MANDY VENTRICE TALKS HAVE YOU CRIED

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

This is your first own single-release since ‘Catch’ in 2021, an almost four year long break?

Truthfully I struggled with my identity in the music industry. I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in or if I even wanted to be apart of it anymore, after I moved to Nashville and started working with other artists, it kind of changed my perspective, and reminded me of why I started making music in the first place.

Are you all fully back now?

Yes, I have another song coming out in May with another Nashville artist, Zane Neale. Hopefully even more after that!

How did 'Have You Cried' unfold the way it did?

It was all unplanned. I was in my studio just humming along to a track my producer friend, Sawyr, had sent to me. Then the lyrics to the chorus came very quickly. I posted a video of me writing it on my Instagram and it seemed to really resonate with people so I decided to finish it with no intention of ever putting it out. But the more I listened to it, the more I felt like I needed to share it, because this song is about something a lot of people feel at the end of a relationship but it’s never really said out loud.

What feelings did you go through on release day?

Putting my own music out is a very vulnerable thing for me. I prefer to be behind the scenes and writing for other people. So for me, this took a lot of courage. But I am proud of myself, and I’m just happy that it’s out there and people seem to like it.

You wrote your first song at just seven, then put together your first CD at thirteen. How did you come to find music so early on?

My dad is a musician and he was always writing songs. It’s just something that’s been apart of me since I was able to talk. So I don’t really remember any part of my life when I was not making music.

Not long after that you ended up in girl group Poetry In Motion. How do you look back on that time now?

I didn’t appreciate it then, but now, I look back at it as one of the greatest times of my life. The girl group taught me how to harmonize and do vocal arrangements. It deeply shaped who I am today as a musician.

Do you still keep in touch?

I still talk to most of those girls, one of which lives in the same town as me now out of complete coincidence and we still hang out here and there.

Music is of course still something you often share, through collaboration, writing for different projects, going into creative spaces with the likes of Eminem, Rick Ross, Charlie Wilson, Jay Z or Julia Michaels. Is that space different from your own?

I love writing for myself, it’s my favorite thing, but writing for myself and putting myself out there as an artist are two totally different things. And that can be hard for me sometimes. There is something magical about writing for someone else and watching them take it out into the world and getting to see everything take shape from the outside.

What do you think this gift of music means to you, personally?

It’s truly a gift from God, and I think that’s what pushed me to start putting music out again. I don’t want to waste or be complacent about what He has given me. It is so fulfilling for me to pluck ideas out of my head like puzzle pieces and then try to fit them all together to make one picture. And it’s even better when that picture turns out to be something a little cheeky.