Formed 2012

Mammal Hands formed in Norwich in 2012 when brothers Jordan Smart on saxophone and Nick Smart on piano, who had been working as an electronica duo, met drummer and tabla player Jesse Barrett. Nick Blacka of GoGo Penguin heard them at the Mostly Jazz Funk and Soul Festival in Birmingham in 2013 and recommended them to Matthew Halsall, who produced their debut "Animalia" and released it on Gondwana Records in 2014. Their bassless piano trio format, with Barrett's tabla and bowed vibraphone adding timbral variety, produces music that is simultaneously quieter and denser than a standard jazz trio: the group favours collective composition over individual solos and developed their sound through extended improvised rehearsals rather than through a jazz scene. They name Pharoah Sanders, the Ethiopian saxophonist Gétachèw Mekurya, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Sirishkumar Manji among their primary influences. "Floa" (Gondwana, 2016) and "Shadow Work" (Gondwana, 2017) deepened the approach; "Captured Spirits" (Gondwana, 2020) moved further toward electronic textures; "Gift from the Trees" (Gondwana, 2023) introduced new drummer Rob Turner following Jesse Barrett's departure. "Circadia" (ACT Music, 2026), their sixth album, was their first for the German jazz label, described as exploring themes of time, rhythm and natural cycles. The group remains active and based in Norwich.