King Cnut

London-based outfit Mandrake Handshake has something like a psychadelic+ sound. Or as they call it themselves—flowerkraut. They probably owe as much to Stereolab as anyone else. In their song “Hypersonic Super-Asterid,” they actually use the phrase “metronomic underground," which is the first track from Stereolab’s Emperor Tomato Ketchup LP.

Their bandleader, Row Janjuah, acknowledges their influences in this interview with DIY.

You are what you eat in music — what I listen to influences every creative decision.

Mandrake Handshake take their name from a Brian Jonestown Massacre song, another clue into the music that drives them. Their overall aesthetic heavily references 70s sci-fi. The band is greater than the sum of its influences, though, weaving disparate threads into a cohesive whole.

The video for "King Cnut" leans into their psychedelic bent. You might even call it “trippy.”

Mandrake Handshake - King Cnut (YouTube)