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We first met electro-pop vocalist and musician Amanda Warner (aka MNDR) a few years ago when she joined super producer Mark Ronson in the Greene Space to perform their co-write “Bang Bang Bang.” Then, we quickly invited her back to the studio with her own hooky EP, E.P.E. Now, Warner (and producer Peter Wade) are set to release their debut full length, called Feed Me Diamonds.

The album (out on August 14th) is mostly an uptempo affair – all except the title track. “Feed Me Diamonds” moves at a slower, darker pace, and shines the spotlight on Warner’s voice. I asked her to tell me more about the song, which was inspired by the performance artist Marina Abramovic:

Marina Abramovic tests the limits of her audience, her body, and her mind. She has been an influence of mine throughout all of my performance art/multi-media groups and music. I am interested in exploring what makes people uneasy in performance and that relationship between reception and performance in a pop framework.

“Feed Me Diamonds”...is solely inspired by a claim that Marina herself made about her father's death. She claimed that he was murdered by being fed finely ground diamonds which eventually caused internal bleeding in the G.I. tract. This was also a way that monarchs were overthrown: slowly being fed diamonds over a period of time until they eventually bled out.

With all of the themes on the album: love, loss, pain, ecstasy, politics, injustice, and emotions, Marina Abramovic inspired everything to come together.....Humbly speaking of course.

We humbly suggest that if you listen to one song today, make it “Feed Me Diamonds.” Have time for two? Check out the MNDR track “Faster Horses” after.