Former Britpop stars from bands Happy Mondays, Oasis, and Ride have teamed up to form the supergroup Mantra of the Cosmos and have dropped their psychedelic debut single “Gorilla Guerilla” on the 6th May. Click here to listen.
Happy Monday and Black Grape members Shaun Ryder and Bez have teamed up with former Oasis and The Who drummer Zak Starkey, and Oasis bassist and Ride guitarist Andy Bell to form the supergroup.
On the chaotic and fun-filled single “Gorilla Guerilla” Ryder’s cries of “Gorilla!” echo over Bez’s energetic maracas, repetitive guitar riffs, and thumping drum beats. Released alongside the hallucinogenic single is a colourful animated music video created by Ryder’s son Olli. Watch the trippy video for “Gorilla Guerilla” below:
Mantra of Cosmos features baggy icon Shaun Ryder on vocals, Welsh musician Andy Bell on guitar, Ringo Starr’s son Zak Starkey on drums, and everyone’s favourite cheeky chappy Bez on percussion.
Ryder revealed the group’s formation to The Sun in early May spilling to the publication that the band had been secretly working on a debut album that would be “coming out very soon”. The 90s star continued, “It doesn’t sound like the Mondays or Black Grape or Oasis or The Who, it’s what we’re doing all together.”
Channel 4 herded together the fantastic four for a TV interview in which Bez revealed, “for the first time ever I’ve actually got maracas solos”! Watch the whole interview here.
In a video shared to the band’s Instagram, when asked who would be in his fantasy supergroup dead or alive, Ryder replied, “John Lennon, Paul McCartney, every member of the Rolling Stones past and present. Sly Stone, the Pistols, the Kinks, both brothers and all the rest of the band. Funkadelic-Parliament! Every member of Parliament!”
The band made their debut live appearance at The Box in London on the 5th June giving an intimate performance at the venue.
Mantra of The Cosmos will be taking Glastonbury Festival’s Glade area by storm on Sunday 25th June at 8.20 pm.
Bez and Ryder will also be playing as part of the Happy Mondays later this year. The band will be playing Dreamland in Margate alongside Primal Scream and Crystal Palace Bowl in London with James in August. A month later they will appear at the Rock N Roll Circus festival in Sheffield.
See below for Mantra of the Cosmos UK dates:
25/06/23 – Glastonbury Festival – Glastonbury
