Eleni Mandell
General Info
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Genre: Alternative / Indie / Rock
Location LOS ANGELES, California, US
Profile Views: 457850
Last Login: 6/1/2012
Member Since 1/5/2005
Website http://elenimandell.com
Record Label Zedtone in North America; V2 in the UK and Europe
Type of Label Indie
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Bio
ELENI MANDELL .. ARTIFICIAL FIRE .. (Zedtone) .. .. Teenagers. Those punk kids are nothing but trouble. Except when they help you write and record a great album. .. .. Myriad forces influenced Eleni Mandell in the making of her seventh full-length Artificial Fire: A long trek via two-lane, tree-lined highways through Oregon and Northern California; a dear friend with a hard-to-find shoe size; a pile of vintage T-shirts at a flea market. But an even bigger factor was the grownup artist getting back in touch with her Inner Teenager. .. .. That youngster has been popping up a lot lately. You’ll see her tearing up the floor when Mandell slaps “Jessie’s Girl,” the Cars, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” on the stereo, and throws one of her living room dance parties. And she is a prime source of the enthusiasm coursing through these fifteen new originals, crafted by Mandell with assistance from her regular band—guitarist Jeremy Drake, bassist Ryan Feves, and drummer Kevin Fitzgerald—and co-producer Dave Trumfio. .. .. “I just wanted a change,” says Mandell. “I wanted to feel like I was in the band of my teenage dreams.” She wanted more electric guitar, and a beat that audiences could move to. “I want people to hear this record and have fun, more of a good time.” .. .. Her band, that youthful dream turned adult reality, is a more tightly knit unit than ever before. Feves keeps her laid back, while Fitzgerald stokes her work ethic. “We’re not a perfect family, but we’re damn close,” the songwriter admits. Especially since the addition of Drake, referred to them by Nels Cline (Wilco), who’d played on 2007’s Miracle of Five. “Jeremy was the missing link,” says Mandell. “We were all in a past life together.” .. .. The musical range displayed on Artificial Fire will not astonish anyone familiar with Mandell’s back catalog. There are moments of AM radio bliss buoyed by golden brass (“The Right Side”), a rolling bank of atmospheric “space fog” (“I Love Planet Earth”), and even touches of ‘60s mysticism (“God Is Love”). Spirited rockers abound, from the spiky title tune to “Bigger Burn,” right up to the explosive kiss-off (“Cracked”) that closes the program. The Inner Teenager and her memories of a first kiss permeate “It Wasn’t The Time (It Was the Color),” while a more mature, flirtatious Mandell surfaces on “In The Doorway” and the seductive slow dance “Tiny Waist.” .. .. In past, Mandell has divvied her varied musical impulses across different records: The Nashville-tinged Country for True Lovers (2003), her jazz EP Maybe, Yes (2004), and her pop-rock outings with the Grabs. But this time, all her styles coexist comfortably on one cohesive album. Credit, she insists, must be shared with Jeremy, Ryan, and Kevin. “I’ve always loved and trusted them as musicians, but I’d never witnessed songs come to life like this before. Our rehearsals were inspiring.” .. .. “Sharing that epiphany with three other people was like the same sort of excitement that I felt when I was a kid, and my father taught me to print photographs,” adds Mandell. “It was like putting the paper in the developer, and watching this picture emerge.” .. .. For making Artificial Fire gel as a whole, she also tips her hat to another contributor. “The complete integration really happened with Steve Fisk, who was hired to mix the record, but did so much more. I loved working with him. He’s so musical, and did a fabulous job.” .. .. Raised in the Valley, Eleni Mandell has spent much of her life as an active member of the diverse Los Angeles music scene. In addition to her solo material, she also writes and performs with The Grabs (which features players from Blondie and Silversun Pickups), and is one-third of The Living Sisters (along with Inara George and Becky Stark; listen closely, and you’ll hear the