Steven Mandel

Last updated

Steven Mandel
Steven Mandel at Electric Lady Studios 2021.jpg
Steven Mandel at Electric Lady Studios in 2021
Background information
Born1969
Genres
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • Audio engineer
  • Radio DJ
  • Podcaster
Years active1996–present
Labels
  • J.M.I. Recordings
  • CHUH Music

Steven Mandel (born 1969) is an American music producer, audio engineer, songwriter, record label executive, radio DJ, and podcaster. [1] He is also music producer for The Roots on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon . Mandel has produced music for The Roots, Elvis Costello, Todd Rundgren, Squeeze and Erykah Badu among others.

Contents

In 2016, Mandel co-founded the record label, J.M.I Recordings, which specializes in recording, mixing, and mastering in analog. [2] He is co-host of "Labeled On WKCR" on Columbia University’s WKCR radio station, and was a member of "Team Supreme" on the Questlove Supreme podcast 2016-2025. [3]

Early life

Mandel grew up in the hamlets of Bardonia and Nanuet in Rockland County, New York. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1991, with a Journalism major and English minor. [4] He later graduated from the Institute of Audio Research in 1996.

Work

In 1996, Mandel became an assistant engineer at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Mentored by Russell Elevado, he recorded sessions with the Soulquarians and met Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson during D'Angelo's Voodoo album. Mandel would eventually become the first chief engineer of Electric Lady Studios since Eddie Kramer.

Other notable albums Mandel worked on during his time at Electric Lady (1996–2004) include Common’s Like Water for Chocolate and Electric Circus , Erykah Badu’s Mama's Gun , The Roots’ Things Fall Apart , The Roots Come Alive and Phrenology , Prince's Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic , D’Angelo's Black Messiah and Roy Hargrove's Hard Groove , on which he received a songwriting credit for the song "Juicy".

In 2004, Mandel relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he became the in-house engineer for Questlove and worked at "The Studio" on multiple Roots projects including Rising Down , Game Theory , Home Grown, How I Got Over , Undun , and John Legend & The Roots’ Grammy Award-winning Wake Up! .

He accompanied The Roots as an engineer and producer to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2009 and has continued in that position on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon since 2014. He has also appeared in various sketches on The Tonight Show. [5]

Mandel co-produced and engineered the album Wise Up Ghost with Questlove and Elvis Costello in 2013. [6] He is credited as a co-songwriter on most tracks. [1] Mandel engineered and produced Swindles, a series of 24 recordings dedicated to the music of Squeeze. Six songs have been released since 2018 via Yep Roc Records on Record Store Day. [7] [8] Mandel co-wrote "Godiva Girl" with Todd Rundgren, Questlove and Ray Angry in 2021.

Mandel was a co-host of the Questlove Supreme podcast for its run on Pandora and iHeart Radio 2016–2025, where he was dubbed "Suga Steve" by his co-hosts. [9]

Production discography

Singles

Albums

Albums (as artist)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Myers, Paul (October 23, 2013). "Meet The Third Man: The Producer Who Orchestrated A Roots/Elvis Costello Collaboration". Fast Company. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  2. ↑ "The J.M.I. Team". J.M.I. Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  3. ↑ Setaro, Shawn (April 16, 2019). "The Story of 'Questlove Supreme': Low-Key Flexes and the Magic Circle". Complex.
  4. ↑ Thomas, Garrett (September 29, 2017). ""So, What do you do?" - Frater Steven Mandel". Tau Kappa Epsilon.
  5. ↑ Atticus, Sam (May 19, 2022). "Steven Mandel [Engineer/Producer]". Speak Hertz. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  6. ↑ Schultz, Barbara (July 2014). "Elvis Costello and The Roots Record 'Wise Up Ghost'". Electronic Musician. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  7. ↑ "RSD Drops 2020: Mike Watt + The Secondmen - In Quintessence". Record Store Day. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  8. ↑ Bowden, Marshall (March 9, 2021). "Steve Mandel & The Roots' Squeeze Tribute Album". New Directions in Music. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ Lane, Lexi (February 3, 2022). "Questlove Launches New Season Of 'Supreme' Podcast". U Discover Music. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
  10. ↑ Adams, Sam (July 5, 2017). "Elvis Costello Celebrated an Uncertain Independence Day by Covering Paul Simon's "American Tune"". Slate. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.