Marina Satti is a Greek singer from Athens, born in 1986. She is known for music that draws on folk pop and pop, and her work also sits across pop, dance, art pop and experimental styles.

Background and training

Satti is born in Athens to a Sudanese father and a Cretan mother, and she is raised in Heraklion, Crete. She grows up in a culturally mixed environment that shapes her musical development and the multicultural character of her work. She shows an early interest in both music and drawing, begins classical piano at the age of seven, and later takes classical vocal training in high school while also developing an interest in choral music.

After school, she moves to Athens to study architecture at the National Technical University of Athens. While living in Athens, she also studies theatre at the Veaki Drama School and the Central Stage School of Drama, and begins jazz studies at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory.

Education and early career

In 2009, Satti earns a degree in classical piano and music theory. She also receives a distinction and first prize after completing her diploma in classical singing under professor Panos Dimas. In the same year, she represents Greece at the European Jazz Orchestra (EBU), performing the music of Peter Herbolzheimer across Europe.

In 2010, she performs with the World Jazz Nonet at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She also takes part in the a cappella group The Singing Tribe, which performs alongside Bobby McFerrin.

After receiving a scholarship, she studies at Berklee College of Music and graduates in 2011, majoring in Contemporary Writing & Production. During this period she studies with Danilo Perez, Jamie Haddad, Simon Shaheen, John Patittuchi and Christiane Karam, among others. Her time at Berklee helps her develop a style that combines Greek, Arabic and Balkan traditional music.

Recordings and notable songs

In 2016, Satti releases the single “Koupes”, a contemporary version of a traditional Asia Minor song. The track gains wide attention, passes 22 million views on YouTube, and appears on Ravin & Bob Sinclar’s Buddha Bar: 20 Years Anniversary compilation.

In December 2016, she voices Moana in the Greek-language version of the Disney animated film Moana.

Her 2017 single “Mantissa”, which she composes and arranges, reaches the top of the Greek and Bulgarian charts within a week. The song leads to an international deal with Universal Music Berlin and passes 45 million views on YouTube. It also attracts international press attention, with Global Citizen describing it as “the song of the summer” and NPR calling it “the summer hit that fills a generation with hope”.

Groups, collaborations and performances

Satti is the founder and artistic director of the polyphonic group fonés and the female choir chόres. She performs in more than 20 countries and collaborates with Foivos Delivorias, Nikos Kypourgos, George Dalaras, Pavlos Pavlidis, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Paco De Lucia, Patrice Rushen, Simon Shaheen, Maria Mulata and Mavis Staples.

She performs at Google’s Europe On Stage event at the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels in 2017 as one of the “10 most interesting YouTube acts of 2017”. In 2018, she appears with fonέs at the United Nations Champion of the Earth Awards in New York.

Awards and later profile

In 2018, readers of Votre Beaute vote her “Female musician of the year”. She also represents Greece at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 with the song “Zari”.