Miz Mandy to Release Third Album

Pop singer, Miz Mandy, has partnered with Los Angeles based songwriter, composer, and music producer, Ryan Franks, to co-write and produce her third pop album. A change from her first two albums, ‘In The Mix' and ‘Today's the Day' which included two Billboard charting singles ‘In the Mix' and ‘Sweet Fury of Love', Miz Mandy says "We've switched up my artistic direction a bit, focusing on a bit more of a sophisticated and retro sound. Moody. Sultry. Chic." http://www.MizMandy.com/ Graduating from the University of Colorado with a Bachelor's of Music, Ryan Franks chimes in, "When she approached me, the idea was to take traditional pop music from the 60's, like Serge Gainsbourg or Nancy Sinatra, and bring a contemporary sensibility to it... a really fantastic opportunity to play with almost cinematic themes and orchestrations, while dropping heavy beats and really energetic arrangements."

Ryan and Miz Mandy met through a mutual business associate and began working on the album late in 2010. Miz Mandy states, "With him in Los Angeles and I in San Diego, we've done a lot of collaborations over the phone and Internet. The process itself has been different due to starting with my lyrics, then his production next, followed by co-writing the melodies and reconstructing the lyrics. But Ryan is great to work with... very talented, easy going, hard working and ambitious."

Composer for numerous film scores including the up and coming film ‘Stay Cool' with Wynona Ryder, Hillary Duff, Sean Astin and Chevy Chase; Ryan continues, "[Miz Mandy's project has] touches of big band, rock, electronica, pop, and chord changes that are influenced by French artists, American pop, dance and cinematic melodies. The arrangements are big and have a lot of sonic elements to them. It's the kind of thing that I hope people will be able to take things from on both the first and fiftieth listen. I think the hooks are strong and the beats will grab people, but there is also a lot of ear candy that is great for putting on headphones and zoning out to."

Ryan states, "I love the tiny prepared piano sounds from ‘Diesel', the driving chorus from ‘Tomorrow's Drag', the dance hook of ‘The Cat's Pajamas', the energy and melancholy of ‘Can't go Back to Eden'. What excites me is the cohesive unit of the entire album... the pieces came out having a very homogenous feel, while maintaining their individual personality. Sometimes you either get too much diversity or too much similarity, and this project feels extremely well balanced to me."
Miz Mandy says, "It may sound cliché, but I feel like I have found myself with this album... one of those "duh" moments. I like where I have come from, but I like better where I am going. This album is my best work so far, and my most cohesive work by far."

Lyrically, Miz Mandy enjoyed writing from a characters' perspective, "say a femme fatale, a desperate housewife or a Bond girl. With lyrics, things aren't as they seem, and despite that most of the songs were written from the perspective of a character, they are always inspired from my personal life experiences and are based in some truth. Just slightly more dramatic than my everyday life." She laughs.

The subject matter of the album has a wide range. ‘Paper Tiger' is about an ineffective tyrant. ‘Queer the Pitch' is about temptation and societal self-defense, and ‘The Golden Cage' is about resistance to mental slavery. "My favorite lyrics are probably ‘The Cat's Pajamas'. It is about a suitor that has it all except the object of her desire. She vows that she will "catch your tail somehow". It's very playful. And I also love the track ‘Can't Go Back to Eden', which is about loss of love, and has a place near and dear to my heart." Mandy continues, "'Tomorrow's Drag' has some great visuals to express obstacles in life and the determination to succeed. ‘Diesel' describes a codependent abusive love relationship. Lovers whom are toxic fuel to themselves and each other, yet they still drink each other up."

"In the end, the goal is to get to share this music with as many people as possible. It's personal and expressive and it's hard not to want to get it into a million people's ears." Ryan says.
When asked about hopes for the future of the album, Miz Mandy says, "A big release concert and shows. Do a few music videos, hopefully lots of TV and film licensing, radio airplay and perhaps get offered a major record label deal. And the bottom line is to sell a lot of records and have a ton of fun."

About Miz Mandy: Miz Mandy, singer, songwriter, and executive producer, has performed live shows in over 18 countries and resides in southern California.

Miz Mandy has released several singles, dance remix packs, and two original pop albums, "In The Mix" and "Today's the Day." Her first dance single, 'In the Mix,' remixed by DJ Scotty K. (Christina Aguilera), was #37 with a bullet on the Billboard Dance Club Play Charts, and remained on the charts for 8 weeks. Her Peak Hour Music "In The Mix" Remixes entered at #92 on the Beatport Electro Chart, #80 on the Beatport Trance Chart and Top 10 chart status at DJDownload.com opening weekend. In the fall of 2008, Miz Mandy released the first single off of her newly released album. ‘Sweet Fury of Love (Friscia & Lamboy Back 2 Soul Mix)' also entered the Top 50 Billboard Dance Club Play Charts.

Photo Credit: Sam Wagstaff

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