Oasis & Happy Mondays Members Form New Supergroup

Former Oasis members, multi-instrumentalist Andy Bell and drummer Zak Starkey have formed a new supergroup with Happy Mondays singer Shaun Ryder and percussionist Mark “Bez” Berry. It’s time to welcome Mantra Of The Cosmos.

The new British outfit have also dropped their debut single, Gorilla Guerilla, which you can check out below. Bell, also a member of shoegaze music icons Ride, said about the band’s formation in a statement: “It’s a pleasure to be part of Mantra Of The Cosmos. Four like-minded souls who get off on the same music.”

Starkey added that their sound resembles a “fantastic psychedelic groove, from a band of misfit outsiders and innovators.” Meanwhile, the Happy Mondays members called working in Mantra Of The Cosmos a “fucking blast” (Ryder) and “I always knew the best was yet to come,” according to Berry, per Consequence.

Gorilla Guerilla is a little bit of Stone Roses meets trip-hop, with a psychedelic music video to match the strange yet addictive vibe. You can check out the video below. 

Mantra Of The Cosmos haven’t provided further information about a potential album or EP, but you can keep track of their musical journey via their website.

This October, Happy Mondays will return to Australia for their Twenty-Four Hour Party People Greatest Hits Tour.

Happy Mondays will begin the tour at The Tivoli, Brisbane, followed by the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, the Forum in Melbourne, The Gov in Adelaide and Metropolis Fremantle.

Happy Mondays last visited Australia in March 2019, when they performed their seminal Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches album in full. 

Following its release in 1990, Pills 'n' Thrills & Bellyaches helped Happy Mondays break the big time, as it went platinum in the UK and featured hit tracks such as Step On and Kinky Afro.

Bell was a member of Oasis for ten years – from 1999 until the band’s disbandment in 2009. Starkey also performed with Oasis towards the end, playing with them from 2004 until 2008. His main gig is drumming with The Who.

In Oasis news, the Gallagher brothers have been at each other’s throats again regarding a potential band reunion, with The Music asking, should that reformation happen? Noel Gallagher has also been at war with "that fucking The 1975" and their frontman, Matty Healy, calling him a “slack-jawed fuckwit” and the band “shit”.