E-mail: info@f-cat.de | Telefon: +49 (0)30 26 103 29-20 
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Progressive Jazz, World music
Portico Quartet
| England
Booking-Agent:
Frank Abraham
+49 30 261032920
fa@f-cat.de
brief information Portico Quartet
Portico Quartet are four young musicians from London who sound like nothing you’ve ever heard before. Their strange, beautiful sound was honed busking at the South Bank in London and playing in unusual spaces; churches, galleries and chill-out zones. The band, who all live together in East London, describe their ethos as like an Indy band that plays post-jazz and their unique, hooky sound has won them many enthusiastic fans. Their debut album “Knee-Deep In The North Sea” (Babel/Vortex records) was named Time Out’s Jazz, Folk and World music album of the year for 2007 and was one of the Nationwide Mercury Prize albums of the year for 2008.
The band comprised of Jack Wyllie (saxophones and electronics), Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass, bass and electronics), Duncan Bellamy (drums and electronics) and Keir Vine (hang and keyboards; he joined the band in May 2011 and replaced the former hang-player Nick Mulvey).
Electronica meets 21st century-jazz in Portico Quartet’s melodic, rhythmic music that mixes the inspiration of Philip Glass and Steve Reich with a very contemporary kind of jazz improvisation that draws on dub-step, electronica, rock, ambient and dance music. It’s the blend of ethereal and fiery saxophones, electronics, otherworldly Hang, pulsing drums and earthy bass that gives their music its unique, inimitable and beautiful sound. Their hook-laden, darkly atmospheric post-jazz has pushed them to the forefront of the contemporary music scene. It was the chance purchase of the Hang by Duncan Bellamy, at WOMAD, that inspired the young friends to start a band, and while their largely intuitive music references jazz and African music it’s the Hang inspired trance-like repetitive patterns of Duncan, Nick Mulvey and now Keir Vine that propel the band into stranger pastures.
The eagerly anticipated new album “Isla” was released in England in October 2009 and in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in February 2010, where it awoke memories of Radiohead (!) and prompted comparisons with ECM-Productions amongst the British press. In reality however, “Isla” was published by Peter Gabriel’s “Realworld” label and the music of the band is in a league of its own.
The new album shot immediately to Number 1 on the i-tunes jazz charts. This young and hip jazz band is getting rave reviews for their album and concerts everywhere. In 2010, they played an amazing season with over 140 concerts all over Europe, e.g. Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Jazzaldia San Sebastian, Jazzbaltica, Jazz sous les Pommiers, Brighton Festival, Glastonbury, Jazzfest Wien, Warzaw Jazz Days, Nancy Pulsations, Rotterdam Jazz Festival and many others. In autumn 2010 they went on their first and very successful US Tour. In 2011, festivals like Cully Jazz, North Sea Jazz, Jazz au Chellah in Rabat, Festival de Jazz de Vigo, Jazzpote Festival, Traumzeit Festival und Sommarscen Festival followed.
Their new album will be released in January 2012. Further booking requests are always welcome!
