FEATURE:
My Artist of the Year
PHOTO CREDIT: Jason A Miller
out of the way before I spend some time with the magnificent and modern-day icon Iraina Mancini. This is an artist that everyone should know about! Hugely supported by BBC Radio 6 Music through her career, I think they should have made her one of their artists of the year when they announced a list of ten recently. I am sort of ‘righting this wrong’, as there is no doubt that Mancini is a very special human! There are a lot of terrific artists I have bonded with this year that could have been my top choice. CMAT, The Last Dinner Party, and Antony Szmierek are all artists I love and respect. The returning Nadine Shah too. Say She She. A bounty of beautiful and brilliant artists! There is something about Iraina Mancini that captivates me so much – and many others too. If you do not know about this London-based songwriter, composer, vocalist, D.J. and broadcaster (where ya been?!), you can follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Bandcamp. Go to her official website, where you can subscribe and keep in touch with all things Mancini! She got a chance to perform at Maida Vale studios earlier this year for Chris Hawkins (who was sitting in for Craig Charles) on BBC Radio 6 Music. As he and Lauren Laverne especially have been supporters of her work on BBC Radio 6 Music, Mancini performing in an historic and legendary location for a huge radio station who love her loads must have been one for the ages. A memory that she will never forget!
I am keen also to fit in as many photos of Iraina Mancini on the stage. I have seen her perform live three times in London (there are fans videos like this and this). Each time, she has the crowd in the palm of her hand! The huge admiration that everyone feels. Such a spellbinding live performer whose vocals are album-perfect, she is also this phenomenal style icon and someone who always looks like a queen on the stage. A mix of 1960s French film heroines, some 1960s and 1970s Soho chic with some modern-day elements, that combination of sartorial wonder, sensational band interplay and her warm, humble and awed smile and amazement when the audience cheer and shout her name makes her someone who everyone needs to see. I can see her getting a load of festival bookings next year! Not to predict too earlier, I can see her play, among other festivals, BBC Radio 6 Music’s festival, Glastonbury (quite high up the bill), in addition to a lot of smaller festivals in the U.K. and worldwide. It is going to be another busy year. I will come to some live reviews and one of her sensational debut album, Undo the Blue. That is a big reason I am here. An important factor as to why she is my Artist of the Year. My favourite album of the year, it also spawned my second-favourite single of the year with the immense Cannonball (Nadine Shah’s Topless Mother was just a little too good to be dethroned!).
I would encourage everyone to buy Iraina Mancini’s debut studio album. Released through Needle Mythology, it is a label fronted by Pete Paphides. He is a D.J., broadcaster and writer who says (of Undo the Blue) it is an album full of singles. No filler. I agree with that! I think I was the first journalist to review Undo the Blue. I was blown away with every song! The compositions are so rich and original. I know Mancini has influences and a particular way of composing songs (you can see in a video later where she was speaking from Abbey Road Studios), though she makes everything her own. Eclectic and instantly memorable, Undo the Blue is an album I pass through and get something new from each time. Even though Undo the Blue is my favourite track, others like Sugar High and Take a Bow take on new significance and brilliance the more I listen. I am going to get to my interview with Iraina Mancini. She reflects on a magnificent and very busy year - as she casts ahead to what comes next. It was a pleasure hearing from someone who is undoubtably my artist of the year. How could she not be?! The creator of my favourite album of the year, I am so excited to see what comes her way in 2024 – and I am so proud of everything that she has achieved this year! I have quite a bit to cover off before I get to that interview.
