depth of experience. Marina writes all her own songs, along with her collaborator, Nick Baker, who plays guitar and percussion. In addition to a songwriting partner, Marina now has a manager who's working on finding a major label for her next release as well as opening gigs for major acts.

"Leaving Russia to come here made me grow up fast," Marina says. "Sometimes I feel so much older than I am."

Marina V

When Jan. 9, 7 p.m.

Where Borders (2323 S. Decatur Blvd.)




Jan 10, 2 p.m.

Borders (2190 N. Rainbow Blvd.)




Jan. 11, 2 p.m.

Borders (1445 W. Sunset Road)

Admission Free

Info www.marinav.com