Healing Through Harmony: Marina V Opens Her Heart in Labyrinthine Rose/INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE NEWS

The award-winning singer, songwriter, and pianist Marina V recently released her deeply personal new album, Labyrinthine Rose, available now on all major streaming platforms and on her official website www.MarinaV.com Produced by acclaimed composer Steve Horner (Bridgerton, Rachel Platten) and featuring legendary musicians Bruce Kulick (KISS) and David Ellefson (Megadeth), the album is Marina’s most raw and intimate project to date. Described as creating music that is “hauntingly beautiful” by the LA Times, Marina delivers a collection of songs born from profound loss, resilience, and the rediscovery of hope. In addition to her own projects, Marina has written songs for major brands and entertainment platforms including PEPSI, Days of Our Lives, and most recently the new Spider-Man series on Disney+. Her voice was also featured in the end credits of Nicole Kidman’s Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu.

We had a chance to speak with Marina V about Labyrinthine Rose.

Labyrinthine Rose feels like your most personal project yet. What was the emotional journey behind writing it, and how did those experiences shape the album’s sound?

Thank you, and yes, this album is my most personal album yet. In a very quick succession I became a mom (gave birth to my beautiful little girl) and suddenly lost my dad in the pandemic. Also, after 20+ years of nonstop touring and traveling, I switched to streaming online concerts on Twitch from home (touring with a small child did not feel right). I had to deal with postpartum and perimenopausal hormones which affected my sleep and my mind: I had a very rough period of deep depression. And then the war started (I have family in both Russia & Ukraine) which devastated many people I love. And maybe because all of these drastic changes happened almost all at once, I ended up feeling broken down to my very core. It was hard. But, with music, and time, and HRT, and especially empowered by the love for my tiny daughter and support from hubby, family and friends – I slowly started to rebuild myself (not sure how else to describe it). I am still growing and rebuilding. The album was written throughout it all. So yes, very personal.

The record explores loss and renewal amid world upheaval and personal transformation. How did you channel those contrasts — grief and grace, pain and healing — into your songwriting process?

Music has always been a form of therapy that helped me process things. I feel very lucky that early on in life I had found this creative outlet (or rather, music has found me) that helped me channel pain into something hopeful. I don’t know where I’d be without songwriting.

Working with Steve Horner, Bruce Kulick, and David Ellefson brought together artists from very different genres. How did that collaboration influence the creative direction or emotional tone of the album?

It is a true honor to have these amazing musicians in my life and on the record. It encouraged me to experiment with sound more than ever. So musically, although cohesive through Steve Horner’s brilliant orchestrations/arrangements, the album is sonically diverse.

The title track has already been featured at the French Riviera Film Festival. Can you share how “Labyrinthine Rose” captures the essence of the album as both a metaphor and a musical statement?

Thanks for saying this, as I do feel that Labyrinthine Rose does capture the essence of the album. Life is beautiful and amazing (like a rose) and dark, confusing and twisted (labyrinth). From the lowest of the lows to the highest and most incredible moments, it is truly happening all at once. And for the first time in my own personal life, I got to feel the extremes. Especially since becoming a mom, I felt the love I never knew existed.

Nick Baker, Marina V and their daughter Violetta

Songs like “Daughter Song” and “Ready to Live Again” touch on deeply intimate moments of motherhood and loss. Was it difficult to share something so personal — and what kind of healing came through that process?

I am a very private person in many ways, but when it comes to songwriting, somehow I am okay sharing the most private feelings. It just feels right to share. But most of the time, songs come to me. I just finish them, Ha ha. I rarely sit down to think of an idea. I’ve been writing songs my whole life, but I am still truly amazed at how song ideas just appear, seemingly out of nowhere. It is magic.

Your artistic voice often bridges cultures and languages. How has your heritage and global career influenced your approach to blending classical beauty with pop and cinematic elements?

Thank you for this amazing question. I was born in Russia, and am part Ukrainian and Jewish, who came to the US as a teen, and I have traveled a lot while touring and got to meet and talk to tens of thousands of people from all walks of life. I was influenced by it all.
And musically, I grew up listening to classical & traditional music aside from pop, and it’s what I know. So, like all of us, I’m a product of it all. So, I just create music that feels right to my soul. And having cinematic (which are classical mostly) elements on the new album makes me feel at home, especially working with someone as extraordinary as Steve Horner.

The album ends with “Bird of Happiness,” a Russian-Ukrainian classic recorded live. Why was it important to include that song now, and what message of reconciliation or hope does it carry for you?

When the war started I reconnected with my cousin in Ukraine who reminded me that I used to sing this song from the top of my lungs when I was three years old. I Googled it to remember some of the lyrics and was stunned: I had not realized it was a song written by a Russian songwriting couple, and sung by a Ukrainian artist. A truly Russian-Ukrainian song with lyrics that say, “I have hope in my heart”. It felt like I was meant to record this song. After all, we have to have hope in our hearts that the war ends. That love, and the good in us, prevails. And songs like “Bird of Happiness” bring out the best in us, in our humanity, reminding us that we are more alike than not. So, I have hope in my heart.