Mandrake | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Progressive rock |
| Years active | 1973–1978 |
| Labels | |
| Past members |
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| Website | susumuhirasawa |
Mandrake (マンドレイク) was a Japanese progressive rock band formed in Tokyo in 1973. One of the few Japanese groups active during the genre's heyday, they distinguished themselves by developing a style of their own, harder than the jazz fusion hybrid most other Japanese groups played.
They were unable to release any albums during their lifetime; by the point they were approached by a label, most of their members felt the genre was no longer capable of supporting the themes they wished to explore. New wave music had started to spread in the west by that point, a genre they saw as more fitting to their aims. After a farewell concert on New Year's Eve 1978, most of the band opted to reform as P-Model.
Guitarist Susumu Hirasawa is the only member that remains professionally active as a musician. He has kept traits of progressive rock part of his writing style but has no desire to fully reembrace the genre. Bootleg and demo recordings of some Mandrake songs were released over 2 albums in 1997, to date the only official releases of any material by the band.