FEATURE:
Groovelines
Iraina Mancini – Take a Bow
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IN a recent interview…
IN THIS PHOTO: Iraina Mancini in the studio recording for her second studio album (which follows her 2023 debut, Undo the Blue)/PHOTO CREDIT: Lee Vincent Grubb
Iraina Mancini said that her second studio album – as yet unnamed and without a set release date – feels like the darker, older sister of Undo the Blue. There have been a lot of changes, personal and otherwise, and that it is a more confident, grounded record. Mancini now has a deeper belief as a woman in the music industry. I am excited to see how she follows up 2023’s Undo the Blue. I have raved about that album on several occasions. Speaking with Shindig Magazine about her new album and collaborations, it is a fresh chapter for London-based Iraina Mancini. Last year, she released Running for your life. That is the first taste of the new album. You can check out her Instagram page, as she is one of the busiest people in the industry. Not only recording a new album and making sure it is absolutely as good as it can be, she is also hugely in demand as D.J. Mainly in London spaces (but further afield and internationally too), I can only imagine how full her calendar is this year! I am not sure when the second album will be released and whether it will coincide with the summer festivals. However, alongside recording and D.J. work, she is a broadcaster for Soho Radio and has her own show. Her show is fantastic! Playing music that is so different to mainstream stations and what they feature, I am always fascinated by what she picks and discusses. She recently posted a photo of her father on the set of The Man Who Fell to Earth with David Bowie. That film turned fifty. Warren Peace is this legendary musician who was a close friend of Bowie’s. Iraina Mancini’s Instagram feed is one of the most joyous and inspiring. So many incredible gigs and wonderful moments, this is someone who is among the best D.J.s in London. I am looking ahead to what comes next and how she is in the studio and keeping busy.
Rather than trying to guess album titles or release dates, I just wanted to check in and say, to anyone who does not follow Iraina Mancini, that you need to show her some support and love. Maybe suggestion a second album will be darker and more personally revealing than Undo the Blue. Even though that album had some amazing moments of bliss and delight – listen to Undo the Blue and Sugar High -, there were some more intense or revealing moments. However, what you get from the debut is this incredible eclectic and complete thing. Pete Paphides, of Needle Mythology (the label the album was released on), said that every track could have been a single. That is how it sounded to me. So good, each song was very different but not a weak moment on them. The overall listening experience is one of complete awe! It was my favourite album of 2023. However, you feel like those personal changes and challenges. Iraina Mancini finding new depth and qualities in her voice. Even if this second album is a step forward maybe in terms of personal insight and reflecting where Mancini is now and how her life has changed, I still feel that Undo the Blue is one of the most impressive and enduring debut albums in the past decade. How various songs pop to mind, and I listen to the album in full as much as I can. Go and grab it on vinyl, stick the needle down and immerse yourself in the phenomenal songwriting. Mancini has one of the strongest and most varied voice. How she can summon a range of emotions and nuances. Compositions that are at once tough and snarled and then to something akin to Minnie Ripperton. Cinematic, lush and gritty, there is this gamut of colours and strands to Undo the Blue. In future features where I discuss Iraina Mancini, I will focus on the new album. There will be an explosion of love and excitement when that announcement is made. Gigs that follow will give fans a chance to see these new songs delivered fresh. Given how the recording process must have been quite expensive and challenging at times, there will be a relief and pride getting the album out!
