Mandrake Handshake

“Funk-filled psychedelic-leaning bop” DIY

“A cyclonic tour de force” The Line Of Best Fit

“If Mandrake Handshake keep planting stars, a universal shift is imminent” So Young Magazine

“New Banger” NME

"Ushering in a new era" Dork

“Skittering rhythms, bloopy synths and psychedelic harmonies” The Independent

“Mandrake Handshake melt together Syd Barrett psychedelia alongside more modern touchstones – think Tony Allen rhythms, Unknown Mortal Orchestra electronics and more” Clash

“Time slowing sensation” I Paper

"Delicious... I just want to take a bite out of it" Deb Grant (BBC 6 Music)

Mandrake Handshake share mesmeric new effort ‘King Cnut’, out today (17th September) via cult indie label Tip Top Recordings (Japanese Television)

Marking the follow-up to acclaimed summer single ‘Charlie’s Comet’, the band’s latest single sees them build further on their sonic brand of ‘Flowerkraut’: a hedonistic, brain-frying feast of krautrock, art-pop and psychedelia, following a busy run of festival appearances which included headlining the BBC Introducing stage at Truck Festival (as holders of Introducing Oxford/Buckinghamshire’s ‘Act of the Year’)

Varying anywhere between 7-10 members - including a dedicated, flamboyant tambourine shaker - their pristine, multi-limbed spectacle of a live show has journeyed up and down the UK and EU in recent times. With multiple headline tours to their name, including a sold-out show at London’s iconic 100 Club earlier this year, the group have already ticked off slots at the likes of Wide Awake, Green Man and Manchester Psych Fest, as well as shows with psych-figureheads W.H Lung, Pale Blue Eyes, Triptides and Sugar Candy Mountain, and will embark on a UK tour supporting Del Amitri in December as their profile continues to soar.

With two critically acclaimed EPs already to their name - ‘Shake The Hand That Feeds You’ (released via Nice Swan Records) and ‘The Triple Point of Water’ - Mandrake Handshake’s long list of press champions includes The Independent, The i, NME, Loud & Quiet, Dork, DIY, So Young, The Line Of Best Fit, Rough Trade, Clash, Crack and Guitar World, as well as extensive BBC 6 Music (Deb Grant, Don Letts, Gideon Coe) and Radio X (John Kennedy) airplay.

Detailing their latest track, the band explained: “It is fabled that 10th/11th Century ruler King Cnut tested his power by setting his throne on the shore and attempting to push back the incoming tides. Of course, the waters ignored his commands and continued to rise around his feet. “Let all the world know that the power of kings is empty and worthless!”, cried the king.

Much like our humbled Dane, this track was written while feeling beaten by the tides of fortune: broke, stuck indoors, with nothing much to do besides curse spiteful demagogues and pine for redemption.”

Produced by Dom Kirtley (Talk Show, Teeth Machine) and Row Janjuah, Mandrake Handshake’s ‘King Cnut’ is out now via Tip Top Recordings and available on all digital platforms.

Mandrake Handshake is Row Janjuah (lead guitar/vocals), Trinity Oksana (lead vocals), Elvis Thirlwell (percussion), Joe Bourdier (drums), Rudy Mae Symonds (backing vocals), David Howard-Baker (saxophone/flute/keys), Moogieman (modular synth/keys), Scott Custis (rhythm guitar), Charlie Arrowsmith (rhythm guitar/comet), Jake Kavanagh (bass)