Earlier this year, Marina and the Diamonds principle Marina Diamandis flew from her native UK to Los Angeles to record with Britney Spears/Ke$ha producer Benny Blanco and TV On the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek for a possible follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut LP, ‘The Family Jewels.’

On paper it seems both strange and kind of brilliant. A self-styled starlet who writes her own songs, Diamandis drifts between the poles of pop and high art, a divide well-represented by Blanco and Sitek. If it sounds a bit too good to be true, that’s because it is.

“It just didn’t work out,” Diamandis reveals to Spinner. “I explained to them, ‘I’m not feeling it’ — and that was that.”

Even if nothing was gained, nothing was lost, either. Entering the studio without any material previously written, Diamandis saw the sessions as more of an experiment than a hardened attempt to record an album.

“If I’m not entirely comfortable with someone, then I can’t write,” she expounds. “It’s no offense to either of them, but it was the wrong vibe. I’m usually very picky about who I write with, and I only did this because someone suggested it. I already had a feeling before we did it that it wouldn’t work out. Dave Sitek was lovely, and he’s a very talented guy, but it just didn’t feel right.”

This isn’t the first time the Welsh-born musician has been linked to another musician. Reportedly impressed with Marina and the Diamonds’ version of 3OH!S3′s hit ‘Starstrukk,’ pop star Katy Perry (who guests on the original radio version of the song) told English media she would love to come together with the singer for a duet.

Again, however, Diamandis has her trepidations.

“I’ve heard she’s a fan, and she’s given me some great support, but I’m not ready for duets or guest vocals or anything like that,” says the rising star. “I’m sure one day there will be the right time and the right artist to collaborate with, but I think I have to cement my own identity as an artist first.”

Despite the sound reasoning, Diamandis does have a couple of musicians for whom she would consider breaking her rule — and it’s not who you’d think.

“Brody Dalle from the Distillers [and more recently Spinnerette], or maybe Shirley Manson from Garbage,” she says. “Those are the dream musicians.“