Marina's voice, which is strong and unadulterated, ushers in a story that is at once ancient and contemporary. She was born under the great sky of Ukraine. Her early memories are filled with choirs and juvenile competitions; as a result, she is more than simply a singer; she is an image of endurance. Marina's career has taken off like a shooting star because she has been...

With the release of the single "Play Me A Christmas Song", Stephen Dowd manages to bottle the very specific, blue-hued silence that falls over a living room once the wrapping paper has been cleared away. It is a curious thing, really, how a melody can act less like a sound wave and more like the smell of a candle that was blown out five...