Eleni Mandell is somewhat of a songwriter’s songwriter, by which I mean she opens herself to whatever creative impulse happens to emerge, even if it’s wantonly divergent from the one which emerged the last time she put pen to paper or entered a recording studio. Her most recent album, Artificial Fire (out this past February on Zedtone Records | buy it from Amazon) is a testament to the extent to which she trusts herself and her band mates. She’ll be rolling into Seattle for Bumbershoot in a couple of weeks and, as such, was kind enough to lend this interview as part of our Bumbershoot preview:
When you come out here for Bumbershoot, will you be pulling mostly songs from Artificial Fire?
I’ve always kept up a few songs from each record. I like to add and subtract and keep things interesting. But I’m still doing a lot of stuff from the new record.
Any newer material?
Just starting to play a couple new things. I’m probably going to record an EP in the next month or so. I don’t know if it’ll be festival material, because that’s a whole other kind of playing when you’re outside.
Artificial Fire seems like a very different kind of record than Miracle of Five. When you make a different kind of record like that, are you thinking it needs to be different from the last one? Or are you going in there with the songs you have that are just different because that’s how your process works?
It’s kind of a little bit of both. I just wanted to make a record that was a little more fun and electric. No matter what kind of songs I was writing, we went into rehearsal arranging them with that in mind. So on a song like “In the Doorway” – it’s a very quiet song that could have fit on Miracle of Five, but we approached it the way we’re approaching all the songs on Artificial Fire, which was more from the band and more electric.
Was this a band that you were working with before, or was it a new band for this record?
It’s the same bass player and drummer I’ve worked with for almost ten years, and then Jeremy Drake (on guitar) had started touring with me just after Mircale of Five came out. This was his first studio record with me, although we did a live record. We’d all been playing together for a long time. It felt less like these are guys I’m paying to play with me, and more like a band to me. [laughs] I don’t know if they’d agree or not.
Do you think you’ll keep trying to make more cohesive band records? Or will this new EP see you retreating more into the singer-songwriter realm?
I think I’m, sort of out of necessity, going to retreat to the singer-songwriter realm. It sounds horrible to say it out loud, but it’s really expensive to keep a band going and everyone’s growing up, in a frightening way, but in a great way. Ryan, my bass player, his wife just had twins so he can’t leave town like he used to. Everybody’s kind of morphing into different stages of their lives. With the economy…I’m feeling the effects, so touring with the band is not in my budget anymore.
That seems to be a trend. A lot of people I’ve been talking to have been talking about putting their band aside for a tour or two. I wonder if that’s as much part of what’s happening with the music industry, people are moving to buying single songs instead of records…
Yeah, I definitely have noticed a drastic change from how many people buy CDs at shows compared to three years ago when I was touring for Miracle of Five. It’s kind of shocking in a way. That definitely effects my feeling about what I can afford to do in the future. Even beside that, I feel like I want to be more self-sufficient and not rely on anyone else’s schedule or personality, or financial [situation]. I think in some ways it might be really good. I like the idea that, out of this necessity, maybe I’ll write different kinds of songs and challenge myself for the next record.
You’re offering your records on vinyl now, too. Do you think that could be an answer to people not wanting to buy CDs because of downloads? Do you think vinyl is more of a product?
I feel like, little by little, it’s growing. People were definitely buying vinyl at the shows on the tour I just did. It’s hard to imagine that all those people in their late 30s, 40s, and 50s, who got rid of their record players, are going to go out and buy them again. I’ve always kept one, but my dad gave his record player away and just listens on his computer now. I think it’ll always be there, but whether or not it becomes the answer, I don’t know. It’s hard to say. It’s definitely a little more exciting for me, having grown up with vinyl.
Where’s your favorite place to play on tour?
There are a few places – the last time I did the West Coast, Seattle and Portland were really amazing and fun. I always love playing in Kansas City. I’ve built some kind of following in Kansas City, somehow. It’s crazy. And Minneapolis. Those two cities are always really fun. New York always feels like this big deal, there’s so much pressure, which makes it less fun, and the parking is so difficult. But on the last tour I just did, it was such a heartwarming tour. I felt like I was getting back in touch with why I love my music and what’s important about it, whether it’s on a small scale or a big scale. Spartanburg, South Carolina was my favorite [this time]. It’s just this tiny town.
They have clubs there in Spartanburg?
Apparently [laughs]. Yes, they have one. This place was amazing. It was a gallery that had artists in residence, and it also had music, which was awesome. I thought, ‘Maybe I should move here.’ [laughs] Los Angeles to Spartanburg…
What do you have to say for the Los Angeles songwriter scene? Maybe this isn’t fair but I tend to think of LA as a rock and roll glamor town, but every now and then there’s a great, honest songwriter that just shows up from LA…
I’m such a bad person to answer this in some ways, because I don’t go out. I do go out, but I’m not out there like ‘I’m going to tap into what’s happening on the scene.’ I really don’t know, honestly. I have a group of friends who are musicians – Anara George (???), Becky Stark, Mike Andrews, Benji Hughes – they’re all incredibly talented. I think everything comes in waves, and there was a period when we were all going out to see each other and support each other. That felt like a scene that had a sense of community. But I don’t know, honestly, I feel like I’m kind of out of it now.
What do you like about music? I know that’s a huge question.
I actually thought about this when I was on this last tour. I’d do interviews and they’d ask, “Why did you like X?” or “Why did you like Tom Waits?” Both times – when I heard X for the first time and Tom Waits for the first time – I remember feeling kind of amazed, feeling like I didn’t know those kinds of sounds existed. That dark and tribal thing. I think music really hits me on a gut level. I guess it does for everybody. I love that feeling – you see babies when they hear music and just start dancing. It’s so innate and they can’t help it. I love that about music, that it can effect people in that way – physically and emotionally. I love melody. I love words…everything coming together, all the good things in the world.
Do you want to throw your opinion into our best living songwriters debate?
Well, I think Tom Waits is definitely up on the Top 5 for me. I would say Bob Dylan except I’m kind of annoyed with him. He’s obviously done incredible, great work, but I don’t know if he’s done any lately, in my opinion. But, he’s still out there. I guess he has to be number one. I feel like Tom might even say the same thing. Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman for sure. I don’t know if a lot of people think of him in that way, but he’s written some amazing songs. I think that’s it, those four guys.
(Check out these articles from the ND archives about Eleni Mandell: Eleni Mandell – A stitch in time and Eleni Mandell – Revelations of an X lover.)
