K Lorrel Manning's Lost... Found Mixtape

In Lost... Found, K. Lorrel Manning shares an autobiographical story about the catharsis of the truth and using art to heal. Here, the performer puts together a mixtape of songs that have soundtracked important moments and periods in his life.

Prince – Let’s Go Crazy (Special Dance Mix)

Prince is my favourite music artist of all time. When you see my show, Lost…Found, you will understand why. There’s simply no one better. (Don’t argue with me – you’ll lose. LOL!). He released 39 studio albums while he was alive, and there’s apparently thousands of songs still in the vault! This is not even my favorite song of his. There are dozens that are far better, but this song (particularly, this version) is a shot of adrenaline. Prince rocks out, gets super funky, then rocks out again. Absolute perfection!

David Bowie – Moonage Daydream

Bowie is my second favourite music artist of all time. To me, this is his best tune. Just unbelievably gorgeous. The perfect escape song. Whenever I listen to it, I just zone out, and go to outer space. When it ends, I always shake my head in wonder – “How in the hell did he do that?”

Aretha Franklin – Wholy Holy

Church was a huge part of my upbringing. This song instantly brings back memories of being dragged by my Mom to church and various gospel concerts. I hated the preaching, but I loved the music! Aretha is at her artistic peak on this album, Amazing Grace. The accompanying film (which was only released a few years ago), is one of the greatest concert films ever made. I cry every time I view it.

Stevie Wonder – I Wish

My aunt had this album, and she played it often. Whenever this song came on, and Stevie sang the lyric about being “a little nappy-headed boy,” my cousins would laugh and point at me. Thus, I hated the song for a long, long time. But as I got older, I was able to appreciate what a masterpiece the album Songs in The Key of Life is. My hatred for his song simply melted away. It’s killer!

Alan O'Day – Undercover Angel

My parents had a really impressive record collection when I was growing up. Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Chaka Khan, Johnny Mathis, Shirley Bassey, and hundreds of others were all part of my musical coming of age. 'Undercover Angel' was my first official favorite song – a song I discovered on my own. My Mom and I would sing it together whenever it came on the radio. It was the first record that she ever bought specifically for me, and I treasured it like a piece of gold.

Donna Summer – Last Dance

I’ve been a Donna Summer fan since I was a little kid. She’s the first person I fell in love with. Her discography is terribly underrated. She had dozens of great songs during her iconic career. This is one! So beautiful and cinematic. Never gets old.

Madonna – Into the Groove

One of my all-time favourite songs. Regardless of the mood I’m in, it always puts a smile on my face. My mom passed away in 2021. I was in a daze for the first 24 hours. The next day, I went for a long drive. I put this song on, and I was suddenly at peace – I instantly knew that she was in a better place.   

LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum

I love to dance, and I love being a goofball. This song brings out the dancing goofball in me.  It’s my favourite song to dance to, second only to Madonna’s 'Into the Groove'. While writing my show, I would often put this on to lift my mood after revisiting some of the darker periods of my life. The lyrics are incredibly witty. You can’t help but to laugh, dance, and let it all GO.

Tool – Parabola

Whenever I sit down to write for an extended period of time – a play, screenplay, or even several emails – music is always on. I’ll often pick an artist (or several) and play their entire discography from top to bottom. Prince, David Bowie, Radiohead and P.J. Harvey are frequent choices. But I when I sat down to write Lost…Found, none of them worked! It took me awhile to find the right music to put me in writing mode. John Coltrane and Tool ended up being the perfect soundtrack. Who knew?

Kendrick Lamar – i (single version)

I didn’t understand the hate this song received when it was first released. I had the opposite reaction – I was absolutely floored by it. The refrain “I love myself” really spoke to me and still does to this day. “I love myself” – It’s the perfect message for the ending of my show. It took me a long, long time to get here.