Mandrake Handshake

Glasshouse proudly presents ‘The Triple Point of Water', the second EP from multi-dimensional nine-piece spectaculars, Mandrake Handshake.

Forming in the Autumn of 2018, and now based in London, Mandrake released their glistening debut EP in collaboration with Nice Swan Records in 2021, followed by reinforcing their status as an exaltant live prospect since the reintroduction of gigs post-lockdown. First packing out fields at Wide Awake Festival, then rattling church vaults at Rotterdam’s Left of the Dial, the crown in the Mandrake jewels was a rapturous set at Green Man Festival '22, delivered to a brimming far out tent. There were also nationwide headline tours in the spring of 2022, including sell-outs in London, Manchester and Oxford, where the group first formed, with more shows expected before the year closes out.

Indicative of the self-honed style they dub ‘Flowerkraut’, ‘The Triple Point of Water’ unleashes a hedonistic brain-frying feast of krautrock, art-pop and psychedelia, spiced with enigmatic grooves and fearless improvisations. Riff-shredding odes to anime ninjas tussle seamlessly with psych-pop romances on the complexities of human love. Suspenseful french-noir fuckeries explode into triumphant motorik propulsions about toppling-fascism and aggressive, counter-pressing football. Incorporating the expansive range of influences the group have absorbed in the last eighteen months, as well as their new-found penchant for spur-of-the-moment jams - both in the writing process and in their live set - ‘The Triple Point of Water’ provides the Mandrake’s most definitive statement on record yet. 

“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

“An intoxicating proposition that has to be heard to be believed” Dork

“Skittering rhythms, bloody 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

“An experimental collective shimmering some of the most fluid, and hypnotising psychedelics in funk-rock music right now” Gigwise

“Time slowing sensation” I Paper

“Psych goodness…as if it’s guiding you into a grotto where a secret underground party is going on” Beats Per Minute

Thriving psych-collective Mandrake Handshake share vivacious new effort ‘Vitamin Sunday’, the second reveal from the group’s brand new EP ‘The Triple Point Of Water’ (pre-order here), out today (November 18th) via Glasshouse Records (For Breakfast, Burden Limbs, Christina Lopez).

Originally formed in Oxford, the now London-based group were christened after a song by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, incorporating their influences of krautrock, funk, Japanese animation and Latin pastoral poetry to create a unique brand of ‘Flowerkraut’ that certainly defines their sound.

The follow-up to debut EP ‘Shake The Hand That Feeds You’, released last year via Nice Swan Records (Pip Blom, English Teacher, Opus Kink), ‘The Triple Point Of Water’ marks a significant development in the band’s self-honed style of ‘Flowerkraut’. The triptych unleashes a hedonistic brain-frying feast of Krautrock, art-pop and psychedelia, spiced with enigmatic grooves and fearless improvisations. Riff-shredding odes to fictional ninjas tussle seamlessly with psych-pop romances on the complexities of human love. Suspenseful french-noir experimentation explodes into triumphant motorik’ing propulsions about toppling-fascism and aggressive, counter-pressing football.

Detailing their newest track, Mandrake revealed: “It’s about moving to London, and feeling lonely there. It’s about accepting the alienation of adult life: when your friends grow up, they start doing their own thing, and it doesn’t necessarily line up with where you are and where you're going. People might leave you, but not from your sense of self. You can lose a friend, but they’re still shaping who you are and how you act, and that’s a nice way of holding onto people”.

With widespread acclaim already from countless key indie press titans (NME, NPR, The Independent, DIY, The Line Of Best Fit, Dork, So Young, Clash, Loud & Quiet, Rough Trade, Gigwise), and several BBC Radio 1 (Jack Saunders) spins behind them, the psych risers’ formidable ascent shows no signs of slowing down.

Following a string of memorable festival shows at the likes of Green Man, Wide Awake and Left Of The Dial over the summer months, Mandrake Handshake’s live plans continue this autumn with an EP launch party show at London’s Paper Dress Vintage on November 19th, preceded by a support slot with W.H. Lung at the iconic Village Underground. 

Mandrake Handshake’s ‘Vitamin Sunday’ (single) is out now via Glasshouse Records and available on all digital platforms.

Mandrake Handshake is Row Janjuah (guitar), Trinity Oksana (vocals), Elvis Thirlwell (percussion), Eva Mae Symonds (backing vocals), Charlie Arrowsmith (guitar), Jake Kavanagh (bass), Shan Sriharan (synth), David Howard-Baker (organ), Joe Bourdier (drums)