Music like Mandalay

Mandalay were a trip hop duo from the United Kingdom, composed of multi-instrumentalist Saul Freeman (formerly of Thieves) and multi-instrumentalist-composer-singer Nicola Hitchcock. They released two albums (plus one America-only compilation disc) and were briefly tagged as "Madonna's favourite band".

During the early to mid-1990s, Saul Freeman had been the instrument-playing half of the London pop duo Thieves (alongside singer David McAlmont). By the time of their second single, "Unworthy", Thieves were gaining a considerable amount of critical attention and had begun recording a debut album for the Virgin Records imprint Hut Recordings. However, Freeman and McAlmont fell out seriously towards the end of the album sessions. Consequently, Thieves split up, with the album eventually being released in 1994 under McAlmont's name (although Freeman was fully credited for his songwriting and instrumental work). While recovering from the Thieves debacle, Freeman immersed himself in club culture and increased his interest in dance music. In 1995, he and his publishers (Chrysalis Music) put a classified advertisement in Melody Maker in order to find a vocalist for a new project.