Dina has throat nodules at the moment - a condition that occurs when the voice has been over used for prolonged periods. The sufferer speaks in a husky manner, and can sustain permanent damage - it can ruin singing voices. Not good for someone like Dina whose voice is her living!

 

After 30 seconds of speaking to Dina I see why she suffers from them. This is one energetic person, and to call her bubbly would be an understatement! She launches straight into conversation, "Excuse the sound of my voice. I have lumps on my vocal chords; it's from 16 years of singing.

 

"I've been told I need to have three to six months of complete rest - no talking and no singing. And, as you are probably already gathering, I am a bit of a motor mouth so complete voice rest is very difficult for me!" She lets out a throaty laugh - perhaps another thing she might have to hold off on?

 

Dina has been singing since she can remember, and has brought the world such club classics as the soul-soaked melody 'The Love I Have For You' and, more recently, 'Waiting For You'. But she has lots more up her sleeve, as she is keen to point out: "I have about 150 songs written and ready to go. I work with different producers and musicians. I can write songs as quick as secretaries can write letters! I'd say about 50 are totally mastered and ready for release."

 

Dina's first album, Liberation', is set for release in February - a long time coming, you might say, but it's not been all club hits and production royalties for this lady; Dina's life has been one of dramatic events and she's had as many lows as she has highs. But don't for one second think she'll let that beat her! "'Liberation' was due out in October last year but will now be released in February because there have been some complications.

 

So what should we expect? "My passion is jazz, funk and soul, but I love all dance music. The album encompasses drum 'n' bass, funky house, loads of stuff really! I find dance music quite easy to produce." Thirty-year old Dina has the energy of someone who has just started out in the industry. She grew up within North London's Greek community and taught herself how to play the keyboard at the age of seven. She recalls being "in paradise" when she received her first instrument. And now she's mastered many instruments: "I pretty much play everything".

 

She left home at the tender age of 15, but that, as she says, is "a whole other story". I decide not to push the subject. Dina then adds, "People ask why I've been doing it for 16 years but not had an actual big break." She pauses, takes a deep breath, and continues, "I got a major record deal with RCA Records in America seven years ago and then I had a serious accident. I couldn't function or work properly for three years."

 

Dina has an intriguing story to tell but she's understandably cautious, saying instead, "if the record sales go well and people want to know more then I'll tell them. But for now that's enough! I don't want to go on about it." How refreshing to speak to someone who's not prepared to use their experiences outside of music to sell their product! No, Dina plans to work hard to get what she wants: "I have this weird drive. I just keep going. I have been through so much I just take whatever good came from a situation and move on."

 

Her determination is obvious, and true to form, she made her initial break by heading off to Ayia Napa at the peak of its popularity a few years ago. She broke into the music circles - working the clubs and pretending to be her own agent, 'Nadine', during the day and songstress 'Dina' at night! "I talk about this too much in case people think I'm crazy! But I noticed that promoters don't like talking to artists direct, so I pretended to be Nadine! I put on a posh accent and wore no makeup and had my hair totally different. If anyone said we looked alike I just said we were cousins! It worked and I got lots of bookings for the summer!"

 

Last July Dina released 'Waiting For You', which did well within the funky house scene and was the follow-up to her biggest track to date, 'The Love I Have For You'. The track was also popular on the airwaves, with Kiss 100 particularly. What was the story behind 'The Love I Have For You'? "It's such a sad story with that track. The label decided not to push it any further but if they had I honestly think it would have been a huge hit! So I got out of the contract and just went independent. Unfortunately they still own the rights to the track so I can't even give my own song a proper release. I got ripped off, basically." But the track is so distinctively hers that whenever it's played people just know it's Dina Vass. She seems genuinely pleased by this: "I do always try to keep a positive attitude. It's really nice to hear things like that!"

 

Dina spends a lot of her time working on charity projects, one of which included going to Ukraine for four months with ska band Maroon Town. They performed in prisons and orphanages as part of a project to bring music and entertainment into these usually oppressive environments. "It was such an eye opener! The most shocking place was a boys' prison. It was freezing cold and they had no heating. When we did the show they had a generator instead of electricity; we got one amp going and two mics, so we just jammed the rest.

 

"The inmates were between 14 and 20 years old. Most of them were there for stealing purses or money - but they just looked like little boys! It was just so sad. I wanted them to enjoy the music because that is the magic of it - it's universal. I want to do more charity stuff with my music. I'll start getting visas sorted soon."

 

She also has started up a little sideline, acting as a hybrid of manager and mentor to new talent Dean Facey. Her eyes light up when she talks about this new project. She sounds genuinely proud: "He is an amazing talent and I want to make sure he doesn't get ripped off! I have signed his funk-infused track 'Don't Understand', which is out now!" 'Don't Understand' has been released on Dina's own label, CMWS Music (Connect Mind With Soul Music). The label is one of her main priorities for the next year, with the release of Dean's track and her own album.

Despite her various successes, Dina has never really experienced full-on fame. Apart from in Romania… "It's surreal! I get mobbed as I walk down the street. Then I come back to the UK and I'm sat sticking labels on my own CDs!" Dina hopes her patience, perseverance and passion will finally pay off this year. And then her biggest ambition is to release an album that is 100% written, produced, sung and mastered by Dina herself! There's just no stopping her! Dina, we have no doubt you'll make it!

Dina's album, 'Liberation', is out in February on CMWS Music.