Mandalay

Mandalay常被拿來和Cocteau Twins比較，并不是因?yàn)樗麄円魳飞系南嗨菩?，而是源于Saul Freeman（樂隊(duì)1/2，前Thieves樂器手）在《Melody Maker》上登的一則廣告，尋找一位具有Elizabeth Fraser（Cocteau Twins）和Shara Nelson（Massive Attack）聲音的主唱，而Nicola Hitchcock也并不與以上兩位在聲音上有怎樣的相似性（或許會聯(lián)想起M.A.時的Liz，但不是CT），她有自己帶著冰冷氛圍感的、近乎脆弱極限的優(yōu)雅聲線，而Mandalay仍然以它獨(dú)特的氣質(zhì)延續(xù)著早被預(yù)言終結(jié)的trip-hop潮流。Madonna甚至在2000年秋說Mandalay是她的‘new favorite band’，這無疑給樂隊(duì)極大地提高了知名度

Ex-Thieves instrumentalist Saul Freeman aimed for his own dream-pop aesthetic when he placed an ad in the now defunct music weekly, Melody Maker. He had already worked with David McAlmont, but wanted his own creative outlet. Searching for an ethereal voice similar to the likes of the Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser and Shara Nelson (Massive Attack, Presence), solo artist Nicola Hitchcock ended Freeman's search when answering his request. The two instantly clicked, for Hitchcock also had a debut album under her belt and the two formed Mandalay in the mid-nineties. Incorporating trip-hop loops similar to Portishead and Hitchcock's vocal perfections, the duo earned props throughout the latter part of the decade in their native U.K., specifically with the albums Empathy and Instinct. Madonna even called Mandalay her new favorite band in fall 2000. Mandalay had signed to V2 by mid-2000 and prepped for their stateside major-label release, Solace, in spring 2001.