PBY - Mandrake Handshake’s ‘Flauerkraut’ Defeats the Stereotype Psychedelia is a Boomers’ Affair

Returning with a record deal and new single ‘Gonkulator’, Mandrake Handshake’s Funk and Synth-infused Psychedelia is a 5/4 ode to joy and spirituality.

When a band comes knocking your door with an allegedly ‘psychedelic’ track, in 2020, you should have the right to be skeptical and be a bit nasty; like those bitter men in a mustard-stained ribbed white cotton vest and Slazenger tracksuit bottoms when door-to-door fundraisers in colourful tabards try to break in their mid-week evening quiet, even if for a good cause. 

Because Psychedelia, after all, is always a good cause and, just because it slipped out of fashion after we’ve all been bingeing on an overdose of Fuzz-something-named bands, it shouldn’t be dismissed. That is the case especially if Psychedelia is cleverly amalgamated with a plethora of inspirations ranging from Krautrock and cinematic Prog to Ethno-Funk and subtle Synth-Wave. 

That is exactly the case of Mandrake Handshake, whose sound is captured by their self-coined term ‘Flauerkraut’. If Cambridge with its pastoral references-imbued youth – which also counted a young Syd Barret among its initiates – kicked off the 1960s British psych season, it’s the other university town, Oxford, to bring us the latest offering in matter of Psychedelia with this exciting new project. 

Mandrake Handshake’s Psychedelia burst with joy and cross-genre influences. Photos by Lola Stephen

Mandrake Handshake are the latest band to join the roster of Nice Swan, a label that in recent years has been unearthing gems of contemporary British music. Labeling the band’s sound as British, though, would be drastically restrictive, as they burst with colourful enthusiasm and global influences.  

Described as a “3-minute party tune but swung in 5/4,” ‘Gonkulator’ is a lysergic trip that gets you on your feet while retaining a distinctive spirituality. Mandrake Handshake’s debut single is the band’s own ode to joy, with nods to the sophisticated contemporary Psychedelia of Skying-era Horrors and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, without losing the Syd Barret-esque side of the affair out of sight.  

Produced by Stereolab’s Andy Ramsay, ‘Gonkulator’ is out now on all digital streaming platforms via Nice Swan.