Let’s start with some live reviews. I saw her three times this year. Iraina Mancini performed around the U.K. in support of Undo the Blue. You can see the places she visited. The reaction to her shows has been hugely positive. She is truly one of the best live performer you will see. Completely caught in the moment, I do hope that she is given the opportunity to play some festival headline slots very soon. As festivals struggle to book women to headline, we have a natural headliner taking shape before our eyes! One big reason Mancini is my Artist of the Year is her phenomenal live shows. If you need evidence, I am going to come to live reviews for her current tour. This is what Dead Good Music wrote when they saw this queen in Birmingham:
“With golden constellations shimmering on her black suit, there is a hint of Bowie to Iraina Mancini’s ‘Star woman’ presence tonight at Birmingham’s Night Owl club. Backed by bass, guitar and drums, the DJ turned songstress dazzles with songs from her recently released debut album “Undo the Blue”, a daydreaming, cinematic soundtrack to happiness and good times, enriched with 60’s and 70’s influences and perfumed with French chic.
From the ‘Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!’ velocity of tracks like ‘Cannonball’ and the go-go batusi bop of ‘Deep End’, to the dreamier ‘Need Your Love’ and 60’s Bond-esque ‘Sugar High’, Mancini exhibits an effortless vocal range, scaling beautiful peaks and bringing songs to life in a very natural storytelling way. The wall of sound drone created on ‘Cannonball’ fuses something akin to Spiritualised’s blissed out hysteria with Plastic Bertrand, the chanteuse steadfastly holding her own in the midst of the frenzy. The élan of Nancy Sinatra characterises opener ‘Shotgun’ and ‘Sugar High’, in which the singer spots a kissing couple and declares her happiness because “that’s what I wrote the song for”.
‘Need Your Love’ is prime smoking-barrel Tarantino territory, but it’s on the album’s title track that the effervescent Mancini excels tonight. ‘Undo the Blue’ is the song that proves the artist has arrived in 2023. It’s her stardust moment, flowing with the same honeyed soul as Lenny Kravitz’s “It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over”. The last song, ‘Wild Runaway’ is a crossover track encapsulating the sound of the purring 60’s beckoning in the more robust and rockier 70’s with a solo guitar screech momentarily taking the limelight from the singer who has been the centrepiece of the night. Like the soundtrack to an as yet unmade film, Mancini performs as the heroine of her own songs, bringing the fantasy into reality and in similar Bowie-esque fashion distilling her influences impeccably”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Rachel Louise Brown for Maybourne Magazine
I have said before how Iraina Mancini should do more acting work (I think that she has taken on some smaller roles in the past). There is just something about her! She is a brilliant interviewer too. A brief between-reviews bit of biography: Iraina Mancini was born in London. Her dad is the legendary Warren Peace. He was a childhood friend of David Bowie. He also contributed to several of Bowie's albums and tours. Her initial musical outing was Mancini, an Electronic Pop group that appeared on Channel 4's Mobile Act Unsigned. Shortly after the group disbanded, Mancini moved to Liverpool and started The Venus Fury with ex-members of The Zutons and The Dead 60s. She is a D.J. on Soho Radio (the station where Pete Paphides is also a D.J.). A passionate and eclectic collector of wonderful sounds and artists you will not hear on other stations. She is a wonderful D.J. who plays an array of sublime and fascinating Northern Soul, Rhythm and Blues, Funk, Garage Rock and Disco (French, Japanese and beyond) and much more. Contributing to other artists’ material (which is always interesting), 2021 was when Iraina Mancini returned with solo singles Deep End and Do It (You Stole the Rhythm). The tremendous Shotgun was released in 2020. It was last year when she released the majestic and dreamy title cut of her debut album, Undo the Blue. The French-language version of that single was also released in 2022. It is sumptuous, romantic and moving. Anyway…to another live review!
PHOTO CREDIT: June Riviera
It is worth reading The Times’s assessment of a gig I was at. It was a moment to savour for us being there. A wonderous performance indeed. That was when Iraina Mancini stormed The Social in London back in April. When she played Sneaky Pete’s in September, her set got a lot of love:
“In the small, intimate & fabulously famous musical hub that is Edinburg’s Sneaky Petes, we had the pure pleasure of being introduced to Iraina Mancini, hjeading north to delight us with performance of her debut album, Undo The Blue. Iraina Mancini is a singer, songwriter, DJ and model from London, and with her father being close friends to the late David Bowie I can only imagine the magnitude of the musical influences that Iraina was surrounded by as a youngster.
