Consisting of saxophonist Jordan Smart, pianist Nick Smart and drummer and tabla player Jesse Barrett, Mammal Hands have forged a growing reputation for their hypnotic fusion of jazz and electronica over the past eight years. Ahead of the release of their highly anticipated fourth album 'Captured Spirits' and their 'Circulation' mix for Mezzanine, Neil Housego caught up with the trio to discuss the mixtape, being transported back into your teens and tapping into the flow of creative energy.

Where are you based at the moment?

Jesse - We are now living between London and Norwich, with Nick and Jordan in London and me staying in Norwich.

Can you tell me a little about the concept behind the mix?

Nick - With this selection of tracks it was about trying to show the wide range of music that inspires us and that we enjoy. Many of the tracks are things we've loved listening to for years, others are newer discoveries.

Are there any tracks that are special to you from your selection and why?

Jesse - I think for me 'Dirt in the Ground' is a special one. It takes me right back to my teens in a really vivid way. And the message is resonant, and for me, it's a hopeful one.

Nick - The first track 'Linden Arden Stole the Highlights' is one my Dad introduced me to from the Veedon Fleece album, he played Van Morrison a lot around the house when we were growing up, and it's got this magical, mysterious quality to it.

With the imminent release of your fourth studio album, how have things changed since your debut?

Jesse - Things have changed a lot and also stayed the same. We're now all pretty well travelled full-time musicians, we've established a good audience in lots of territories, and we are well-practised at sound checks. There's so much change that happens as you grow. It's great to experience all the successes and challenges together. But it's all based on this relationship of playing as a trio and that sense of play is just like it was when we first started.

Did you have a listener in mind when you wrote this album? Or was it just stuff you needed to get out?

Jordan - We don't really write with anything specific in mind for a certain type of listener, it's more a process between the three of us that is always changing and evolving, and we explore it in different ways and with varying approaches. 

Do you consciously try and stay away from trend and fashion when it comes to creating? 

Jordan - It would be nice to think it doesn't factor, and we definitely don't try to consider staying close to or further away from trends or musical fashions. The music we are listening to will certainly filter through in our playing and composing but I don't think a lot of what we listen to could be described as trendy, to be honest.

Nick - Yeah we don't really consider changing our music to fit in with any kind of trends we see, we've worked at our collective voice for a long time so it doesn't really feel like something we could change to fit in with anything, it kind of has a life of its own.

There's a thread of Jungian themes that run through some of your work. How important is it for you as a band to explore a theme when generating ideas, improvising and writing together?

Jordan - The Jungian references come from his influence on my reading and thinking, and definitely in the interest of all three of us. This tends to come out in the track naming process and definitely through discussions of the themes referred to by track and album names. 

How does the writing process work between the three of you?

Nick - It's different depending on the track. Some tracks on the record came out of all of us improvising together and just focusing on a specific idea we liked that came out of it. A lot of the time, one of us will bring in a part, maybe a melody or progression, sometimes some harmony or a rhythmic idea and we'll all play around with the idea together until we hit on something that we're all into. Sometimes it feels obvious what path the music should take, other times it takes quite a lot of collective experimentation and trying out different ideas before we reach something that really excites all of us and often things can end up quite far from the original idea we started on! But it's a fun process and feels quite organic and instinctive, we don't have a formula we stick to or any set way of doing things, we just try and react intuitively to what we hear and play what feels right.

Does that translate into the production?

Jesse - We pretty much just follow our ears when it comes to mixing. George Atkins (80 Hertz) who has co-produced all of our albums definitely brings his own concepts around sound. He bounces off our writing and the way we play our instruments, and that carries through when we are all collaborating on the mixes. It's a very natural process much like the writing, where we just do what sounds right until we feel it's done.

Do you remember the first time you realised you could make a living from music?

Nick - The whole thing's been a steady, gradual process, so there wasn't a specific time when we realised that. We've always taken it really seriously and put all our effort in, regardless of how much money has come from the gigs or records.

How do you keep yourselves fresh and inspired?

Jesse - I don't know how it works, but I never feel like stopping or like I lack inspiration. So much inspires me every day that it feels impossible not to work in some form every day. I guess it's all energy flowing all the time and it can't stop because that's not in its nature.

What's it like working with Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Records?

Jesse - Really good, we've been incredibly lucky to build such a healthy relationship with our label, they are about as supportive and helpful as you could hope for really. We've had a few differences of opinion over the years but come through those challenges for the better.

What does success look like for you guys?

Jordan - I think to be able to continue doing what we do together and being lucky enough to grow and expand our audience while staying healthy and connected as musicians and friends.

Who do you find exciting in contemporary jazz or music in general at the moment?

Nick - A few things we've been enjoying recently would be Alabaster Deplume’s newest instrumental album, Aiden O'Rourke and Kit Downes, Nik Bartsch's records on ECM, Paradise Cinema, Lawrence Pike, Group Listening, Van Morrison, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, The Bad Plus, Haruka Nakamura, Lau, Joe Henderson, Elliott Smith, Tom Waits. There's more, but it's too many to mention!

Do you ever think about the visual element of your music while you're making it? Album art, videos, etc.?

Nick - To be honest, when we're writing together we just try and get immersed in the mood of the track we're working on and don't really think about visual elements much at the start. The music usually goes through a process where we improvise around an idea and explore different ways to elaborate on a mood or theme that we start with. Once we've gathered all the materials and refined them, we start to organise them into a structure, and that's usually the point where any ideas for videos or artwork concepts might come in.

What's on the horizon for you?

Jordan - I think everybody's futures are up in the air at the moment, and with the music industry, it's pretty impossible to predict what may happen this or next year. However, we will do our best to get out and play our new music to people, and to continue writing together towards future releases. I think music is more important to keep us connected, creative and inspired in difficult times like this.

‘Captured Spirits’ by Mammal Hands will be released on 11th September on Gondwana Records.

You can listen to their ‘Circulation’ mix below: