Eleni Mandell Sets Faux Fires

02/25/09 4:28pm

by Shannon Webb-Campbell (CHARTattack)

Eleni Mandell has a thing for words.

When Mandell isn't touring behind her cabaret-style songs, the Los Angeles-based artist toys with French and English translations or plays Scrabble. Her latest effort, Artificial Fire, ignites literary sparks.

"Fireworks translated into French is 'feux [d']artifice,' which I translated literally back into English, perhaps wrongly, as 'artificial fire,'" she says.

"I thought it sounded great and was also the perfect metaphor for a romantic encounter gone wrong. Manny Marquez, the director of my videos, says it's more like Labour Day than the fourth of July."

Artificial Fire is a 15-track collection of lush instrumentation, vocal sensuality and stunning musical flourishes. Mandell is part sass and part soul and has harvested her inner diva. She can be cocksure — the album's title track relays a betrayal of sexual confidence — but she quickly tumbles into the sauntering sunny day love song "Right Side" from there. The closing horn arrangement may inspire even the crustiest cynic to march in her whimsical sound parade.

"I've always been a dreamer," explains Mandell. "I also get affected by the beauty of being on the open road and by the different characteristics of other cities and spaces.

"I know that being happy in my environment, loving my home, the sunlight and even the furniture affects my state of mind and makes it easier for me to write."

Mandell is inspired by the environment, relationships, friends, words and questions about the universe, and describes her creative process as somewhat lackadaisical. She never forces herself to write, but, when she does, she enjoys being corralled and led in a variety of directions.

Mandell has two projects right now: The Grabs and The Living Sisters. The Grabs are composed of Mandell, W.A.C.O. singer/pianist Steve Gregoropoulos, former Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison and Elvira (the musician, not the mistress of the dark). Mandell co-writes all the music with the band, and their Sex, Fashion And Money debut is a saucy teaser of pop mastery.

The Living Sisters are in the midst of finishing an album and combine The Good Lovelies' harmonies with jazz-infused dance rhythms. They consist of Mandell, Lavender Diamond singer Becky Stark and The Bird And The Bee's Inara George.

"My creative process is quite a lazy one," she says with apparent modesty. "I wait for inspiration to hit.

"I never force it. I've been even lazier than usual lately, but history repeats itself, so I figure I'll be inspired again before I know it.

"Sometimes I make up songs while I'm driving or walking in the hills near my place. Sometimes I sit with a guitar and am surprised by where it leads."

Mandell's solo discography is extensive. She's released eight albums since her 1998 Wishbone debut, and finds the faux glossiness of Los Angeles has influenced her.

"I think growing up and living in L.A. has affected my songwriting, but probably in a lot of ways that I don't even understand. I've always felt like an outsider for so many reasons. Perhaps if I'd grown up in New York, I wouldn't have. I will never know. But the vastness, emptiness and ugly beauty of L.A. has definitely affected me."

You can see Mandell here:

March 5 New York, NY @ Joe's Pub
March 6 Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
March 7 Montreal, QC @ Le Divan Orange
March 8 Cambridge, MA @ T.T. The Bear's
March 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Tin Angel
March 18 Goleta, CA @ Mercury Lounge
March 19 San Francisco, CA @ Cafe Du Nord
March 21 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
March 22 Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door
March 25 Iowa City, IA @ The Picador
March 26 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
March 27 Minneapolis, MN @ Cedar Cultural Center
March 28 Kansas City, MO @ Davey's Uptown Ramblers Club
March 30 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
April 1 Tucson, AZ @ Plush
April 2 Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriets
April 23 Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
April 24 Frankfurt, Germany @ Brotfabrik
April 26 Zurich, Switzerland @ El Lokal
April 28 St. Gallen, Switzerland @ Palace
April 29 Dusseldorf, Germany @ Zakk
May 1 Munster, Germany @ Pumpenhaus
May 2 Groningen, Netherlands @ Oosterpoort
May 3 Tilburg, Netherlands @ O 13
May 4 Brussels, Belgium @ L'Ancienne Belgique
May 7 Ghent, Belgium @ Vooruit
May 8 Hamburg, Germany @ Knust
May 10 Berlin, Germany @ Quasimodo
May 13 Munich, Germany @ Registratur
May 15 Ebensee, Austria @ Kino
May 16 Wels, Austria @ Schlachthof
May 17 Erlangen, Germany @ E-Werk