AMANDA MARTINEZ MAÑANA
New Album in Canadian Music Stores as of October 8, 2013
Produced by GRAMMY-Winner Javier Limón
Toronto Singer’s Newest CD Blends Latin pop, Mexican folk and Flamenco
Canadian Tour Dates Begin October 1, 2013
For Immediate Release – Toronto, ON, September 26, 2013: Mañana, the new
Latin/world recording by Canadian singer and songwriter Amanda Martínez, is a celebration
of hope, possibility -- and persistence.
Sung mostly in Spanish and co-produced by Spanish flamenco producer and guitarist Javier
Limón (Paco de Lucía, Buika, Diego El Cigala), winner of a GRAMMY® and two Latin GRAMMY®
awards, Mañana offers a fresh new twist to her distinctive sound, a blend of Latin pop, Mexican
folk music and flamenco with tinges of jazz and Afro-Cuban music. It’s Amanda’s first release in
the U.S and Mexico. The overall feel of Mañana is at once deeply personal and universal.
“Music is such a powerful force,” she says. “It can not only really change my mood but also give
me new perspectives on things. So what I’d like to bring to the listener is a sense of hope. Every
day is an opportunity to try something different and look at a challenge in a new way.”
For Amanda Martínez, these are not platitudes but a way of life. The daughter of a Mexican
father (an engineer) and a South African mother (a teacher), Amanda Martínez grew up in
Toronto, speaking English and Spanish, and listening to her father´s eclectic record collection,
which included classical music, Latin legends like Trio Los Panchos, bossa nova and jazz, including
Stan Getz and Cleo Laine.
Amanda graduated with a degree in Biology from the University of Western Ontario, then a
master’s degree in international business from York University’s Schulich School of Business,
specializing in marketing in Latin America. She was recruited right on campus by a major bank.
“On paper it seemed a great fit because I was going to look after their business in Latin America,”
she says. “But even in that first interview, something just didn’t feel right. I knew it was not me.”
She took time off from the bank and never went back. “I didn’t want to be 80 years old, looking
back and thinking what might have been.”
Since then, Amanda has recorded two albums -- Sola (2006) and Amor (2009) - which earned
her nominations as Latin Jazz Artist of the Year at Canada’s National Jazz Awards and won her
Best World Music Artist at Toronto’s Independent Music Awards. She also sang before
30,000 people at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa (appropriately before the MexicoSouth Africa match) and recorded and toured with Canadian guitarist Jesse Cook. Complementing
her work as a singer, Amanda also hosted Café Latino on Toronto’s JAZZFM91 for three
years, and also worked in film and television.
Mañana is “a long time coming,” she says. After hearing several productions by Javier Limón
she knew she wanted to work with him. Everything was set for the recording until Amanda found
out she was expecting twins and put on bed rest. Undeterred, Amanda was literally back on her
feet and into the studio soon after the birth of Oliver and Sofia in 2012.
All but two of the songs on Mañana are originals by Amanda, including collaborations with Javier
Limón, Latin GRAMMY-winner Fernando Osorio and Elsten Torres. Highlights include the
opening “Va y Viene,” which tells a border love story; Amanda´s dark “Frozen,” sung in
English; the positivity anthem “Esperanza Viva,” the hopeful “Nuevos Caminos” and the title
track. There is also a change of pace with “Le Chemin,” a gentle, Beatles-esque lullaby written by
Amanda and husband Drew Birston, the bass player in the band, and sung in English and
French.
Amanda says she didn’t think about one over-arching theme for the album beforehand. “It was
only afterwards that I realized that a lot of the songs talk in some way about hope and what a new
day can bring. That’s why I decided to call the record Mañana. Tomorrow is a new chance to start
over again.”
Canadian Tour Dates:
October 1 at Noon, First Canadian Place, Toronto ON
October 4, Chester Playhouse, Chester NS
October 5, King’s Theatre, Annapolis NS
October 6, Capitol Theatre, Moncton NB
October 25, Conrad Centre for Performing Arts, Kitchener ON
November 16, Ontario Contact, Kitchener ON
November 21, L’Astral, Montreal QC
November 28, Aeolian Hall, London ON
To listen to Mañana, download photos and lyrics go to
http://amandamartinez.ca/manana
MEDIA CONTACT/English Canada:
Francine Labelle/flINK
(416) 654-4406
[email protected]