From her humble beginnings in the electro pop group called Mancini, Iraina has strived to achieve and obtain her own direction in the music world. Like a sculpture with their chisel and hammer, Iraina has chipped away at the rough edges of the music business and created a masterpiece with the album Undo The Blue which was produced by the legendary Jagz Kooner. Quality over quantity is the driven spirit in music, and Iraina’s Undo The Blue delivers on all fronts. Nothing less than perfection will do, and that is evident in the diversity of her songwriting and singing. Like a spring flower, Iraina is awaiting her time to Blossom, and I think that time is now.
With a chic psychedelia dress-code, Iraina took to the stage amid an applause of great eagerness and warmth from her fans. The atmosphere was electric. Feeling like one was propelled back to the days of The Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol, the excitement began to grow. Within a heartbeat the venue was ignited, and like a spark on a stick of dynamite the place exploded into a dancing fireball. The 1960s and early 1970s are a clear influence in Irainas music and Undo The Blue, with its songs like, Cannonball, My Umbrella, What You Doin, Need Your Love, and not forgetting the psychedelic Undo The Blue, are not a blast from the past but a new fresh introduction to Psychedelic music.
Iraina is a captivating and intriguing singer whose stage presence is intoxicating. Do what you love and do it well was the message. You know, if Jimi Hendrix and Nico (The Velvet Underground) were present in the audience I am sure Iraina would end up at an after party with them, as clearly she belongs in the same category of these musical legends. Should Iraina Mancini choose to continue down this road it wont be long until she is on the highway to greatness. Music is a huge part of human entertainment but also a privilege and honour to be part of, and tonight, for me, was one of those heady moments. Energetic, vibrant, exciting, inspiring and uplifting, this is in my top 5 of gigs this year list. Its upwards and onwards for Iraina and her amazing band. Big love and all the best”.
I don’t think Iraina Mancini is capable of delivering a set anything less than life-affirming! Lighting up Margate when she played there in September, Louder Than War were in no doubt when it came to showing their praise of a wonderful evening - one that was clearly received with rapture and affection:
“Iraina Mancini, the retro-facing singer, DJ and model with the “annoyingly cool” name brought her slice of chic 60’s style to Margate when she played in the basement room at Where Else? In a faux suede, sleeveless, zipped-up mini dress and star emblazoned, block-healed cowboy boots Iraina walked onto the stage as if she’d just walked off the set of ‘Austin Powers’ or ‘Barbarella’.
With a plethora of rave reviews behind her, including a four-star review in The Times for her debut solo album ‘Undo The Blue’, it’s clear that Ms. Mancini is on the way up. To catch her playing at a venue that only holds 150 on a night that was, astonishingly, not sold out was an incredible treat. With no disrespect to Where Else, or any of the other venues on her current tour, it is very unlikely that anyone will ever get the chance to see Iraina perform in such an intimate space the next time around.
Mancini, daughter of vocalist, composer and dancer Warren Peace (‘Aladdin Sane’/’Pin Ups’/’Station To Station’ etc), is most definitely in the ‘one to watch’ category and sure to be featured in many end of year, ‘best of’ album lists. ‘Undo The Blue’, released last month on 18th August, arrived nearly five years after her debut solo single, ‘Undercover’, but it has most certainly been worth the wait. Seven of the ten tracks, including her latest – ‘Sugar High’, have already been released as singles, and many of those have been play listed on BBC 6Music. Lauren Laverne is a big fan – “This is an artist I absolutely love” she says.
