Portico Quartet

Portico Quartet are an instrumental band from London, United Kingdom. They are known for their use of the hang, a modern percussion instrument. Their debut album, Knee-Deep in the North Sea, was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize and was Time Out's Jazz, Folk and World album of the year 2007.

Portico Quartet
Portico Quartet's logo as of 2019[update]
Portico Quartet's logo as of 2019
Background information
Also known asPortico (2015-2016)
OriginLondon, England
GenresJazz, ambient, electronic
Years active2005 – present
LabelsBabel Label
Real World
Ninja Tune
Gondwana Records
MembersDuncan Bellamy
Milo Fitzpatrick
Jack Wyllie
Keir Vine
Past membersNick Mulvey
Websiteporticoquartet.com
Duncan Bellamy IMG 9305
Jack Wyllie IMG 9313
Milo Fitzpatrick IMG 9304
Portico Quartet 2 maart 2012 De Roma Antwerpen - Jack Wyllie & Keir Vine (50898737452)

The group consists of Duncan Bellamy (drums and electronics), Jack Wyllie (saxophones and keyboards), Milo Fitzpatrick (electric and double-bass) and Keir Vine (keyboards).

Their name comes from when one of their early gigs was rained out and they ended up playing under a portico.[1]

All of the group's album covers, artwork and graphic design is done by the drummer, Bellamy, who has a degree in fine art from Central Saint Martins.[2]

History

The band was formed from two groups of childhood friends (Jack Wyllie and Milo Fitzpatrick from Southampton, and Duncan Bellamy and Nick Mulvey from Cambridge) who met in 2005 while studying at university in London.[3] Bellamy and Mulvey had originally spotted the hang instrument at the WOMAD festival.[4]

The group initially honed their style by busking regularly outside the National Theatre on London's South Bank.[4] At the time, they all lived together in a shared house with Jamie Woon.[5] They were part of the One Taste Collective (with artists including Kae Tempest, Little Dragon and Woon).[6]

In 2007, they signed to be the first release on the Vortex imprint of Babel Label. Their debut album, Knee-Deep in the North Sea, was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize and was Time Out's Jazz, Folk and World music album of the year 2007.[7][8]

They subsequently signed to Peter Gabriel's Real World Records and released two albums: 2009's Isla and 2012's self-titled Portico Quartet.[8]

In 2011 founding member Mulvey left the group to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter.[9] He was replaced by Keir Vine.

In 2014 the three remaining founder members signed to Ninja Tune under the name Portico and released the album Living Fields. They considered this to be a new group[10] and radically changed their musical style to experimental electronic pop.

In 2017 the band signed with Gondwana Records and released their fourth studio album as Portico Quartet—Art in the Age of Automation—which reached no. 1 in the UK jazz chart.

Their fifth studio album, Memory Streams, was released in 2019.[8]

In 2021, a remixed version of the band's song "Double Helix" appeared on the podcast Storybound alongside author Chuck Klosterman.[11]

Music style

The group predominantly makes modern instrumental music. They are known for the use of the hang, a modern percussion instrument. Their main influences are jazz, ambient and electronic music.

The band's first two albums are largely acoustic recordings, reflecting their origins as a live busking band. These are based around the hang, double bass and drums, with the saxophone playing the melody line.

Mulvey's departure from the band in 2011 heralded a notable change in style. The group had already been exploring use of electronics, live samples and looping when touring their second album Isla in 2010.[12] Without their main hang player, for their self-titled third studio album Portico Quartet the group turned to sampling the hang, as well as using a hybrid mix of electronic and acoustic drums, and electronically treated and looped bowed bass and saxophone lines.[13]

The Living Fields album featured another change in style, focused on experimental electronic pop music rather than instrumental compositions. Reflecting this, the group chose to release it under the name Portico rather than Portico Quartet, considering it to be a separate band.[10]

Discography

References
  1. Ositelu, Tola (26 October 2009). "Back To Busking: An interview with Portico Quartet". SoulCulture. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017. We were playing outside and it started to rain. The organiser said, 'Go and play under the Portico'.
  2. "Interview: Duncan Bellamy of Portico Quartet". London Jazz News. 2 September 2010. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017. I studied fine art at Central St. Martin's.
  3. Lindsay, Bruce (10 November 2009). "Portico Quartet: Not Particularly a Jazz Band". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2017. Wyllie and bassist Milo Fitzpatrick were friends in Southampton on the south coast of England, where they both played in the Southampton Youth Jazz Orchestra. Mulvey and drummer Duncan Bellamy were friends in Cambridge.
  4. Rogers, Jude (17 August 2008). "The buskers who came in from the cold". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  5. Murray, Robin (18 January 2011). "Jamie Woon On Portico Quartet". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  6. "OneTaste Collective". onetaste.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  7. "Look Back at the Best Rock, Hip Hop, Dance, Jazz, Folk and World Music Albums and Tracks, and the Best London Gigs of 2007". Time Out London. 19 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  8. Nastos, Michael G. "Portico Quartet Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  9. Lamont, Tom (10 May 2014). "Nick Mulvey interview – 'My aim is to appeal to your subconscious first'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  10. "Living Fields by Portico". Ninja Tune. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  11. "Announcing Season 4 of the Storybound Podcast". Literary Hub. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  12. Kelman, John (12 October 2010). "Portico Quartet: Montreal, Canada, October 2, 2010". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
  13. "Portico Quartet". Real World Records. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
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