Mammal Hands at Ropery Hall – October 2017

Sat 20th October 2017

Mammal Hands are a trio of like-minded musicians: Nick Smart piano, Jesse Barrett drums and tabla, and Jordan Smart saxophones. Signed to Matthew Halsall’s Gondwana Records they have carved out a growing following both here and abroad for their hypnotic fusion of jazz, folk and electronica: winning fans from Bonobo and Gilles Peterson to Jamie Cullum and they have been compared to both Portico Quartet and GoGo Penguin (who the group have toured with) for the way in which they navigate the choppy waters between contemporary dance music and jazz. Drawing on a rich well of influences from Sufi and shamanic African trance music, Irish and Eastern European folk music, to Steve Reich and Philip Glass and more contemporary electronica influences, their music is built around deceptively simple sounding ideas that are lent power through the use of repetition and rhythmic loops.