former singing backup on “The Right Side” and “Don’t Let It Happen”). .. .. Since reconnecting with her Inner Teenager helped craft this album, one wonders: What would the intermediate Eleni Mandell, the woman who debuted with Wishbone in 1999, the songwriter that critics imagined starring in some shadowy film noir, make of her contemporary counterpart? This cheery lady who says her new approach to life is “not worrying”? .. .. “I think she’d be happy,” concludes Mandell. “My early writing was so much about being sad, and in turmoil, or angry. My younger self would be pleased that I decided to have fun and bring a lot of joy to the music.” The Inner Teenager may be its muse, but Artificial Fire is no adolescent pity party. These days, Eleni Mandell’s take on melancholy or angst, like all her other emotions, is disarmingly well adjusted. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ************************** .. .. Bonsound Records is very proud to present Eleni Mandell's "Dis-moi au revoir encore", a 2 song vinyl 7", recorded this summer at Studio Victor in Montreal. "Dis-moi au revoir encore" is a song she wrote in English for her side-project The Grabs. Gourmet Délice, with the help of ..Phlippe B.., translated and adapted it for the occasion. On the B-Side, "Français 1", which Eleni co-wrote with her friend Pierre de Gaillande from NYC's ..Melomane....... .. ........ The 2 songs are available on vinyl (sold in stores, at shows) or on ..Bonsound's online store.. in vinyl or digital. It's interesting to know that when you buy the vinyl version, it comes with a code allowing you to download the tracks in digital format, sort of a 2 for 1 from the future!........ .."Dis-moi Au Revoir Encore"...... .. .. .. .. ......Add to My Profile.. | ..More Videos.. .."http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17804191">My Twin...... .. .. .. .. ......Add to My Profile.. | ..More Videos.. .. ..Girls...... .. .. .. .. ......Add to My Profile.. | .. More Videos.. .. ..The Makeout King...... .. .. .. .. ......Add to My Profile.. | .. More Videos.. .. -
Members
Eleni Mandell - Vocals & Guitar .. Ryan Feves - Bass .. Kevin Fitzgerald - Drums .. Jeremy Drake- Electric Guitar .. .. Has collaborated with these notables (and worked with many more great musicians): .. Jon Brion, Nels Cline, Tony Gilkyson, Herbie Hancock, Greg Liesz, Andrew Borger, Ethan Johns, Brian Kehew, DJ Bonebrake, Kid Congo Powers, Melora Creager, Steve Hodges, Larry Taylor, Andy Kaulkin, Greg Kurstin, Chuck E. Weiss .. -
Influences
The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon, Paper Moon, The Last Picture Show, What's Up Doc?, The Third Man, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Stardust Memories, Manhattan, Annie Hall, The Big Lebowski, Shadows on the Hudson by Isaac Bashevis Singer, The Graduate, The Philadelphia Story, Lost Horizon, Snow by Orhan Pamuk, Technicolor. .. plus: .. X, Tom Waits, The Kinks, Chuck E. Weiss, Bob Dylan, Charles Bukowski, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, George Gershwin, The Violent Femmes, The Zombies, The Association, The Smiths, The English Beat, Alfred Hitchocock, Ella Fitzgerald, Tammy Wynette, Ray Charles, Nina Simone, punk rock boys in homeroom and so much more! -
Sounds Like
A cross between Hoagy Carmichael and Leonard Cohen; or small, strong coffee with cream and one lump of sugar; or filet mignon and mashed potatoes.
Stream
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Eleni Mandell
Two hot chicks from Hungary say I'm famous there!! Hurray! http://t.co/wPUnTzbs7z
via Twitter
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Eleni Mandell
Soundcheck @ The Saint in Asbury Park, NJ. http://t.co/3LTfdLnY8S
via Twitter
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Eleni Mandell
The Grabs still love The Grabs; NYC http://t.co/iXmHMFKlbo
via Twitter
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Eleni Mandell
L Train http://t.co/zc3Go7sImD
via Twitter
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Eleni Mandell
Taxi with familia! http://t.co/aptoK0wKJs
via Twitter
Music
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2 Songs | Oct 12, 2007
Comments
Post a comment...
