There are two bands with this name:

1)A NY-based psychedelic afrobeat band from the '70s.

2)A Croatian rock band, later changed their name to Mandrili

1. An eclectic band from Brooklyn, NY most often categorized as "funk", though their influences range from rock, blues, jazz, and African and Latin music as well. Their early albums (Mandrill, Mandrill Is, Composite Truth, Just Outside Of Town, and Mandrilland) are sometimes wild and experimental and sometimes danceable and fun, often times both at once. Their approach is somewhat comparable to early Funkadelic. Like Funkadelic, by their 1975 album called Solid they had settled into a smoother, more traditional funk sound, losing much but not all of their progressive edge.

2. Croatian band "ManDrill" started their version of alternative-funk in 1997. In 1998. they won an unsigned band contest "Ri Rock", and started gigging frequently. ManDrill music changed through the years and document of that is debut album "Embryo" (2002).

After a few lineup changes, the band finally released their second album, "P" in 2006, havig a very succesful hit, "Ljubio, valjao". With the popularity came the lawsuit for the name - that's when ManDrill had to change the name to Mandrili. Under that name they released their third and most succesful album (ranked top five Croatian albums for 2008) "Tibet". They're still very active with the following lineup: Kristian Ćoza - Vocals, Tomislav Radinović - Guitars, Robert Jovanović - Bass, Dalibor Peršić - Drums

Added to above information May 21, 2009 @ 8:50 PM PST

Critic's Review:

Apparently learning from the mistakes of its debut, Mandrill crafted a follow-up with fewer stylistic detours than the first record, but much more energy and greater maturity. The two singles, "Ape Is High" and "Git It All," are unhinged performances from all involved that have the sense of musical invigoration so key to a funk band -- and so sorely lacking on this band's debut. "Children of the Sun" is a somber, flute-led piece, much more assured and better-conceived than anything on its first record (it also showed how well Mandrill could've done soundtracking a blaxploitation film). The guitars are much more prominent on Mandrill Is; in fact, both "Git It All" and "Here Today Gone Tomorrow" have passages almost reminiscent of metal's heavy riffing. The first two compositions from Claude "Coffee" Cave are big successes, "Cohelo" being a traditional Latin form and "Kofijahm" a tribal funk piece. Not everything works, however: the spoken-word piece "Universal Rhythms" is a tad over-ripe, with a raft of unpoetic, pseudo-mystical nonsense over backing from an angelic choir. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

For more information go to: http://music.msn.com/music/album-review/mandrill/mandrill-is/

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