Mandalay

Mandalay was a trip hop duo that began in 1998 from the UK, composed of singer Nicola Hitchcock and multi-instrumentalist Saul Freeman. They released two albums with one American compilation disc. In my readings about them, at one time Madonna briefly referred to Mandalay as her favorite band. I still remember how I came to love them. I was on one of my many visits to New York City and I visited a friend/colleague at V2 records where he was in Promotion for the label. Of course he let me raid the CD closet (oh those were the days) and suggested various artist that I would love, Mandalay being one of them. I was instantaneously hooked from vocals, to lyrics, to music, to arrangements, the whole shebang. It was a sad thing for me personally that they called it quits in 2002. They were on the brink of an American breakthrough when they decided to split, due to artistic and personal differences. Hitchcock hinted that the main reasons for the split were Freeman’s tendency to control music production, which in turn blocked her input. Upon reading she has, however, also confessed to missing her musical relationship with Freeman since the breakup of Mandalay. Nicola Hitchcock continues to release albums and Saul Freeman has gone on to do films and event music. Even though the likes of Massive Attack and Portishead, two main bands to spearhead the trip hop music scene, Mandalay definitely has their place in that scene as one of the best in my ears. This is one band, if you don’t know them already to listen to. They are worth the aural experience.

mandalay

songs: beautiful (7″ canny mix), this life, insensible, like her

albums: solace, instinct, empathy

website: none

(beautiful, this life, insensible will direct you to watch on youtube, it is worth the aural experience)

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