The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara

The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara (TCOMAS) – London based duo pioneering a new realm of sound where poetry and the spoken word meets electronic and rock. Formed in late 2019 by members Andrea Papi (Manimal) and Daphne Ang (Samara).

Their debut single “Atoms”, released on the 31st of July 2020, forms part of an album of 11 tracks lasting over 67 minutes. The album [“Full Spectrum”] was composed, written, recorded, mixed and mastered independently between February and June 2020 during the London lockdown.

Their music defies the rigid categorisation of musical genres. In particular, their sound integrates the literary (poetic and dramatic) with the musical to create a sonic space where electronic and rock coexist. Spoken passages alternated with lyrical poetry form the central element of the vocal component.

Their musical innovations are a result of a collaborative process beginning with the composition and arrangement of the music, which Samara then casts into verbal form. By setting a poetic/narrative text within the musical composition in lyric mode which is spoken, recited and narrated instead of sung, this inter-artistic mode of transfer goes beyond placing brief interludes of spoken word over an instrumental composition.

OUR ETHOS

“We believe that music should not only evoke thought and meaning, it should also provoke new inner experiences.”
"We aim to unite the disparate worlds of music by integrating the literary (poetic and dramatic) with the musical, by melding poetry and the spoken word into a sonic space where electronic and rock coexist."

“I realised that there was a unity between very divergent worlds of rock and electronic. So I decided to experiment with progressive music combining elements of metal, techno and ambient.”- MANIMAL

“I wanted for us to go beyond merely just placing brief interludes of spoken word over an instrumental composition. Instead, the aim was to set a poetic text within the musical composition in lyric mode - which is spoken, recited and narrated instead of sung - much like in ancient Greek theatre.”- SAMARA
OUR PROCESS

“We seek to create music that communicates and connects on a philosophical level as well as affecting the unconscious.”
Our collaborative process begins with Manimal composing and arranging the music, which Samara then casts into verbal form.
"The magic happened when Manimal suggested that I should recite some of my poems on top of an instrumental track that he had composed. When I spoke the verses out loud, the stanzas of my poem fit snugly into the music at the very first take. This was when we realised that we had found our ‘sound’ - through the performance of words with music.”- SAMARA
“My poems and writings have truly found structure and full form in our sound. It is through the music that I found my ‘voice’. I decided that, in order to fully evoke the meaning imbued in the music, the vocals would need to be spoken instead of sung.” - SAMARA

WHO WE ARE

“In a metaphysical sense, our music is a sonic experience of the synergy and symbiosis between our psyches.”

Manimal is in charge of composing the music, he uses both musical (keyboard, electric guitar and bass) and digital instruments. Samara provides the vocals and crafts the spoken lyrics. She also plays the keyboard.
Manimal found Samara in a dark corner at The Worlds End and became captivated when he found out that Samara loved death metal and techno and that her favourite band was Slayer. Finding a connection in each other's diverse musical interests, we decided to take things a step further when chemistry sparked during a cooking/jamming session in Samara’s kitchen in late 2019.

Our collaboration extends beyond the musical - when we don't play music, we paint together under the name of ELKYMY. Some of our works are currently exhibited here. In both music and painting, we aim to create works that would reflect both our different styles and individuality, while also encapsulating the synergy and symbiosis between us.

We originally created The Chronicles of Manimal and Samara as a manga comic series that tells the tale of a schoolgirl who runs away into the jungle in order to escape from the modern world. All grown up but alone in the wilderness, she discovers someone who would change the course of her life forever... We created and developed these two weird and wonderful characters first as comic illustrations, which we then later adopted as our band’s visual identity.