Mahogany
Mahogany feature floaty chord progressions as well as airy vocals, while alternating orchestral composition, blurry shoegaze and dream pop textures with more structured alternative dance music. Formed in Michigan during the mid-1990s around a shared interest in artists ranging from Claude Debussy to Section 25 early releases, like their full-length debut 1998's The Dream of a Modern Day, were followed by a move to Brooklyn and various short-form releases by an ever-shifting lineup. Their 2006 LP Connectivity! featured contributions from Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie. The project continued on, if in haphazard fashion, thereafter, performing, producing, remixing, and resurfacing in recorded form in 2013 for the eight-minute single "Phase Break" by the founding duo of Andrew Prinz and Allysa Massais. After being inactive for several years, they began playing shows again in 2024.
Sharing an eclectic selection of musical inspirations, Prinz and Massais formed Mahogany in Michigan in December 1995. In February 1996, Larry Hofmann of Burnt Hair Records saw the duo play one of their first shows in Lansing, Michigan, and later released a split 12" (Dual-Group EP) with fellow Lansing band Auburn Lull. It found Prinz's sister Marissa added to the lineup on keyboards, and received airplay on the John Peel show in the U.K. Over the next two years, they released recordings on Tinseltones, Liquefaction, and Clairecords, as well as 1998's What Will Become of the Key of Reason? EP, a joint effort between Clairecords and Mahogany's own label, Disques de Simultanés. Later that year, the band recorded their debut full-length, The Dream of a Modern Day, co-released by Clairecords and Burnt Hair that September. It included Jesse Rafferty of Asha Vida on percussion. The Dream of a Modern Day was reissued by Darla in 2001.
In the meantime, Massais left Michigan to continue her studies in sculpture, while the Prinz siblings recorded songs under the name Mohagonny. In 1999, they changed the name back to Mahogany, while also moving to Brooklyn, New York, where they were joined by programmer Robert Pietrusko and guitarist/vocalist Lorraine Lelis. That and subsequent incarnations of the group recorded and issued a series of varied singles and EPs, all of which were collected on the 2005 Darla release Memory Column: Early Works & Rarities 1996-2004. By that time, the band's lineup had changed considerably and was now an octet, with Andrew Prinz, Pietrusko, Jason Holmes, Ryan Hancock, Jeremy Scott, Ana Breton, Roy Styles, and Katrina Rudmin all contributing to the lush, layered sound Mahogany produced. Even though the group's studio was broken into in 2005, with most of their equipment and some of their recordings stolen, they pressed on, playing shows like CMJ Music Marathon and releasing the two-disc Connectivity! on Darla in 2006. It featured some production and mixing help from Cocteau Twins' Robin Guthrie. In 2007 and 2008, Mahogany opened shows for the likes of Bloc Party, Vampire Weekend, and the Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
During the 2010s, Mahogany turned up at the 2011 CMJ Music Marathon and several SXSW festivals, while Prinz focused on producing, designing, and remixing for other artists under the Mahogany banner. Some of his collaborators included Ulrich Schnauss, the Veldt, Lovesliescrushing, and Pinkshinyultrablast. In 2013, Massais returned to the project for the immersive eight-minute duo outing "Phase Break," which blended vocals with 12-string guitars, bass, synthesizers, samplers, and sequencers for an effect they dubbed "the hypercube." After a hiatus of several years, a two-piece Mahogany re-emerged for a show in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2024.
© Kenyon Hopkin & Marcy Donelson /TiVo
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Michael Gray Reworks
Electronic - Released by West End Records on Jul 26, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Connectivity
Alternative & Indie - Released by Darla on Nov 15, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saveurs Créoles
World - Released by Hibiscus records on Apr 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Dream of a Modern Day
Alternative & Indie - Released by Darla on Sep 6, 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Loving You / Heartless (Mahogany Sessions)
Folk - Released by Mahogany Sessions on Mar 5, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for Stress Relief: Waterscapes' Contemplative Choir
Mahogany, Memminger, Pure Relaxing Vibes
Relaxation - Released by NatureWave Music on Dec 13, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Memory Column, Early Works & Rarities
Electronic - Released by Darla Records on Apr 28, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Harmonic Thunder Meditation: Soundscapes of Calm
Mahogany, Thunder Sounds, Motivational Divine Meditation Zone
Relaxation - Released by NatureWave Music on Dec 19, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blaze of Serenity: Nature's Fiery Calm
Float Waves, Mahogany, Total Relax
Relaxation - Released by Naturalism Sounds on Jan 25, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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what if this is all okay? / white flag
Pop - Released by Mahogany Sessions on May 8, 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Creek Meditation: Water's Serene Sounds
Noisy Bowls for Meditation, Nature & Sounds Backgrounds, Mahogany
New Age - Released by NatureWave Music on Apr 26, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Calm Before Thunder: Sleep Soundscapes
Sleepy Depp, RAIN_IFY, Mahogany
New Age - Released by NatureWave Music on Apr 22, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Midnight Thunder Melodies: Soundtracks for Dreams
Mahogany, Thunder Phall, Sleep Waves Hub
Relaxation - Released by NatureWave Music on Dec 19, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo