Mandidextrous

Mandidextrous (Mandi Gordon) is an English producer and DJ based in Bristol. Their work moves across drum and bass, jungle, dubstep and bass music, with strands of free tekno, bassline, breakbeat, ragga, liquid funk and UK garage running through their sets and productions. They perform and release under the name Mandidextrous and previously recorded as Mastral.

Public records show Mandi has been active since around 2000. They are widely cited as an early figure in free tekno and as a pioneer of the "speed bass" sound — described as a 4x4‑influenced subgenre of drum and bass. They founded the Amen4Tekno label and, in 2025, launched Speedbass Recordings. Mandi is based in Bristol and operates across the West of England and Wales. They are publicly described as trans non‑binary and use they/them pronouns.

As a producer Mandidextrous foregrounds the four‑on‑the‑floor energy of tekno inside drum and bass tempos. Their production techniques characteristically combine steady 4x4 kick layers with chopped, syncopated break fragments and heavy low‑end design. Bass work typically centres on deep sine and detuned saw sub layers given weight through distortion, saturation and tight sidechain compression rather than purely mid‑range reese motion. Their arrangements often keep percussion sparse and driving, reserving space for bass movement and atmosphere; time‑stretching and granular treatment of short percussive hits are recurring elements in their tracks.

On the DJ side, Mandi’s sets emphasise pulse and momentum. They mix tracks that sit between tekno, dub and DnB by leaning on tempo‑bridging techniques: layering four‑to‑the‑floor kick patterns over faster breaks, using EQ cuts to carve space for sub bass, and dropping in percussion loops to bridge genre changes. That approach keeps the dancefloor in a steady groove while allowing sudden swings into heavier basslines or ragga‑tinged vocal stabs.

“Speed bass” as attributed to Mandidextrous is specific in practice: percussion that reads as 4x4 at first listen but resolves into drum and bass tempos; bass patches designed to hit on sub frequencies with added mid‑range grit; and mixdowns that prioritise low‑end clarity so subs translate on large systems. Their catalogue and label work lean into those characteristics rather than traditional roller or liquid textures, favouring direct, kick‑led tracks and bass‑first arrangements.

Concrete career milestones tied to Mandidextrous include founding Amen4Tekno and launching Speedbass Recordings in 2025; those labels reflect their twin roles as producer and curator, putting free tekno aesthetics and 4x4‑informed drum and bass into circulation. The earlier alias Mastral appears in their performance history and credits, linking their pre‑2000s work to the later Mandidextrous output.

Public detail on specific releases, collaborations or radio residencies is limited in available sources; the verifiable points remain their long activity since roughly 2000, their role in free tekno and speed bass, the Amen4Tekno imprint, the 2025 launch of Speedbass Recordings, the Mastral alias, and their Bristol base. Mandidextrous continues to operate as a producer and DJ focused on the intersection of tekno energy and bass‑heavy drum and bass.