When Greek singer/songwriter Marva Voulgari met up with Austrian contemporary composer Theo Foinidis in 2015, something magical happened. They created a collaboration, Marva Von Theo, that created something unique and fresh. Their debut album, Dream Within A Dream, is a course on building a new sound. It is layered with 1990s synth that channels Portishead and is mashed up with dark, winding 1980s throwback sound effects that are reminiscent of Tron and yet Foinidis find a way to make it different.
When listening to Dream Within A Dream, there is this sense of hopefulness buried within the darkness and foreboding themes that run throughout each of the tracks. With Voulgari’s jazzy, bluesy vocals, it is hard not to feel like you are falling into an endless void, but in a good way. Like on “What Is It About Me That You Love”, the initial few seconds can be a little jarring but the eventual calmness of free-falling takes over and you slip into a sort of meditative state.
While Marva Von Theo may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is different and exciting. Sometimes we get stuck in a musical rut that we cannot pull ourselves out of, but with a duo like Marva Von Theo we absorb something interesting. They ride that fine line between contemporary electro-pop and something a little too outlandish and they do so expertly.
Check out the full album, Dream Within A Dream, by international duo Marva Von Theo on SoundCloud below and pick up the album on BandCamp today!
