Nine-piece psych pop collective Mandrake Handshake have shared their debut single 'Mandragora' in full.
The band formed at Oxford University, turning their historic surroundings into an underground lysergic network.
Jamming for hours on end, Mandrake Handshake melt together Syd Barrett psychedelia alongside more modern touchstones – think Tony Allen rhythms, Unknown Mortal Orchestra electronics and more.
Recorded at Press Play Studios in Bermondsey, new single 'Mandragora' is a shroom-tastic piece of third eye fare.
Wonderfully elongated, Mandrake Handshake use each note as a portal to another dimension, guided by ultra-head guru Andy Ramsey of Stereoland.
Say the band…
“We played the basis of this song first at a house party and were feeling pretty inspired by some of the funky riffs floating around…”
“We wanted to think about funk as it might exist in some sort of psychedelic dystopia. These experimentations resulted in an introductory song to the mandrake: a plant root thought to look like a human that folklore states would produce a deathly scream if uprooted. The root has hallucinogenic and narcotic properties, and has been used in magic rituals and pagan traditions. Mandragora warmly invites you to shake her hand”.
Check it out below.
Photo Credit: Jason Warner
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