Lando Manning

“sweet and immersive folk-pop…one to keep a firm eye on for the months ahead” Mystic Sons

“genuine low-key and beautiful tunes” Clunk

“The fact the artist can conjure up such a range of sentiment within their arrangement, that’s a truly impressive skill” - Circuit Sweet

Accompanying the announcement of his sophomore EP Brighter Days - due 15th February via Mango Wax Records - South London Folk Artist Lando Manning shares the tranquil solemnity of the EP’s title track.

Written, recorded, and produced by Manning in Wiltshire in the autumn of 2022 - mixed by Miles Dee and mastered by Bobby Smyth (Hutch) - the deeply private ‘‘Brighter Days’ catches Manning at a crossroads between optimism and despair. Offering an ethereal two chord lullaby that drifts in through the sound of the rain, the track creates a regenerative, trance-like space, weighed down by its depressive foundation, yet lightened by a glimmering hopefulness for a future happiness, as the singer/songwriter himself examines:

"Brighter days is an affirmation of hope that through dark times there is light at the end of the tunnel. It was written during a really dark time in my life so it's holding onto hope that the bad experiences that I went through will eventually turn to better times."

The track offers the final teaser of a forthcoming EP of the same name due on 15th February. Released via Mango Wax Records - founded in 2023 by Manning himself alongside Tim Harper of cult Camberwell record shop Dash The Henge - Manning’s music finds himself at the heart of a growing folk-driven counter culture emerging from south London, championed by the likes of Oscar Browne, Lilo, Avice Caro and Tapir!

Performing in the past alongside the likes of Billie Marten, Jasmin Jethwa, Aoife Nessa Francis and Oracle Sisters, Manning released previous EP singles ‘Sugar in the Sun’ and ‘Driftwood’ last autumn, accompanied by acclaim from the likes of When The Horn Blows, Clunk, Various Small Flames, Mystic Sons, and Circuit Sweet.

To support the release of the EP, Manning performs a pair of dates with Buffalo Nichols this month, as well as a EP launch show at Avalon Cafe in Bermondsey on the day of its release, with support from Route 500 and Eva Lunny.

The simplest lessons are often among life’s most vital. For South London folk singer/songwriter Lando Manning, the creation of his latest EP Brighter Days was driven by the humble mantra that even during the bleakest of times, one must still believe that “things can only get better”, because often, they can. “I was in a really bad place when I wrote these songs and I was hoping that things would improve.”, Manning explains. ““there is light even in the dark parts of us; we only need to hold out for... Brighter Days.”

Written, recorded and produced entirely by Manning himself 2022 during an autumn retreat to Wiltshire in South West England, Brighter Days sees Manning delve deep into his psyche during his darkest moments to find the hopefulness shining through on the other side. If 2022’s debut EP Hip Shot reverberated with a brightened, psychedelic sheen and outwardly shone like a rising dawn, then this follow-up shuffles moodily like the dusk, hanging in the air like mist, as still and contemplative as Constable landscapes of gloomy British countrysides.