PHOTO CREDIT: Raphael Pour-Hashemi
Kae Tempest collaborator, and local musician, Daisy Beau played before Iraina, sitting at the front of the stage with her guitar in hand. After a brief introduction, and explanation about the Roman names for days of the week, Daisy shared her conflicted song about the Newbury Bypass road protests – ‘Black Horse’. “I’m not sure where I stand, I mean we all use roads don’t we” she said before adding that she was “very excited for the music to come” and closing out her six-song set with the final track from her ‘Live At Tom Theatre’ EP, ‘Wild Flowers’.
Iraina Mancini and her three-piece band took to the Where Else? stage just after nine to play a stunning set that perfectly highlighted the gifted artist’s talents. After honing her skills in previous bands – The Venus Fury and Mancini, Iraina knew how to build a set and work a crowd. Mancini started on a high with her 2020 single – ‘Shotgun’. The soulful and smooth, Nancy Sinatra meets Sade, shimmering epic served as a fantastic introduction to the succinct and savvy performance. The walking bass line, jazz-infused percussion and silky vocals were a joy.
The momentum didn’t drop from there on in. 2021’s second single, ‘Do It (You Stole The Rhythm)’ increased the BPM before this year’s first single – ‘Cannonball’ provided an early set highlight. The revolving guitar riffs and semi-psychedelic arrangement worked as an excellent foundation for Mancini’s seductive vocals.
“I’ve fallen in love with Margate, I’m gonna buy a place here when I’ve got enough money” Iraina said as she paused between songs. The final track off the Jagz Kooner (Primal Scream/Garbage/Manics), Erol Alkan (Mystery Jets/Long Blondes) produced album, ‘Take A Bow’ slowed the pace down as Mancini relaxed into her performance. The gently drifting, melodic delivery washed over you in waves as you were transported, by the power of music, back in time.
The latest single – ‘Sugar High’ maintained the Serge Gainsbourg/Jane Birkin mood. You could easily imagine yourself walking down the Champs-Élysées, smoking a Gitanes cigarette, wearing a jaunty beret and living La Vie en rose as she sang. The delightfully joyful, light, breezy and harmonious pop of ‘My Umbrella’ brought the sunshine into the Margate basement before the infectious beat of ‘What You Doin” kicked in.
As her set hurtled towards it’s conclusion the soaring beauty of the title track from Iraina’s new album, ‘Undo The Blue’, let her vocals take centre stage, flexing her range ahead of it’s opening track – ‘Deep End’. Any resistance to move to the ridiculously catchy rhythm was futile. We were in a small blackened room in Margate but we could have just of easily been in a club in Soho back in 1966.
Iraina Mancini’s trip to Margate will live long in the memory, for her because she “loved the vibe”, but also for the lucky few who got to see one of the best performances that there’s ever been at the small, independent Kent venue”.
I am going to get to my interview with the beguiling Iraina Mancini. There were a lot of great reviews published for Undo the Blue. I felt that a few bigger publications and websites – NME, The Guardian, Pitchfork, The Line of Best Fit, CLASH, The Forty-Five, Rolling Stone UK – could have spared some words, as they missed out on, in my opinion, the best album of this year. Those lucky and savvy enough to review the album witnessed something utterly spectacular! Here is what Right Chord Music said when they sat down with Undo the Blue:
“Seemingly always a singer, Iraina has built her sound and her songs via a growing collection of collaborators including Jagz Kooner (Sabres Of Paradise), Sunglasses For Jaws (Miles Kane) Simon Dine (Paul Weller, Noonday Underground) Kitty Liv (Kitty Daisy & Lewis). Now with the arrival of her debut album, we’re seeing a joyous collision between her historic influences and her own evolving sonic palette.
Regular readers and visitors to Right Chord Music will be familiar with a string of her singles from Iraina Mancini including Undo The Blue, Deep End, Shotgun and What You Doin’ each has been met with gushing enthusiasm and excitement.
