I’m still having trouble putting Portico Quartet into words. These four boys from London have just dropped their new album Isla and are carving their own niche between the modern classical and jazz movements. The music is haunting, hypnotic and abrupt all at once with some incredibly abstract elements that come across as familiar rather than confrontational. I’ll let the video above do the talking or this more formal bio below:
The Portico Quartet are a bunch of guys in their early twenties who play instrumental music. Formed four years ago from two sets of schoolfriends, they share a house in East London, make recordings, and play festivals and clubs. Yet what distinguishes them from dozens of other Hackney hopefuls is the way they sound – a fresh, unclichéd resynthesis and reinvention of music that’s both pleasingly familiar and thrillingly new, like World Music from the future. With largely acoustic resources – percussion, bass and wind instruments – they have conjured and refined a group signature that’s immediately recognisable. Thanks to the use of the hang, a tuned percussion instrument bought on impulse at a music festival, they have a sound that is instantly attractive, yet uncompromisingly individual, and it’s this, combined with the cheerful eloquence of their performances, that has brought Portico Quartet a long way in a short time.
I still step up and take notice whenever Massive Attack release some new music and – after years of silence, the boys are poised to release their their fifth studio album, entitled Heligoland, in February. The album reads like a who’s who of trip hop gone by and rising chillout vocalists with guest appearances by Damon Albarn, Hope Sandoval, Martina Topley-Bird, Elbow’s Guy Garvey and TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. Horace Andy, who has appeared on every Massive Attack album to date, also returns to the mic, joining founding members Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall.
Tracklisting:
1. Pray For Rain – featuring Tunde Adebimpe
2. Babel – featuring Martina Topley-Bird
3. Splitting The Atom – featuring Robert del Naja/Grant Marshall/Horace Andy
4. Girl I Love You – featuring Horace Andy
5. Psyche – featuring Martina Topley-Bird
6. Flat Of The Blade – featuring Guy Garvey
7. Paradise Circus – featuring Hope Sandoval
8. Rush Minute – featuring Robert del Naja
9. Saturday Come Slow – featuring Damon Albarn
10. Atlas Air – featuring Robert del Naja
“Emancipator’s debut album ‘Soon It Will Be Cold Enough’ beautifully mixes hip hop beats with guitar feedback and a delicate piano melody,” Rolling Stone says. “You can feel his energy when he performs. His face lights up and you can see how much he enjoys the music.”
Other reviews call the music “chill but captivating,” “fresh, clean production and sweet melodies,” and “damn cool.” Because it’s impossible to pin Emancipator to a specific genre, his fans struggle to describe the music: “Um, it’s really pretty, but like with SICK beats.”
Just getting things in order over here but Savage Ballet is happening this Tuesday in the Gallery at Le Poisson Rouge… here’s the details!
Date: Tuesday, November 24th Time: 7:00pm – 10:30pm Location: Le Poisson Rouge Gallery (158 Bleecker St at Sullivan) Cost: Free
Six months in the making, Savage Ballet is a new collaborative, after work affair from DJ Kester (Crooked Disco) and Le Poisson Rouge. The evening focuses on modern explorations of composed music and presents them in an accessible, relaxed lounge atmosphere. Kester spins modern classical, downtempo, trip hop, midtempo house and atmospheric dubstep throughout the night while LPR offers up over a dozen wines by the glass, bespoke and signature cocktails, and a small plates menu. More info at here. 21+
