Mana Contractor is a vocalist, composer, and educator based in Oakland, California. Her work lives at the intersection of music, storytelling, and cultural memory—rooted in the traditions she was raised with and shaped by the communities she has grown into.

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Her artistic vision lives at the crossroads of improvisation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to original work. She creates music that weaves together jazz, Hindustani classical, neo-soul, funk, and experimental electronic textures—languages she speaks both fluently and playfully. Mana is especially drawn to the voice: not only as a melodic instrument, but as a sculptural, technological, and emotional tool that can shift form in real time. Across projects, she explores themes of belonging, home, memory, joy, and reinvention.

Trained in Hindustani classical music under Aditi Upadhyaya, Mana has developed a genre-defying vocal style that draws from jazz, R&B, Persian and Carnatic classical music, and experimental electronics. Her formative studies at the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in India laid the foundation for her globally conscious sound. There, she collaborated with Fulbright Scholar Alex Pinto on The All India Permit, a project fusing Carnatic forms with jazz improvisation. Mana’s work has been shaped by mentorships with artists including Magos Herrera, Raphaëlle Brochet, Meltem Ege, Jacqueline Bobak, Larry Koonse, Karina Colis, and Carolina Calvache

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Mana is the founder, composer, and lead vocalist of Malli—an Oakland-based interdisciplinary project exploring the idea of home through the lens of migration, memory, and transformation. Named after the jasmine flower in Kannada, Malli weaves stories from immigrant experiences into deeply lyrical, emotionally expansive compositions.

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In addition to Malli, Mana is the lead singer of the neo-soul quartet Lace, one half of the experimental electronic duo NMND, and a member of the jazz ensemble Tea for Two. Her performances span intimate listening rooms and large-scale venues across the United States and India, including The Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), The Troubadour(Los Angeles), Lillian Disney Dance Theater (Los Angeles), REDCAT (Los Angeles), and the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mehrangarh Fort for the Jodhpur RIFF Festival.

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As a studio and ensemble vocalist, Mana has recorded cast albums and performed in works by The Industry (Sweetland), David Lang (Crowd Out), and Juliet Palmer (Sweat). She was also named a 2024 NEO Voice Festival Fellow in recognition of her creative and experimental vocal practice.

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Through all of her projects, Mana remains committed to collaboration, access, and interdisciplinary exploration. Her work is as much about building community as it is about making music—a space where voice becomes vessel, and every story has room to be heard.