I hope Iraina Mancini will forgive me for, perhaps for the last time in a while, revisiting Undo the Blue. I have written about it and maybe even focused on the title track for a piece. I declared how Undo the Blue was my favourite song from the album but, as I listened to the album more and more, its final track, Take a Bow, stuck in my head the strongest (I was at this gig in 2023 when she performed it live). Made a bigger impact on my heart. For a number of reasons. I think, objectively, Undo the Blue is an unrated masterpiece of an album. One that was slept on to a degree by the press. In terms of streaming numbers, the title track will hit a million this year perhaps - or maybe early in 2027. Three tracks from the ten are in six digits in terms of streams. The sublime and epic finale has been streamed just over ten-thousand times. Given how immense and stunning the song is, it seems scandalous! I am not sure whether Take a Bow relates to a previous relationship or what inspired the track. There were a few interviews released around Undo the Blue, though I am not sure whether Mancini was asked about Take a Bow. It is one of these unmined gems that I feel should be talked about. I will look at some of the lyrics. One reason I love the song so much is that it is a perfect closer. Given the comparatively sunny, energised or dreamy songs that came before, there is this darkness or sense of mood that you could not put anywhere else on the album. How there is almost a conceptual thread to Undo the Blue and, appropriately, Take a Bow is the curtain call. The night has drawn in and maybe a relationship has run its course. However, as I observed in a review of Undo the Blue, perhaps there is this sense of hope or compassion there. Iraina Mancini’s voice is stunning on this song. Such power, panache and control. Providing backing vocals and overlapping, I do love how there are layers and these beautiful combined vocals. The first verse has lines that paint a somewhat defeated or tense picture: “I couldn't think, but found the words to say/I’m shouting out but I can’t concentrate/I should of known, but left too much too late/Cos we both know, these days are growing cold”. I sense that perhaps two lovers who were once close maybe have a slight division: “We used to be wild dreamers/So take a bow/Tell me it’s overdue/I think by now we both need something new/Let’s not make this harder…”. That sense of needing something new. Are they new partners or a new spark?
When listening to tracks on Undo the Blue, there is this wonder when you listen to Iraina Mancini sing. She can inhabit these different scenes, situations and personas in a song. Take a Bow has these different stages. It is almost this short film, in itself. One of the most cinematic tracks on the album, I never tire of hearing it! My favourite package is when she sings “So just stay bright/We'll be all alright/A freefall dive/A breath of life”. The opening stages see Mancini delivering the words almost sensually. The chorus sees her filled with passion and power. City lights and dancing shoes ready. Time running out. There are all these images that compel the listener to step inside the song and what is unfolding. The more I pass through the song, I come up with different possibilities and interpretations. The song has such a sense of emotional unfolding, story and movement. The pre-chorus is stunning. Iraina Mancini’s voice so stirring and grand in the chorus! That sense that they will both be alright. To slow down. Is there that hope and sense that they can rebuild? It such a deep and intriguing song that definitely deserves so many more streams that it has earned. I guess, unless a station plays or it gets mentioned, then it is quite hard to get people to it. Also, Mancini probably not really allowed to play her own songs on Soho Radio – or if she would even want to! Before the anticipated second album from one of our finest artists, I wanted to talk about why Take a Bow, the wonderful closing track of Undo the Blue, is one I absolutely adore. Such a rich, evocative and spine-tingling cut, it is the final scene of a simply amazing record. If Iraina Mancini feels that a new album coming is more representative of her now or does feel more complete or better, in the meantime, people really do need to listen again to Undo the Blue. Every track is an absolute pearl! If Undo the Blue, Do It (You Stole the Rhythm) and Deep End are the most popular tracks (according to Spotify), then I would say give some love and attention to the gorgeous and arresting Take a Bow. All fans of Iraina Mancini are so thrilled she is recording a second album! Perhaps not easy to put it out as soon as she would have liked, you do feel like every ounce of her heart and soul is going into it. When it is announced and we know what themes and sounds it explores, that will give a sense of how this wonderful D.J., broadcaster and artist has progressed and where she is now. Before we welcome in this second album and a new chapter for Iraina Mancini, I wanted to provide a (perhaps) last salute and affectionate nod to Undo the Blue and an utterly brilliant final track. I am not sure how its performer views it and whether it still holds personal relevance and importance. However, I feel it is an amazing and hugely accomplished and fascinating piece of music that…
EVERYONE needs to hear.