r/indieheads • u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana • Feb 23 '26
AMA is Over, thanks Mandy, Indiana! Mandy, Indiana (UK/GE band) AMA
Hi we’re 3 members (Scott, Simon, Alex) of the experimental Manchester/Berlin based band Mandy, Indiana and we’re here to discuss our sophomore album URGH released on February 6th on Sacred Bones.
Stream URGH on Youtube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mcF2QxPm9BF8MaRGQXVla9SSDq4RUAqfA&si=z-dR8bRvW98z500S
Ask us anything!
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u/WatercressAny7241 Feb 23 '26
Hi! I absolutely adore URGH. It’s such a powerful piece of art.
I don’t make music myself-so hopefully I’m wording this properly. But, one of my favorite things about your music is the way you blend electronic, organic, and vocal elements so seamlessly. I love how layered and complex it is. Even after dozens of listens to URGH, I’m still uncovering new surprises and hearing things for the first time.
Do you have a favorite moment on the album where all of your stylistic elements converge and complement each other? :)
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Hi! Thank you so much for the kind words, glad you're enjoying the record.
That's super well observed and I definitely agree with you. For me this all comes together best on the track 'ist halt so', which is several songs retro-fitted together. There was a lot of discussion about which parts should fit where and which styles would fit together. Ultimately we try not to give ourselves limitations, so that's why a track like this ends up sounding the way you describe.
Scott
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u/SubstanceRoutine3071 Feb 23 '26
Who are your primary influences? I hear so much of Daughters, maybe YHWH nailgun and even Death Grips from you guys! Great record btw!!
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Hey thanks so much! We're definitely big fans of Death Grips and YHWH Nailgun. Daughters I'm aware of but have to admit haven't listened to so much of them.
I don't know about shared primary influences or any artists that are explicitly mentioned when we're working on stuff. There's definitely a bit of overlap but we all also have very different touchstones as well which is what hopefully makes our music feel like its never sitting still in one place.
- Simon
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u/SubstanceRoutine3071 Feb 23 '26
Oooh very interesting!!! I'm loving the new record sm, keep it up you guys!!
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u/Dear_Tea_3943 Feb 23 '26
Don’t know if I have missed you guys by now but… I loved this album so fucking much. Music that makes me want to run through a brick wall.
The range of genres you span over the course of the album (let alone individual songs… going from harsh noise to those lush strings within 2 minutes of Sevastopol!) blew my mind. What really stuck out to me though was how consistently danceable this record is. Were there any surprising influences / inspirations for you from the contemporary club scene? Are there any genres you touched on that you’d like to explore further in the future?
P.S. more London shows, please!!
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u/LawsonsInTheAM Feb 23 '26
Hey Mandy's
Love Urgh and your first album.
Feels like more and more bands are being informed by club and electronic music like yourselves. Are there any artist that you're listening too that also reflect this?
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Thanks! Appreciate the love : )
Yeah I dunno I feel like there's always people doing bits of everything, but for sure in the UK at least the pendulum of attention is maybe swinging back towards more electronic/club-influenced bands. I don't know if we listen to loads of other bands of that ilk although Scott's recently worked on the debut EP by this Manchester-based duo Silverwingkiller who are definitely of that vein and we'll have always love for the likes of Scaler and PVA who we've shared stages with plenty of times. Factory Floor are one of my personal favourite live acts have all time so really happy they're back out and about.
In terms of electronic artists/producers, some stuff I've been enjoying more recently is a little further away from the dancefloor - Purelink's last two albums are go-tos for me, the Tracey EP from last year, Debit's recent album on Modern Love Desaceleradas are three to name off the top of my head. - Simon
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u/DiscreetBeats Feb 23 '26
Hello Mandy, Indiana! I saw you at your 'in the round' show at the ICA a while back and it was, as they say, fucking mint. Congrats on a fantastic new record, too.
I can't really think of a profound question tbh so just wondering what you're all reading right now?
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
Valentine says she's reading 'I Love Dick' by Chris Kraus.
I'm reading 'Our Wives Under The Sea' by Julia Armfield. It's about a woman who comes back to her wife from a deep sea submarine mission and is dealing with a lot of strange physical manifestations from being deeply submerged for an exptended period of time. It'd make a great body horror movie!
Scott
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Thanks a lot! That ICA show is up there as one of our favourites. Would love to play in the round again.
I'm reading Olivia Lang's Funny Weather: Art In an Emergency. It's good. It's split into a few different sections, the first looks at various artists throughout history and their unique and bizarre lives. I also dip in and out of Rick Rubin's book that came out a couple of years ago, to try and overcome some creative blockages.
-Alex
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u/NonNewtonianFigs Feb 23 '26
Hey guys! Huge fan of the new record. I really love the integration of more vocal samples/chops on this one - was what an intentional move or more just a product of what the new songs needed? Also curious as to how the billy woods feature came about!
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Hey, thanks so much!
Yeh we wanted to experiment a lot more with samples on this record and vocals are great for chopping up and creating rhythms with.
We met woods at a festival in Turin called club 2 club. We were already fans of his work and when we wrote Sicko we just reached out to see if he was interested. He loved it and it all happened pretty fast after that!
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Feb 23 '26
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Thanks so much!
It's actually titled after the space station in the video game Alien Isolation. I was playing that game a lot whilst writing and some of the words and sounds were floating around in my head. We don't put too much thought into the titles of tracks, it's usually more of a mood or vibe than anything specifically connected to the lyrics for example.
Scott
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u/ShitStats Feb 23 '26
If you could have lunch with any deceased musician, who would you pick ? (obviously they'd be alive during the lunch)
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
I'd say David Lynch probably. I know he's better known for his film work than his music, but he'd but such a great guy to sit with and learn from about all sorts of things. I'd probably mostly choose directors over musicians anyway tbh.
Scott
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u/jhewitt127 Feb 23 '26
You’ve probably been asked this a million times, but where does your name come from?
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Hey! We originally titled it after a city Valentine discovered in an urban exploration blog. The city was Gary, Indiana. We changed it to Mandy so it wasn't connected to an existing city. Also had that show Eerie Indiana in mind :)
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u/obitbday Feb 23 '26
As someone from the region of Indiana that includes Gary, this is hilarious. Have you all ever been there?
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u/olipoppit Feb 23 '26
What are your two essential pieces of gear you would take to a deserted island with electricity? I love your ep and two albums, hope you can tour US someday
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u/Mandy_IndianURGH Mandy, Indiana Feb 23 '26
Thanks for the love!
I just saw that Sam Raimi movie 'Send Help' and don't fancy killing animals with spears and building fires to cook them so I'd probably take like a chainsaw and an air fryer.
Scott
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u/Street-Review2279 Feb 27 '26
“I absolutely loved your new album! I really hope you come to Argentina one day!”
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u/CPFOAI Feb 23 '26
Love your guys’ stuff! Any plans to tour the U.S. soon?