There is an air of mystery shrouding the true meaning behind the acronym of M.A.N.D.Y. – an alias which embodies the mutual talents of childhood friends Philipp Jung and Patrick Bodmer. The pair readily indulge this curiosity by toying with various clever possibilities, including Me AND You, but the truth is likely a giggle under each of their talented breaths.
Philipp and Patrick have carved a unique niche in electronic music by consistently selecting productions that induce their audience into a somatic frenzy. On the platform of their aptly titled Get Physical label, M.A.N.D.Y. has achieved massive success in colluding to create music that simply makes bodies move. Their foot stamping, hair flying passion is the ultimate expression of a dance music phenomenon for many years.
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Hi guys, thank you for taking time out to answer some questions and record a frankly awesome mix for us. So, first things first, what’s in a name – are you at liberty to divulge the meaning behind the enigmatic M.A.N.D.Y acronym, or is that a closely guarded secret?
Hello and thank you for having us. Fifteen years ago, when we were producers and DJs for fun only, we didn’t want to be to recognised by our names and faces so we chose a fictitious persona, a girl called Mandy.
You have been friends since childhood. Has making music together been something that started from an early age, or was that something that came later on?
We always compiled music on tapes for each other and for friends since we were thirteen years old. We bought turntables and a mixer from a flea market together at this time and eventually met friends with a studio where we started to produce together after we finished high school.
M.A.N.D.Y are potentially one of the most popular German electronic acts out there. Coming from Berlin, how do you feel the music scene is evolving in Berlin? Do you think it is becoming saturated with artists or is it a positive move for both the city and for dance music in general?
We have so much space in Berlin with countless venues for all kinds of music, thousands of “party tourists” from all over the world plus the influence of social media. It all feeds the entertainment monster and we see it only getting more hungry every week.
Double Fantasy is your debut album. How have you managed to get through so long in the industry before you decided to drop your first long-player as M.A.N.D.Y alone?
I guess we are very lucky that people haven’t forgotten about us even though we don‘t release records every day. Maybe we are playing great sets most of the time and that’s enough!
Can you give us a small insight into how you approached putting Double Fantasy together?
So we thought it would be nice to capture this period of our career for ourselves and for our kids as a kind of a “poesie album”. The idea was to produce interpretations of some of our favourite genres in electronic music
The album exhibits your broad range of styles throughout, from hip-hop to house. How important do you feel it is for an artist to maintain diversity, as opposed to honing in on one particular style?
It all seems to be about branding nowadays, music wise and style wise. Most of the artists are presenting one very particular style throughout many years with great success. Philipp and I, we love diversity. We need it to entertain ourselves.
You have included a 2016 update of your track, Body Language, on Double Fantasy. What have you done to bring the track up to date, and what made you feel it needed to be re-interpreted?
The track became a milestone for us twelve years ago and it was clear that we would follow up with an album. It took some time – but here we are. There are countless remixes and bootlegs of Body Language out there – in order not to compete with actual trends and styles we did a world music version, which is not supposed to be super-serious.
The tracks on the album were picked from a pool of 50 plus. How did you whittle the list down to the 13 that make up the final cut? Was it a difficult bout of decision making?
We let our friends make some of the decisions as well and with the remaining thirty tracks we’ll be putting together a DJ mix compilation, which is a process I love. It’s sad though: there are great tracks with huge pop potential, but they didn’t fit into the flow of the album.
The mix you have put together for Decoded Magazine is an Inspirations mix. Who would you describe as your most influential artists, and what is it about them that makes them so?
Like for every artist, your influences change over the years, but you are most emotionally attached to the artists you listened to when you were a teenager as it’s linked to many of your first experiences. So they stick in your memory like a well-known smell as a child. For us, it was lots of different music. We were always intrigued by guys like Bowie, Gary Numan, Chet Baker, Grace Jones, Elvis, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Peter Murphy, Syd Barrett… you had this incredible dedication and you always wanted a piece of them and be like them, act like them and live the life they lived. Lots of them didn’t make it, cause this kind of dedication and losing yourself has a downside. But up to this day, it’s inspiring to see what they achieved and how much they put into their art.
Your Get Physical label, which you founded in conjunction with your producer buddies Booka Shade, and DJ T, has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2002. How do you contend with running a successful record label when you are on the go so much?
We have a great team working for the label since many years now, especially our Managing Director, Roland Leesker who keeps it all running. Actually, he was one of our favourite DJs who we followed before we had even started our own career. I remember asking him to record his sets for me but he refused.
Are there any artists on your wish list who you would love to sign to Get Physical?
WhoMadeWho and Francesco Tristano were on our wish list for a long time and we finally managed to work with them. If we could release the next Aphex Twin album we would be happy as well!
Obviously you will have heard about the recent closure of Fabric nightclub in Islington, London. Care to comment on this?
Following up on this judgment, every venue in the UK would need to be shut down. A scandal, a sad loss of culture, and a lost battle to urban developers.
Finally, aside from the release of your new album, Double Fantasy, what is in store next for M.A.N.D.Y, and the Get Physical label?
Coming next is our single “Whisper” which features Africa Baby Bam, the former member of the Jungle Brothers. And we are excited to see Dennis Ferrer mixing the upcoming “Body Language” compilation. And we will prepare ourselves now to get back on the road again.
Pre-order Double Fantasy on iTunes here.
Tracks
01// Laurie Anderson – O Superman
02// Marvin Gaye – Plays It Cool
03// Thom Yorke – Black Swan
04// Radiohead – Lotus Flower
05// Fad Gadget – Collapsing New People
06// Grace Jones – Nightclubbing
07// Laid Back – Cocaine Cool
08// Zaza – Zauberstab
09// Aphex Twin – Fingerbib
10// Underworld – Mmm…Skyscraper I Love You
11// Laurent Garnier – The Man With The Red Face
12// Model 500 – Starlight
13// Plastikman – Plasticine
14// Talking Heads – Psycho Killer
15// Arthur Russel – Tone Bone Kone
16// She Wants Revenge – Tear You Apart
17// Joy Division – Transmission
18// The Verve – Lucky Man
19// Mazzy Star – Into Dust
20// AC/DC – Ride On
21// Blumfeld – Tausen Tränen Tief
Photo Credits: Jan van Vliet
