MNDR is the name of Amanda Warner's synth pop persona as well as her production and songwriting duo with
Peter Wade. As a child, Warner learned how to record music from her father on the four-track reel-to-reel he built in the basement of their farmhouse in Fargo, North Dakota, and taught herself how to program beats as a teenager. In college, she formed the electropop group Triangle, who released a pair of EPs and two albums during their years together.
After moving to New York City to become a songwriter in 2009, Warner met
Wade, a producer who had recently started his own label, WonderSound. Along with their collaboration, Warner also worked with
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, playing bass on their 2009 album,
It's Blitz!, and designing a touring keyboard setup for the band.
Wade and Warner released
MNDR's debut single, "C.L.U.B.," in March 2009, and their first EP, E.P.E., arrived on WonderSound a year later. Also in 2010, Warner appeared on "Bang Bang Bang," the lead single from
Mark Ronson's third album, Record Collection, and toured with him for a year. After signing to Ultra Records in 2011,
MNDR released the Patty Hearst-inspired single "#1 in Heaven" and the debut album
Feed Me Diamonds in 2012. That year,
MNDR toured with
Duran Duran, sparking a relationship that led to
Wade remixing "Beautiful Clothes" by
Duran Duran spinoff
TV Mania in 2013 and Warner filling in for keyboardist
Nick Rhodes during part of the band's U.S. tour for the
Paper Gods album in 2016.
During this time,
MNDR collaborated with many artists, including
RAC and
Kele on the 2013 single "Let Go," and
Sweet Valley on their 2015 EP
Dance 4 a Dollar.
MNDR also appeared on
Michna's 2015 track "Solid Gold" and on
Flume's "Like Water" from his Grammy-winning album
Skin, and worked with Jai Wolf,
Charli XCX, and
AlunaGeorge, among others.
MNDR remained prolific in 2017, reuniting with
RAC and collaborating with
Martin Solveig and Oliver. That June,
MNDR and
Scissor Sisters released the single "SWERLK," which commemorated the one-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre and benefited the Contigo Fund, a Central Florida LGBTQ and Latinx organization. ~ Heather Phares