Eleni Mandell is an American singer-songwriter. Since 2000, she has published albums through Zedtone Records in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, which in 2012 began licensing her releases to

Yep Roc Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul W ...

in the United States, and Make My Day in Europe. She is also a member of

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

The Living Sisters The Living Sisters is a female folk group consisting of Alex Lilly, Inara George, Becky Stark and Eleni Mandell Eleni Mandell is an American singer-songwriter. Since 2000, she has published albums through Zedtone Records in Toronto, Ontario, w ...

with

Inara George Inara Maryland George (born July 4, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, one half of The Bird and the Bee, a member of the band Merrick, with Bryony Atkinson, and a member of the trio The Living Sisters, with Eleni Mandell and ...

and Becky Stark. Mandell attended punk and underground rock shows while growing up in Los Angeles in the 1980s. She was inspired as a young songwriter by

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, X,

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, and

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

. Chuck E. Weiss, a socialite musician and associate of Tom Waits, was a mentor to Mandell. Eleni Mandell's first album, ''Wishbone'' (1998), was produced by

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...

. Her second album, ''Thrill,'' was released in 2000, earning her comparisons to

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

and Tom Waits. Around 2001, ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine described Mandell "as perhaps the best unsigned artist in the business." In the same year, Mandell won the Los Angeles Regional Poll at The 1st Independent Music Awards for the song "Pauline." In 2003, she released ''Country For True Lovers'', which was produced by X guitarist

Tony Gilkyson Tony Gilkyson (born August 6, 1952) is a Los Angeles-based musician. He is the son of Jane Gilkyson and songwriter/folk musician Terry Gilkyson, as well as the brother of singer-songwriter Eliza Gilkyson. Career Gilkyson is a former member of Lo ...

. ''Miracle of Five'' (2007) featured contributions from

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

guitarist

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex Cline, Alex, a percussionis ...

and X drummer

DJ Bonebrake Donald J. Bonebrake (born December 8, 1955) is an American musician who first emerged as the drummer of the punk rock band the Eyes (also featuring Charlotte Caffey of the Go-Go's). He is best known as an original member of and drummer for punk ...

. Mandell's eighth full-length release, ''I Can See the Future'' (2012), was her first album to be licensed by Yep Roc, a U.S. record label. Produced by

Joe Chiccarelli Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

(The Shins, The Strokes, White Stripes), guest appearances include drummer

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronker w ...

(

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

Atoms for Peace "Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953. The United States then launched an "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipment ...

), saxophonist Steve Berlin (

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

), a duet with

Benji Hughes Benji Hughes is an American musical artist from Charlotte, North Carolina. His first album, '' A Love Extreme'', was released in 2008. ''A Love Extreme'' On July 22, 2008, Benji Hughes released his debut album, entitled '' A Love Extreme'' on Ne ...

, backing vocals throughout by Becky Stark and

(

), and arrangements by

Nate Walcott Nate Walcott (born March 6, 1978) is an American musical composer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and trumpeter. He has composed the scores for several feature-length films, including 2014's ''The Fault in Our Stars''. He is a member of the ba ...

( Bright Eyes).

Discography

Albums

* ''Wishbone'' , Mr. Charles (1998) * ''Thrill'' , Zedtone (2000) * ''Snakebite'' , Space Baby (2001) * ''Country for True Lovers'' , Zedtone (2003) * ''Afternoon'' , Zedtone (2004) * ''Miracle of Five'' , Zedtone (2007) * ''Voxhall and WUK'' (live) , Mr. Charles (2007) * ''Artificial Fire'' , Zedtone (2009) * ''I Can See the Future'' ,

(2012) * ''Let's Fly A Kite'' ,

(2014) * ''Dark Lights Up'' , Yep Roc (2015) * ''Wake Up Again'' , Yep Roc (2019)

Singles and EPs

* "Turn On the Lights" b/w "I Still Think About You" (7-inch) , Heart of a Champion (2001) * "Los Fishes" (split 7-inch with Mike Gunther) , Heart of a Champion (2004) * ''Maybe, Yes'' P, Heart of a Champion (2004) * "Dis-Moi Au Revoir Encore" b/w "Francais 1" (7-inch) , Bonsound (2007)

Also featured on (as full group member)

* The Grabs – ''Sex, Fashion, And Money'' , The Grabs Records (2005) *

– ''Love To Live'' ,

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives fr ...

(2010) * The Grabs – ''Political Disco'' , Heart OF A Champion (2011) *

– ''Run For Cover'' , Vanguard (2013)

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

Also featured on (as full group member)

References

External links