composer / songwriter / musician
Alex Mandel Music
Welcome to the website of Alex Mandel. Film & TV Composer (The Inventor, Super Giant Robot Brothers, East Side Sushi, Your Friend the Rat); Songwriter for Pixar's Academy Award-winning Brave; Musical Director (NPRs Snap Judgment Live); and singer-songwriter (The Echo Falls, Alex Mandel).
THE INVENTOR
Join Leonardo da Vinci on an epic adventure for all the family. Academy Award® nominee Jim Capobianco (Ratatouille) is bringing the world of da Vinci to life in a thrilling new feature length stop motion puppet and 2-D hand drawn animated film.
The Inventor premieres at the Annecy Animation Festival in June.
Involved from the beginning of the project over a decade ago, Mandel ultimately composed over an hour of score (recorded in New Zealand and Budapest and the USA) and wrote and produced nine songs sung by Marion Cotillard, Daisy Ridley, Matt Berry, Stephen Fry and his daughter Sequoia. The Wellington Community Choir provided the rousing crowd-song "Kings!".
The film is scheduled to release in the USA Fall 2023, in France and rest of the world in early 2024. In the French version, Juliette Armanet performs Daisy's songs.
A once in a lifetime project, and an imaginative creation for all time.
SUPER GIANT ROBOT BROTHERS!
Directed by long-time collaborator -- and Academy Award and BAFTA winning director of Pixar's BRAVE -- Mark Andrews, and produced by Reel FX, Super Giant Robot Brothers! is now streaming on Netflix. Teenage genius Alex must lead her robots Shiny and Thunder to defend the world against Kaiju invaders.
Inspired by soundtracks from the 1980s -- from John Carpenter to John Williams -this 10 part series features over three hours of original music from Mandel. The soundtrack features live brass and string players from the New Zealand Symphony, as well as squealing guitars from Mandel, guest drums from the Director, and, of course, the LINN DRUM.
Read Jon Burlingame's article in Variety here.
"(Mandel) has created a kick-ass soundtrack for the show, and it just elevates every single part of the story to a new level. Fighting sequences feel more energetic, and the serious moments get more gravitas thanks to Mandel and his music." Fiction Horizon
"Touch the Sky"
Alex's song defines Merida's desire for freedom at the start of Pixar's Academy Award-winning Brave (dir. Mark Andrews, 2012). Performed by Julie Fowlis. Music: Alex Mandel, Lyrics: Alex & Mark Andrews.
"Into the Open Air"
Alex's song (and guitar) are featured in a touching scene between Merida and her mother. Performed by Julie Fowlis with Alex on guitar.
WRITING SONGS FOR BRAVE
When Pixar director Mark Andrews asked Alex to write two temporary songs for Brave, he was happy to oblige. Both songs, "Into the Open Air" and "Touch the Sky" wound up in the final movie, with Mark co-writing the lyrics for the latter.
Brave went on to gross $550 Million & win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2013. "Touch the Sky" has become among the most popular songs in Pixar's history.
What's more, "Touch the Sky" has joined the canon of Disney songs, with over 100 million plays on YouTube, and is featured regularly at Disney Parks worldwide (watch here). It is also a favorite among school choirs around the world. Scottish Singer Julie Fowlis guested on Alex's solo album.
Scoring "EAST SIDE SUSHI"
Alex was deeply moved by a rough cut of Anthony Lucero's "East Side Sushi". He loved it so much, he waived his composer fee to hire eight string players. When song rights were too expensive, he wrote & produced a song, "Amar de Nuevo", beautifully sung by Cava. He enlisted David Brandt (Snap Judgment, The Echo Falls) to add percussion.
The film went on to win 12 awards at film festivals (Audience Choice) before being picked up by HBO, Samuel Goldwyn, and making top 10 box office in Mexico. It was selected by the Obama State Department to encourage cultural exchange, and Anthony and Alex attended Q&As across Japan in 2017. With a 94% Rotten Tomatoes rating, it continues to charm audiences worldwide.
SCORING STORIES: NPR's SNAP JUDGMENT LIVE
When Glynn Washington started his show Snap Judgment on NPR, he asked Alex to be composer & musical director for the live shows. Working with Glynn, bassist Tim Frick and Drummer David Brandt, Alex developed a fresh approach that blended live scoring and the energy of a live rock 'n roll band. Six years later, Snap Live was selling out the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Oakland's Paramount Theater. The show airs weekly around the world, and is downloaded 3 million times a month.
Singer-Songwriter
Bands & Solo Work
Like many of his favorite film composers, Alex learned a lot from playing in rock bands from age 12 years old. In high school, his band played clubs in San Francisco, but would wait outside till showtime in the fog, since they were underage.
After Oberlin College (where Alex studied Jazz, composition & world music), he formed The Fingers, a cello-driven rock quartet, who released three albums of his songs, including Dig Spaces (2000) recorded at Skywalker Sound, and performed with groups such as The Mother Hips, Train & Sugar Ray at venues such as The Fillmore & The Viper Room. The Fingers were known for glowing reviews in the local press ("There's no better launching pad than Alex Mandel's works of popsmithery" - San Francisco Guardian). He later tapped FIngers bassist Tim Frick to join the Snap Judgment band. Several songs were licensed for TV shows, including Everwood.
His next album of original songs was an acoustic trio called The Echo Falls, with percussionist David Brandt and bassist David Arend. Once again, Mandel received praise from the press ("The 11 songs on this album are all acoustic gems, graced with exquisitely subtle instrumentation and Mandel's soft tenor." David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle). The album was featured on KQED's popular The Do List on Friday morning at 8:30am. Many Pixar directors heard this review, which led to opportunities to write for Pixar projects. It has received over 400,000 spins to date.
In 2016, Alex released his first solo album, funded by a Kickstarter campaign. With guest appearances from Julie Fowlis (Brave), John McCusker (Mark Knopfler), and David Brandt, As Long As We Breathe featured the acoustic style from his previous album, rock from The Fingers era, and more. Two songs were played regularly on KFOG's legendary Acoustic Sunrise for over a year, "Way to Go" and "The Road (a duet with Julie Fowlis).
Other Film Scores
Alex's other film scores include Tracy, the first feature film by director Dan Scanlon (Monsters University); the Annie Award-winning Ratatouille DVD Short, Your Friend the Rat (dir. Jim Capobianco); and Snow Day (dir. Erica Milsom, 2014). Alex also contributed a song to Moom (dir. Dice Tsutsumi, 2016).
Contact
Want to discuss your film project with Alex? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.
