Portico Quartet | ||
| Allmusic Biography : The Portico Quartet is a contemporary modern jazz and ethnic fusion ensemble from South London, England. Formed in 2005, the band was initially inspired to play via founding member Duncan Bellamys purchase of an exotic yet contemporary instrument, the Hang, at a music festival. The Hang, invented in 2000 in Switzerland, is a metallic lap drum with clamped shells, the melodious sound of which resembles both a steel drum and Balinese metallaphone. Where the quartets influences clearly reference modern jazz and African music, the trance-like sonics of the Hang draw closer comparisons to minimalists Philip Glass and Steve Reich, or gamelan music. A weekly session at the South Bank and residency at the Brixton Ritzy earned them a cult following. It also inspired Londons premier jazz club, the Vortex, to start a record label to release their music. Championed by archivist and historian/mixer Gilles Peterson, the Portico Quartets debut release, Knee Deep in the North Sea, was acclaimed as jazz, folk, and world music Album of the Year for 2007 by Time Out magazine, and was a Mercury Music Prize honoree for 2008. With Jack Wylie on soprano saxophone, Milo Fitzpatrick on acoustic bass, and Nick Mulvey and Duncan Bellamy playing the Hang and percussion instruments, the groups modern contemporary sound was favorably compared to the diverse, ethnic-flavored work of Ben Allison, E.S.T., and the Cinematic Orchestra. Following their signing to Peter Gabriels Real World Records, the Portico Quartet released its sophomore effort. Isla appeared in 2009 and was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. In 2011 Mulvey left the band to pursue a solo career -- to be replaced by Keir Vine -- and his departure signaled a musical shift for the group. Their self-titled third record favored electronic sounds over the predominantly acoustic style of their previous efforts. The band experienced its largest transformation to date in 2014 as Vine departed, and the slimmed-down trio signed to the Ninja Tune label. They re-christened themselves Portico and pursued experimental pop in lieu of the jazz influence of their earlier records. However, for their 2017 record Art in the Age of Automation, they reverted to their original label and moniker, and were reunited with Vine. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 11 Title: Knee-Deep in the North Sea Released: 2007-10-10 Tracks: 9 Duration: 50:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 News From Verona (04:24) 2 Zavodovski Island (04:22) 3 Knee-Deep in the North Sea (04:52) 4 Too Many Cooks (05:32) 5 Steps in the Wrong Direction (06:09) 6 Monsoon: Top to Bottom (04:14) 7 The Kon Tiki Expedition (04:29) 8 Cittàgazze (04:47) 9 Pompidou (12:02) |
| Knee-Deep in the North Sea : Allmusic album Review : On its debut CD, KNEE DEEP IN THE NORTH SEA, Mercury Prize-nominated combo the Portico Quartet delivers an unusually meditative brand of world music-influenced jazz that matches a minimalist classical music vibe with a pop/jam band-informed compositional sense. Centered on repeated figures played on the hang (a type of steel drum) and soprano saxophonist Jack Wylie’s Wayne Shorter-esque improvisational explorations, Portico Quartet’s music should appeal to fans of Weather Report and the Dave Matthews Band alike. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 11 Title: iTunes Festival: London 2008 Released: 2008-07-28 Tracks: 5 Duration: 27:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dawn Patrol (06:12) 2 News From Verona (06:25) 3 (Something’s Going Down on) Zavodovski Island (05:08) 4 [untitled] (05:12) 5 Citagazze (04:29) |
