SINGLE REVIEW:
Iraina Mancini – Running for your life
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BEFORE discussing…
my affection and respect for Iraina Mancini’s music, I would advise people to follow her. You can follow her on X, Instagram and check out her official website. You can also investigate her Facebook page. Here is some bio from Iraina Mancini’s official website:
“Iraina Mancini is a Singer, Songwriter, and DJ, celebrated for her effortlessly chic and irresistibly cool fusion of Psychedelia, Retro-Soul, Ye-Ye, and the glamour of vintage cinema. With a sound that bridges the past and present, Iraina creates music that is both timeless and daringly fresh.
Her collaborations include legendary producers, such as Jagz Kooner (Primal Scream, Andrew Weatherall), Simon Dine (Paul Weller), Erol Alkan (Duran Duran), and Sunglasses for Jaws (Miles Kane). Her debut album, Undo The Blue, earned critical acclaim, with Shindig Magazine praising it as “a playfully radical first album… perfectly amalgamating psych, pop, and rock,” and The Times hailing her as “a new heroine to make us swoon!”
Iraina’s infectious sound has become a staple on BBC6 Music, with an unprecedented six consecutive singles earning playlist spots. Lauren Laverne declared her “an artist I absolutely love,” while Chris Hawkins recently invited her for an exclusive live session at the iconic Maida Vale Studios. Her music resonates far beyond the UK, with significant airplay across global radio networks, cementing her as an international force.
As a DJ, Iraina has spun her magic at some of the world’s most glamorous locations, including Ibiza, Mallorca, Paris, Cannes, Los Angeles, and Toronto. She has graced the decks at prestigious events such as NME Awards, Toronto Film Festival, GQ, Dunhill, Swarovski, Vogue, Temperley London, Clash, Stylist magazine and Film4. Also key music festivals; Glastonbury, Wilderness, Secret Garden Party, Jubilation and Black Deer, to name a few, seamlessly merging her love of fashion, film, and music.
Beyond performing, Iraina is a host of her popular monthly radio show on London’s legendary Soho Radio. With a loyal following, she shares exclusive DJ sets, in-depth interviews with icons like Lee Fields, PP Arnold, and Babyshambles, and curated homages to Northern Soul, Funk, vintage R&B, Ska, and Garage Rock.
Fresh off her first sold-out UK solo tour and high-profile support slots with The Coral and Saint Etienne, Iraina is now recording her highly anticipated second album, set to drop in 2025”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Mancini
Her new single, Running for your life, is produced by Dimitri Tikovoi and co-written with Mark Neary. A tremendous single that you should listen to now, it is her first release in a year and a half. Out today (5th February), it is already getting love and buzz on social media. Before getting to my review of Running for your life, I have to go back to 2023. That is when Mancini’s debut album, Undo the Blue, came out. Released through Needle Mythology, the album did get some positive reviews. I was a little disappointed a lot of the music press did not jump on what was my favourite album of 2023. From DIY to The Guardian to The Line of Best Fit to CLASH or NME, I do hope that Mancini’s second studio album (which I understand is in the works) gets a lot of eyes and ears on it! People catching up and rectifying their omission in 2023. I have seen Iraina Mancini perform several times in London. Every time, no matter the venue, the crowds give her so much love and rapture. Her vocals are studio-quality. Such tight performances and a real treat for fans, it is no wonder that she is in such demand! After a gig upcoming in Corsica (23rd March), no doubt she will be booked for a raft of festivals this summer. I am looking forward to seeing her perform again. Putting some new material in the set alongside established gems from Undo the Blue. That album struck me because of its confidence, Every track on it could have been a single. Mixing different genres and time periods, Mancini combined some of her influences together with her original and personal sound. A strikingly brilliant and unforgettable album, I was in no doubt that this debut was the best of 2023! An album I still listen to and find new things to appreciate. A modern masterpiece that sets a very high bar. Whenever a second album arrives, you get the feeling it will be even stronger than the sublime and phenomenal Undo the Blue – which almost seems impossible! I have seen on social media Mancini calling Running for your life one of the best songs she has written. After only one listen I can see what she means. It is a wonderful record that gets straight into the head and heart!
PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Mancini
I was hooked on Running for your life from the first notes. With that title in mind, I got the impression of someone in trouble and maybe in too deep. Perhaps someone who is playing a dangerous game and has a lot to lose, a sense of atmosphere and drama is stirred up. Deep and rolling drums. Guitar that twangs and holds. There is a bit of a spy theme coming through. The punch and shadowiness of the percussion mixes with guitar that provokes images of anticipation and a strange seduction. Even before Iraina Mancini comes to the microphone, you are very much invested in what is to come. Images that swirl around the head. I was projected into the song. Into this wonderfully intriguing world. One of the best-produced songs I have heard from Mancini, Running for your life also boasts one of her best vocals. Sinuous, stirring and alluring in equal measures, there is almost this idea of a femme fatale. Someone maybe caught in a conflict. Perhaps observing this man who is running for their life or is in a tricky situation. The lyrics definitely conjure up a variety of emotions: “Danger strikes, the sirens ring/I’ll drink your sorrow’s bare/Too many voices screaming louder/I must numb instead”. The tension and danger of those opening words. Mancini, surveying things from afar or above. That idea of drinking sorrows bare. Such poetic and well-chosen words! Evocative but also quite romantic in a strange way. I wonder what inspired this song and the lyrical viewpoint. It might be reductive or cliché to tie anything cinematic and dramatic to a James Bond theme. However, as the initial stages of the song have a sense of seduction and darkness, together with some twanging strings, stringing drums and what sounds like some brass, one does envisage this song on the big screen. I love the pre-chorus and how it leads us into an amazing chorus: “Theres a change in your face/Doesn’t look quite the same/Wild in the night/A lightning storm in the rain/I reach out my hands/A shiver up and down my spine/Too fast to catch you now I’m slipping far behind”.
“Mancini’s voice strong but also teasing. Smoky and soulful, you are really drawn into the story”
What has caused this predicament? Rain and wind blow through. There is this sense of wild unpredictability and fading light. Someone evading something coming for them. Someone who once was settled or sure is now fearful and scared. Whether Iraina Mancini is actually with this person and is trying to hold onto them or she means things in an emotional sense. Perhaps she is trying to provide support or some kind of balance, it does seem like things are out of hand. One of the most notable elements of Undo the Blue, apart from the wonderfully nuanced and fascinating compositions, is Iraina Mancini’s words. An audible sense of rush and running comes into view as the chorus hits. The mood and dynamic changes. In the sense this track unfolds like an opening scene or a cinematic chase, we are now in a position where things are reaching fever pitch: “A dangerous place I’m stuck in/I can feel my heart sinking/Darling, I can see it in your eyes/Out there your running for your life!/Waiting for your eruption/Whirlwind in my destruction/Darling, I can see it in your eyes/Out there your running for your life/Your life , your life, your running for your life!”. There are echoed backing vocals (a male voice) and that booming and rolling drum. Mancini’s voice strong but also teasing. Smoky and soulful, you are really drawn into the story. Having come to the chorus that seems to be the early hours of the morning and this sudden chase or sense of danger, we are now at dawn: “Its 6 ‘o clock the sun comes up/I’ve danced till my feet sore/So fill my cup and drink me bare.. Just leaves me wanting more”. What I initially felt was the heroine being close to the edge or unable to save someone, it does seem to be different now. Having danced for hours, there is a giddiness and abandon. Making me rethink what the lyrics are about. A song that offers some nice twists and turns. The final moments of the song are exhilarating and stunning!
PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Mancini
“Waiting for your eruption/Whirlwind to my destruction/Darling, I can see it in your eyes/Out there your running for your life”. It is the way Iraina Mancini’s vocals are dreamy and seductive but also strong-willed and dramatic. Sitting alongside the lyrics, she brings so many layers and emotions to the fore. There is a scorching and electrifying guitar solo near the end. It is full of lightning, rain, aggression, energy and cool. A potent cocktail that is bookmarked by some typically stunning vocals. Mancini able to inhabit songs fully. In Running for your life, she is someone who seems to be in this intoxicating, precarious and thrilling predicament. I wonder if the song is actually about someone fleeing and racing into he night because they are getting away from people out to kill, whilst Mancini tries to offer a hand but also seems to be lost in the night and is this vessel of stability and comfort. Wild and free but also cautious and concerned. Maybe this song is about emotional conflict. A lover who is struggling and is slipping out of sight. Even if Mancini’s vocals have this multifarious glisten and light to them in the chorus, it makes the words of dread and caution seem even stronger and more urgent. When she sings “A dangerous place I’m stuck in/I can feel my heart sinking”, one stands alongside the heroine and watches events unfold. A magnificent and instantly impactful song, it reveals new layers every time you pass through it! Wonderful production, an incredible and drama-filled composition that matches shades of darkness and light to leave the head, heart and soul racing and swooning, Mancini’s vocals are at their peak. Such an incredible performance! I normally rate tracks out of ten. Rather than do that, I wanted to let the words do the talking. Running for your life is a strong five-star song. I can find no faults! The possible first taste of a second studio album, the new experience and skills Mancini has picked up on the road the past year and a half or so have gone into this song. If her debut album’s title was about undoing the blue, Running for your life wraps black, purple and gold around the hero’s heart. Someone whose fate is left open-ended (though there is a feeling of doom). I know that BBC Radio 6 Music are going to premiere this track at breakfast today. It will go down a storm. Another jewel from one of our greatest artists, you are powerless to resist! One spin through Running for your life will leave you…
SALUTING this queen.