The band’s sixth album, Circadia, marks a new stage of evolution in several ways: it is their first release on the ACT label, allowing them a new quality of visibility and musical freedom. And their first with a new drummer — Rob Turner, the long-time driving force behind British jazz success story GoGo Penguin.

The constants in Mammal Hands’ line-up are the brothers Nick Smart (piano) and Jordan Smart (saxophone). The departure of drummer Jesse Barrett in 2024 forced the two to reflect on what the core of the band really was. As a result, drummer Rob Turner became the new rhythmic backbone of the band. “We have known Rob since we all started out over a decade ago,” Nick Smart says. “We were all part of the UK jazz scene and we always connected over our shared musical instincts and interests. We had to rediscover the soul of our music and Rob has transformed it into something that continues our legacy as well as pushes it forward.” Rob joined the band for a forthcoming summer tour. “We spent time in the van on the road connecting over conversations about life and music and decided we should be working on a new record together once the shows were done,” Jordan says. “We took a musically open-ended approach, sending each other fragments of ideas that drew on the core tenets of the group: improvisation, intensity in the moment and ensuring the whole band moved together dynamically.”

Decamping to east London’s Briggs Building for seven-hour shedding sessions once they were off the road, the reformed trio began honing the melodically-hypnotic sound that has become their signature since 2012’s debut Animalia while also injecting a new source of energy. “Myself and Jordan have been drawn to electronic music for a long time, while Rob was pulled towards the open-ended almost spiritual side of our improvisations,” Nick says. “Everything was egalitarian and empathetic in the room, being led by feelings and storytelling first. We would refine ideas until they reached their absolute essence.”

The result is the enveloping nine tracks of Circadia. Moving from the intricate melodic freneticism and breakbeat rhythms of opener Window To Your World to the undulating harmonies of Paper Boats, cacophonic textural breakdowns of Alia’s Abandon and doom-laden overtone harmonics of Submerge, the album acts as a bridge back to the Mammal Hands sound as well as delving into heavier, often darker sonic territory.

“Nick’s synth bass and Rob’s drumming really locked together, creating a new rhythmic foundation that runs through the whole record,” Jordan says. “The gloves were off and we felt free to push boundaries, which meant exploring more electronic and beat-influenced textures. It was like the ideas from all our different projects were coming full circle into Mammal Hands and forming part of a bigger cycle.”

That sense of cyclical progression – like the circadian rhythm that gives the record its title – is equally reflected in the trio’s move from their previous label of Gondwana Records to ACT with this release. “Esbjörn Svensson Trio is one of my biggest influences so to release on ACT feels like coming home as well as starting something new at the same time,” Rob says. “It’s one of the most exciting highlights of my career.”

For Nick and Jordan, the transition also marks an era of creative freedom. “There was no pre-conceived idea of how we should sound, no baggage,” Jordan says. “It feels like an open space for people to listen to what we’re doing and for us to engage in all our influences, from jazz to neoclassical, folk, post-rock and beyond.”

Freewheeling yet tethered to their storied history, coming full circle to renew a relationship while drawing on decades of experience, the new phase of Mammal Hands has only just begun.