The heat of the summer comes to life in Milan Ring’s “Mangos,” a sweet, love-soaked seduction full of lust and longing, sleek, juicy melodies and soul-stirring vocals.
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Stream: “Mangos” – Milan Ring
Milan Ring is in the mood – and she’s spreading her love far and wide through a song brimming with raw desire and sensual passion.
The heat of the summer comes to life in “Mangos,” a sweet, love-soaked seduction full of lust and longing, sleek, juicy melodies and soul-stirring vocals. It’s a spellbinding surrender to carnal connection; Milan Ring basks in the glow of her lover’s light, diving headfirst into a moment of intimacy and celebrating that special moment when two become one.
Something about the summer brings out the appetite in all of us, and between its deep grooves and smoldering sonics, “Mangos” is the succulent fruit that keeps on giving.
I want to see you in the summertime
I want to see you there, by and by
We’ll be glistening in the warming light
I want to take all of your private time
I will receive you with a quiet eye
When we wake up in the middle of the night
You’ll be wanting the full assignment
For your dreams to come true in the wildest ways
You’ll be feeling at your most vibrant
Released November 9 via Astral People Recordings / [PIAS], “Mangos” is the long-awaited, highly-anticipated follow-up to Milan Ring’s critically acclaimed debut album, I’m Feeling Hopeful. The Sydney-based artist and producer sheds all pretense as she welcomes in the hot months (Australia’s summer officially begins on December 1st) with an intoxicating song that’s just as hot – and heavy.
Urgent drums pulse with intent and a guzheng (Chinese harp) rings out with delicate grace as Ring crafts a breathtaking R&B enchantment. “I want to take all of your private time,” she sings hot on the mic, her voice a sweaty beacon of attraction and hunger. “I will receive you with a quiet eye when we wake up in the middle of the night,” she asserts. “You’ll be wanting the full assignment, for your dreams to come true in the wildest ways…“
She comes to a climax in a cathartic and all-consuming chorus:
I want to see you
See you next summer
And I will give it all to you
I want to… I want to… I want to…
It’s been just shy of two years since the release of Milan Ring’s debut album, I’m Feeling Hopeful – itself the culmination of seven long years’ worth of hustling and hard work, most of it spent as a completely independent artist (she signed with Australian indie label Astral People in 2020). Conceptualized, written, and recorded in the midst of 2020’s COVID-19 lockdowns, I’m Feeling Hopeful is (and remains) a finessed melting pot of breathtaking, sweeping sounds, affecting lyrics, and bold performance.
“Bridging the intimate and the cinematic, Ring’s debut album is as charming as it is charged: A beautifully stunning marriage of smoldering R&B and raw emotion,” Atwood Magazine wrote in our artist feature at the time. “Ring’s soul spills out of these fourteen tracks that capture her lived experience and personal perspective on topics ranging from purpose, to love, to life itself.”
For Ring, her first album was an endeavor of the mind, body, and spirit. “I knew the feeling, the textures, the themes and the purpose. I knew I wanted to speak directly to mental health and addiction, themes of love (for others and for the self), relationships, control, freedom, the critical mind, depression and desires from many different perspectives, all born from my observations of the world around me and the world within.”
This time around – with “Mangos” and all the songs that will follow it – Ring opted for a lighter and more playful approach.
“This is a good introduction to the next wave of music I have been working on,” she shares. “I was in a different space from album one, which I worked on during COVID lockdown in my warehouse studio and was mostly about mental health and whatnot, to working from my little sunny apartment studio post-lockdown, and I just felt like creating something not that deep.”
Follow where you go
Travel ‘cross the globe
Just go with the flow
All the tales told, on the table roll
When the day gets old
See my man goes
where the mangos always fruit
Salty air hits my tongue
Only speak the truth
The goal for “Mangos” was to get lost in the allure of a summer love affair: A space where ecstasy and euphoria merge into one, and where bodies melt together with weightless warmth and wonder. Ring achieved this in her writing, in her performance, and in her production – which includes shiver-inducing pitch-shifted vocals and work with the guzheng, a musical representation of her Chinese heritage.
Well I can’t hear the gloom
I can’t see the roof
Bodies speaking to the moon
When we make love in the middle of the night
“‘Mangos’ started from an instrumental, drumless sample that 18YOMAN and I had created together,” Ring explains. “Then, when I was away on a little solo summer retreat in Australia, I produced the beat, added in the Guzheng, the guitars and the rest of the song unfolded very quickly.”
“[It’s] simply about a summertime romance, having zero cares, traveling the world, losing track of time, making love, glistening in the sunlight, long walks on the beach…” she laughs. “You can see where my head was at after two years of COVID lockdown!”
Even when she’s “not that deep,” we can still feel the depth of Milan Ring’s artistry – not to mention her pure, unfiltered and untethered passion – resonating deep in our bones. Atwood Magazine briefly caught up with the Australian artist to chat about her latest single. Squeeze some sweet juice out of “Mangos” and stay tuned for much more to come from Milan Ring in the months ahead!
We promise: When it comes to Milan Ring’s music, you’ll be wanting the full assignment.
You’ll be wanting the full assignment
For your dreams to come true in the wildest ways
You’ll be feeling at your most vibrant
I want to see you
See you next summer
And I will give it all to you
I want to… I want to… I want to
Stream: “Mangos” – Milan Ring
A CONVERSATION WITH MILAN RING
Atwood Magazine: Milan Ring, can you share a little about the story behind the lyrics? What's this song about, for you?
Milan Ring: “Mangos” is simply about a summertime romance, having zero cares, traveling the world, losing track of time, making love, glistening in the sunlight, long walks on the beach…. haha, you can see where my head was at after two years of COVID lockdown!
What inspired you to make your “return” following I’m Feeling Hopeful with this song?
Milan Ring: For me, this is a good introduction to the next wave of music I have been working on, which is a lot lighter and more playful than my debut album. I was in a different space from album one, which I worked on during COVID lockdown in my warehouse studio and was mostly about mental health and whatnot, to working from my little sunny apartment studio post-lockdown, and I just felt like creating something not that deep.
For our readers who are just discovering you now, what do you want them to know most about you and your music?
Milan Ring: I suppose that I produce and mix all of my music!
Why the title “Mangos”?
Milan Ring: “See my man goes where the mangos always fruit.” I just had that lyric and the name “mangos” stuck – and nothing really depicts summer like a mango!
“I want to see you, see you next summer, and I will give it all to you,” you sing in the chorus. It's such a cathartic and seductive release; can you talk about this emotional climax and what it conveys, to you?
Milan Ring: The hook is just about longing for this someone and when you see them you’ll be ready to surrender yourself, mentally/emotionally of course, or I’ll just let you use your imagination there.
What can you tell us about that title lyric, “See my man goes where the mangos always fruit”?
Milan Ring: It’s not particularly deep [laughs], just that said man chases the summer!
I’m enchanted by your use of the guzheng! What inspired you to incorporate that beautiful instrument into this song?
Milan Ring: I remember my Grandma told me she used to play one in school and I just love the sound of it!
Is that you yourself playing the guzheng, and did you have to teach yourself the instrument? How did that recording come about?
Milan Ring: It is a MIDI instrument by Kontakt! Haha so I did teach myself, using the Ableton push to control.
Are mangos your favorite fruit?
Milan Ring: Yes, but too many favourite fruits – nashi pears, lychees, papayas and passionfruit – are up there also!
What do you hope listeners take away from “Mangos”?
Milan Ring: I hope they feel the summer breeze hitting their cheeks whilst they tuck into a cold cheek of a mango – or lover! [winks]
How would you say this next chapter of Milan Ring differs from your last one?
Milan Ring: I think this is a more playful less serious chapter in some ways, and I have been more experimental with my production and just not overthinking things so much!
What most excites you about getting all this new music – “Mangos” and whatever else you have in store for us – out in the world?
Milan Ring: Getting to play the new music live for sure!
What can Milan Ring fans look forward to in the months to come, as relates to you and your music?
Milan Ring: More music, more shows and different shows and formats. And more new Creative Direction in my visuals and things, I have been having alot of fun with!
In the interest of paying it forward, who are you listening to these days, that you would recommend to our readers?
Milan Ring: This changes every day, but today I was listening to Alabaster Deplume and Sudan Archives.
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Stream: “Mangos” – Milan Ring
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