- Yiannis4 years ago
Just Received 'Artificial Fire'
Simply A MASTERPIECE!
All Songs Are Wonderful.
I'm Listening To It All Day.
'Tiny Waist' My Favourite Track (at the moment) - Manic Monk Records4 years ago
sincere thanks for the add... love the french song especially.
- Soso4 years ago
Eleni Thank you so much for your space friendship,,
kiss from Athens!! - CRANE4 years ago
that tour looks like fun!
- Soso4 years ago
Hi there,,
thanx for our space friendship,
you are so good musician!!
kiss from Greece - The Clarences ™4 years ago
The Clarences love & support Eleni Mandell!!!!
- Carolyn Parsa4 years ago
It is so exciting to hear your music, I feel I have found a kindred soul in songwriting . . .
- CANDLES【08.18 NEW RELEA…4 years ago
Thanks for the add.
Very nice music!!
Candles - The Dusk Devils4 years ago
you are so very cool...
- Papa Legba4 years ago
Thanks for the add!
So for many fans, it may come as a surprise that Mandell’s eighth solo album, I Can See the Future, set for release July 10, 2012 on Yep Roc Records, is her first official label release. The album’s title comes from a chance visit to a tarot card reader over a decade ago. “She asked, ‘Are you a musician or a poet?’” recalls Mandell. “And she described my music in this incredible way that made a lot of sense to me.” Within a year, critics were doing much the same thing, lauding kudos on Mandell’s 1999 debut, Wishbone. The card reader also told the singer she’d marry at age 32. “Then I asked about having kids… and she had a weird response.”
Fast forward to 2010. Mandell’s life was in tumult. Her seventh album, Artificial Fire, had been released the year before as the nation was in the throes of a deep recession. Not only was she still unmarried, but several long-term relationships — both romantic and professional — had recently soured. Starting a family without a dad at hand seemed a daunting prospect.
“The fairy tale I’d thought I was going to have didn’t happen, so I had to make something happen for myself,” she admits.
After much soul searching, she forged ahead on her own, and engaged the services of an anonymous sperm donor. “I can tell you that he’s an astrophysicist and likes classic rock.” It was during these emotionally charged months that I Can See The Future was composed. Although Mandell characterizes this period as one of “frustration, disappointment, and intense sorrow,” the word that best captures the mood of her eighth full-length is “bittersweet.”
Produced by Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins, The Strokes, White Stripes), the two put together a impressive group of players for the sessions; their combined dream teams yielded a variety of instrumental flavors that complement and frame Mandell’s dreamy, understated singing. The pedal steel guitar of Greg Leisz helps paint the Southwestern imagery of “Desert Song,” saxophonist Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) burnishes the soulful contours of “Who You Gonna Dance With,” and Benji Hughes plays Lee Hazlewood to Eleni’s Nancy Sinatra on the rambling “Never Have To Fall In Love Again.” Joey Waronker plays drums throughout, including the brushed snares of the jazzy “So Easy.” Mandell’s colleagues from vocal trio the Living Sisters contribute backing vocals throughout, while the string and horn arrangements of Bright Eyes’ Nathaniel Walcott lend a classic pop sensibility to tunes like “Magic Summertime” and “I’m Lucky.”
Whether she sings of dying embers or smoldering passion, a warm glow imbues the music throughout. I Can See The Future reflects on romance with poetic precision, yet also encompasses Mandell’s wistful reflection on the condition her condition was in (“Bun in the Oven”) during the album’s gestation. All 13 of these new songs are marked by the wry humor and lyrical economy that have long made her work so striking, as well as the tasteful, empathetic arrangements and timeless songcraft that’s always characterized her work.
Eleni Mandell can see the future. But is she psychic? No. Not in the supermarket tabloid kind of way. But she can read what is written on her heart, and transform those sentiments into sublime songs. And that is a rare, extraordinary gift, too.
