Influences: Mammal Hands
Mammal Hands are a trio of like-minded musicians: Nick Smart (piano), Jesse Barrett (drums and percussion) and Jordan Smart (saxophone). Together, they draw on influences from Steve Reich to Bonobo and Pharoah Sanders to The Cinematic Orchestra, alongside elements of North Indian and African music. Their own sound is at times wistful and melancholic and sometimes raucous, catchy and explosive, blending thoughtful compositions with spontaneity and interplay. Ahead of their show as part of the Borderless series taking place at the Battersea Arts Centre, the men pick a selection of influences which helped to form their inimitable style.
Mammal Hands play Borderless at the Battersea Arts Centre on 21st September 2016 and tickets can be found HERE. For full information on the Borderless series of shows look HERE.
Jordan: Me and Nick were really lucky to catch Gil Scott-Heron live in 2010, he held the main stage at Bestival with just a keyboard and his voice for a few tracks and his band were amazing too. This is one of our favourites from his final album.
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Gil Scott-Heron - 'Me And The Devil' (Official Hd Video)Jordan: Me and Nick were really lucky to catch Gil Scott-Heron live in 2010, he held the main stage at Bestival with just a keyboard and his voice for a few tracks and his band were amazing too. This is one of our favourites from his final album.
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Uday Bhawalkar Singing Dhrupad - Indian Classical MusicJesse: Dhrupad is the oldest style of North Indian classical music. The accompanying drum used in this piece is the Pakhawaj, the mother of the modern Tabla here played by Awad Pratap Balasaheb. I love the flow and delicate strength in this performance, with beautiful dialogue between vocals and drum.
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Nils Frahm - Toilet Brushes - More (Live In London)Nick: Nils Frahm is a huge influence for me, he is such a creative performer, always reinventing and improvising with his pieces and putting tons of energy into what he does, the amount of layers he is able to produce by himself is phenomenal.
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Christian Scott - The EraserJordan: Christian Scott is doing really interesting things for music and genre-bending at the moment, his records are always beautifully produced, especially this version of Thom Yorke’s The Eraser. Caught him at UberJazz last year and loved the show, his band was really carefully chosen and all the musicians were mind-blowing.
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Coope, Boyes & Simpson - Broken Hearted Among The Pines (Radio 2 Session)Jesse: Coope, Boyes & Simpson’s tribute to Nirvana. They are one of my favourite vocal groups. They are really forward thinking and seem to be open to creating without limiting themselves stylistically. They achieve an incredible tone that thickens as a group and it just sounds amazing.
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The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie DownNick: The Band are an inspiration for all of us and this performance is really special. Levon Helm really gives it everything on this one and how he can play drums and sing so well at the same time is beyond me.
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God Bless The Child - Eric DolphyJordan: I love this solo from Eric Dolphy, it really demonstrates what is possible with just one musical voice.
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Julie Fowlis With Jenna Reid & Donal Lunny - Biodh An Deoch Seo 'N Làimh Mo RùinJesse: I just really like this song. The filming and setting is great also.
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You Can Discover - John Martyn (1975)Nick: This song is beautifully sung by John here and the video shows him joking and messing about with Bob Harris before delivering a heart wrenching but serene performance only seconds later.
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Sirishkumar ManjiJesse: This is a short film of my Guru Sirishkumar Manji playing a blistering solo, he’s an absolute beast, a wonderful person, and i’m very lucky to have him as a mentor.