PHOTO CREDIT: June Riviera
Now these familiar faces are packaged up alongside some new treats which also contain a reassuringly familiar retro sound. In some ways it’s like being reacquainted with a lost friend, you know the one that you can instantly just fall back into easy conversation with.
Listening to Undo The Blue is a wonderful aural experience. The overwhelming feeling is positivity and sunshine. While writing this review, words like joyous and glorious rolled off the tongue. I’m sure if I wanted to dive deeper into the lyrics I could find themes of lost love and uncertainty, but for today I’m quite content with the glow of happiness that radiates from this record. On that note, check out track 6 My Umbrella, and the title track Undo The Blue, amazing.
Ultimately this album is a lot of fun, and hell we could all do with some of that in our lives at the moment. To add to the fun Iraina is selling a beautiful vinyl of this album, via Needle Mythology. If you are new to vinyl, this would be a great way to start your collection.
PHOTO CREDIT: Nettlespie Photography
I am going to round up in a minute. Before then, it was a pleasure to hear from my Artist of the Year. An artist that I love very much! Such a wonderful and beautiful force in music, a whole legion of new fans are behind her as she heads into 2024. After a year where she toured the country and put out her debut album (to acclaim), I think things will be even brighter and more exciting next year:
“Hey Iraina. Congratulations on a busy, successful and incredible 2023! I can imagine many highlight spring to mind: playing at Maida Vale, support from BBC Radio 6 Music, a headline show in London, the great album reviews. What has been your personal highlight?
Thank you Sam, I really appreciate that. I would say that my first U.K. tour was definitely a highlight. Driving around the country to cities I’ve never seen before and meeting my fans face to face was amazing. I went out into the audience after every show and signed vinyl and really got to know people. It was incredibly touching to hear what people's favourite songs were and how far they had travelled.
Undo the Blue is my favourite album of the year – and I am not alone. It has been taken to heart by so many people. What is your reaction to the love Undo the Blue has received?
I love that people really get what I was trying to do with the album. People seem to understand the influences, style and message I wanted to put across. I think there is a lot of colour and escapism in my record; I wanted to make people feel joy. I think people seem to feel that from it. I was so grateful for all the great reviews as well. I was nervous about it, but turns out I didn’t need to worry too much.
In terms of musical influences that inspired some of the songs, are there particular albums and artists that were references for particular songs?
Yes, absolutely. I was hugely influenced by Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire de Melody Nelson. That record really shook my world. Shotgun was the first song I wrote with that in mind. The whole Yé-Yé girl scene from the '60s I'm pretty obsessed with: France Gall, Jacquelin Taib, Bardot. The records are so cool visually and sonically. Songs like Deep End and Cannonball have a lot of that energy. I'm also a big Rotary Connection fan. Minnie Ripperton. What a voice! Undo the Blue was totally inspired by her. I’ve always loved film soundtracks as well from the '60s/'70s, especially B-movies and spy thrillers.
“I’ve loved working with Pete. He’s so passionate about music and really believes in me and the album”
Undo the Blue was released through Needle Mythology. What has it been like working with Pete Paphides and the team there? How important has their support and faith been to you?
I’ve loved working with Pete. He’s so passionate about music and really believes in me and the album. I'm so grateful for that. We started working together really organically. I often used to see him at Soho Radio, where we both have our own radio shows. We’d always chat…and one day he asked me to send him my album. He loved it and he offered to put it out on his label. The team is great; so lovely. And because it's (the label) small, I've had a really nice, personal experience.
Pete Paphides has said every song on the album sounds like a single. There is no filler. Every track has its own personality and is hugely accomplished in every respect. What was it like writing and recording the songs? Was it quite a smooth process working alongside co-writers and musicians…or did some cuts take longer to come together?
I love the process of writing songs. Songwriting is my favourite part of being a musician. I always think the best songs for me come quickly. I worked with a few of my collaborators on building this album - Sunglasses for Jaws, Jagz Kooner, Simon Dine and Erol Alkan mainly. It was pretty smooth but did take me time as I was self-funding to start, so I had to really focus on one song at a time. I was very lucky to have such a talented team around me.
