Mandrake Handshake
Mandrake Handshake
Varying anywhere between 7-10 members - including a dedicated, flamboyant tambourine shaker - the band releasedtheir acclaimeddebut record ‘Earth-Sized Worlds’last year, unified by the thematic concept of ‘Welcome to Space Beach’, and drawing comparisons to Stereolab, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Mos Eisley Cantina Band, and Brazilian MPB. Gaining countless plaudits and rave reviews across the press landscape (The Times, The Independent, Uncut, Record Collector, Shindig!, Electronic Sound, NME, NPR, DIY, Loud & Quiet, Clash, Dork, The Line Of Best Fit, So Young, Wonderland), the group also landed a rapturously received KEXP sessionin February this year, in addition to repeated backing on the BBC 6 Music (Deb Grant, Nathan Shepherd, Don Letts, Gideon Coe, Radcliffe & Maconie)and Radio X (John Kennedy) airwaves.
With a pristine, multi-limbed spectacle of live show that has journeyed up and down the UK and EU, the outfit have enjoyed numerous festival appearances at the likes of Latitude, Green Man and Manchester/Brighton Psych Fest, as well as sold-out London headliners at No90 Hackney Wick, The 100 Club, the George Tavern, and the legendary Fabric Nightclubin November 2025.Now armed with a whole new collection of music to be released this winter, the band will be heading out on a run of European dates in the autumn - including a trip to Misty Fields Festival and a debut tour across France - with UK plansalso soon to be revealed.
“Skittering rhythms, bloopy synths and psychedelic harmonies”
The Independent
“Flamboyant collective...join the dots between Stereolab, King Gizzard and Mos Eisley Cantina Band ”
Uncut
“A sprawling, breezy update on free-psych with a modern avant-garde sparkle ”
Shindig!
“Continuing to breathe new life into the remnants of often overlooked sub-genres in a brain-frying madcappatchwork”
The Line Of Best Fit
“If Mandrake Handshake keep planting stars, a universal shift is imminent”
So Young Magazine
“Funk-filled psychedelic-leaning bop”
DIY
"Ushering in a new era...beautiful and intellectually engaging"
Dork
“Mandrake Handshake melt together Syd Barrett psychedelia alongside more modern touchstones – think Tony Allenrhythms, Unknown Mortal Orchestra electronics and more”
Clash
“Putting paid to the idea there are no longer any “real bands”, Mandrake Handshake deliver an exquisite nine-headedriposte to such nonsense”Electronic Sound“Free-wheeling psychedelic collective Mandrake Handshake are tapping into sounds from across the planet”
Wonderland