 | Album: 3 of 11 Title: Abbey Road EP 01 Released: 2009 Tracks: 4 Duration: 24:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The full Catastrophe (07:18) 2 Line (alternative Take 5) (08:27) 3 Cap Gun (03:08) 4 Su-Bos mental Meltdown (05:44) |
 | Album: 4 of 11 Title: Black and White Sessions Released: 2009-01 Tracks: 7 Duration: 45:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dawn Patrol (06:20) 2 News From Verona, Part 2 (06:41) 3 Untitled (05:06) 4 The Full Catastrophe (08:23) 5 Midnite Delite (06:07) 6 Johnson (05:02) 7 November (07:43) |
 | Album: 5 of 11 Title: Isla Released: 2009-10-19 Tracks: 10 Duration: 58:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Paper Scissors Stone (05:27) 2 The Visitor (05:29) 3 Dawn Patrol (05:59) 4 Line (07:29) 5 Life Mask (Interlude) (01:14) 6 Clipper (06:31) 7 Life Mask (07:15) 8 Isla (05:09) 9 Shed Song (Improv. No.1) (08:23) 10 Subos Mental Meltdown (05:47) |
 | Album: 6 of 11 Title: Line Released: 2009-11-02 Tracks: 3 Duration: 20:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Line (Sbtrkt More Hang mix) (06:05) 2 Line (Sbtrkt Less Hang mix) (06:04) 3 Line (alternate take 5) (08:27) |
 | Album: 7 of 11 Title: Portico Quartet Released: 2012-01-30 Tracks: 10 Duration: 48:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Window Seat (03:18) 2 Ruins (05:34) 3 Spinner (04:38) 4 Rubidium (08:44) 5 Export to Hot Climates (01:08) 6 Laker Boo (07:51) 7 Steepless (03:57) 8 4096 Colours (04:35) 9 City of Glass (06:36) 10 Trace (01:53) |
 | Album: 8 of 11 Title: Live/Remix Released: 2013-03-25 Tracks: 19 Duration: 2:04:10 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Window Seat (04:11) 2 City of Glass (08:50) 3 Rubidium / Line (12:56) 4 Ruins (06:15) 5 Clipper (07:04) 6 4096 Colours (06:58) 7 Laker Boo (10:09) 8 Steepless (08:07) 9 Dawn Patrol (08:16) 10 Dawn Patrol (alternate ending) (04:56) 1 Window Seat (Will Ward remix) (03:14) 2 Line (Sbtrkt More Hang remix) (06:02) 3 Rubidium (Luke Abbott remix) (04:55) 4 Laker Boo (DVA’s Hi:Emotions remix) (03:46) 5 City of Glass (LV remix) (04:47) 6 Steepless (Capac remix) (05:27) 7 4096 Colours (Konx-Om-Pax remix) (08:21) 8 Laker Boo (Luca Lozano remix) (07:41) 9 Steepless (PQ edit) (02:04) |
 | Album: 9 of 11 Title: Living Fields Released: 2015-03-30 Tracks: 13 Duration: 48:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Living Fields (03:11) 2 101 (04:45) 3 Where You Are (01:41) 4 Atacama (04:59) 5 Colour Fading (04:51) 6 Dissolution (01:29) 7 Bright Luck (03:45) 8 Brittle (05:38) 9 Memory of Newness (06:14) 1 Void (02:02) 2 Into a Vision (04:00) 3 Where You Are (alt version) (04:25) 4 Distant Plane (01:25) |
 | Album: 10 of 11 Title: Art in the Age of Automation Released: 2017-08-25 Tracks: 11 Duration: 50:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Endless (04:25) 2 Objects to Place in a Tomb (05:27) 3 Rushing (06:19) 4 Art in the Age of Automation (04:55) 5 S/2000S5 (00:37) 6 A Luminous Beam (06:02) 7 Beyond Dialogue (06:42) 8 RGB (04:32) 9 Current History (06:07) 10 Mercury Eyes (01:37) 11 Lines Glow (03:49) |
 | Album: 11 of 11 Title: Untitled (AITAOA #2) Released: 2018-04-27 Tracks: 9 Duration: 31:54 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Double Space (02:53) 2 Index (03:58) 3 Unrest (05:13) 4 In Where We Meet (01:16) 5 View From a Satellite (05:20) 6 Celestial Wife (03:58) 7 Reflected in Neon (02:22) 8 Dust (04:46) 9 Berlin (02:02) |