“I have been so grateful for all the support I have been given, especially by Lauren and more recently Chris”
BBC Radio 6 Music - especially Lauren Laverne and Chris Hawkins - were big supporters of Undo the Blue and its singles. What did that mean to you personally?!
Well, I have always loved 6 Music. It was a dream of mine to play on the station one day, so a few years ago when I released Shotgun and Lauren Laverne played it on her breakfast show, I couldn’t believe it. I remember jumping around the room like a lunatic. That later on went to playlist and then five others after that did. I have been so grateful for all the support I have been given, especially by Lauren and more recently Chris. They are both the most lovely people. The opportunities 6 Music have given me have been absolutely life-changing for me.
Of course, we all look forward to a second Iraina Mancini album. Since Undo the Blue’s release, have new song ideas and sketches come to mind?
Yes. I have started writing again. I have lots of ideas for the second album. I already do have so many songs from all my years of writing. I’ve started going through them all and picking ideas out that I love. There’s a few people I have in mind I would love to collaborate with. It's exciting!
Finally, and for being such a good sport, you can choose any song (other than your own music, as I will include that in here) and I will end with it. What shall we go for?
Thank you, Sam. I choose -
End of the World by Aphrodite’s Child.
I can’t stop listening at the moment. It's utterly gorgeous… I'm thinking of covering it, actually”.
We are almost at Christmas now. I hope that Iraina Mancini gets time to unwind and spend it with family, friends or a sweetheart. Take some tine to look back on 2023 and all the cool and unbelievable memories. Those golden times, incredible performances. Getting to unleash her spectacular debut album into the world. That being said, there is not a long time to go until Iraina Mancini is briefly back on the road. She is supporting The Coral on two dates (in Manchester and London) next week! Grab a ticket to the London show if there are any remaining. However she is splitting her time this Christmas, Iraina Mancini will no doubt reflect on a wonderful year. From backing by station such as BBC Radio 6 Music, to Undo the Blue coming out through Needle Mythology, it has been a wild, love-filled and standout year. As she said in the interview, there is new music in her mind. I am really pumped to see that come out into the world, given the wave of support that is behind her now.
Whether this new material will be a cover version, a standalone single, or a first taste of a second studio album, I am sure that we will hear more from Iraina Mancini soon enough. I think that I first heard the intoxicating call of Iraina Mancini in 2021. I was curious, of course! When Undo the Blue came out as a single last year, it was one of the first times in years that I became so fascinated by a song. Something I had to play over and over and get to the bottom of! I still keep coming back to that song and marvelling in its sound and vision. It always takes my breath! I love the fact that Sugar High got a brilliant and interesting remix from the legendary Saint Etienne recently. It made me wonder what other artists would do with the remaining songs from Undo the Blue. Some cool acts and D.J.s retooling the genius cuts from that album.
Despite the fact I have spotlighted and heralded so many varied and great new artists, my mind and attention keeps coming back to Iraina Mancini. That sheer talent and quality of the music is like nothing else.. The Undo the Blue album cemented it in my head: Iraina Mancini is a sensation and singular artist that we all need to follow and listen to! I hope I have covered everything (as I might have left something crucial out). Her Spotify Wrapped revealed a lot of love and support from fans. You can see the excitement that Mancini expressed when she unwrapped the test pressing of her debut album. This means so much to her. Despite some legendary and prestige musical connections in her family, this is an artist who has worked her way to the here and now with her own voice and talent. She is a one of our most distinct and talented songwriters. A truly wonderful live performer. When I was thinking of the artists that have hit my heart and soul strongest and longest this year, Iraina Mancini was clear ahead of anyone else! A masterful and staggering debut album was put out into the world - and with it, confirmation that here is an artist…
IN a league of her own!