Mammal Hands

The horn almost seems to float over minimalistic, percussive piano patterns and trance-like beats, especially when Jordan Smart picks up his saxophone and his catchy melodies weave themselves through the propelling underground. Enjoy Jazz visitors like to describe Mammal Hands’ music with GoGo Penguin – post rock jazz, a sound that scurries between the genres, grabbing a hold of both indie listeners and jazz aficionados. Mammal Hands take this undefined game pretty far: they have a preference for ritual, shamanic music and African and Arabic rhythm structures which meet minimal music that is already eclectic per se. Some critics are reminded of Alice Coltrane’s spiritual sound worlds as well as of Pharoah Sanders’ expressive tone. This unusual merging of different influences definitely creates an appealing undertow. Mammal Hands’ approach is more that of electronic dance floor tinkerers than that of virtuous classic jazzers. The brothers Nick und Jordan Smart do actually come from the electronic music cosmos, and considerably expanded it when they met drummer Jesse Barrett in 2012. The bassless trio released its debut “Animalia” in 2014 on the Gondwana label, and then “Floa” on the same label last year. The titles stands for the flow that the band create with their hypnotic playing – and which they have already transferred to audiences at several renowned festivals.