Portico Quartet Get The Hang Of It
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Just months ago the Portico Quartet were building a word of mouth buzz on London's South Bank as buskers. Things have moved on in an extraordinary way since then. The four piece group whose sound centres on the steel pan-like Swiss instrument the hang, has now been signed as the first artist on the new Vortex label and launched its first album for the label, Knee-deep in the North Sea last night in the calming atmosphere of St Barnabas’ church in Soho. But there was nothing low key about the turn out with the venue turning away 150 people once capacity was reached.
The band – Jack Wyllie (soprano saxophone), Duncan Bellamy (hang and percussion), Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass), and Nick Mulvey (hang and percussion) – has a gently meditative sound heavily influenced by the minimalism of Steve Reich and Michael Nyman with the floating saxophone melding gently with the hang, drums and bass. The band has already attracted interest from DJs like Gilles Peterson and it was clear from last night that the band's sound would also work well in a remixed electronica setting. There's clearly a buzz around this band which presumably will grow over the next few months. Upcoming dates include London Jazz Festival shows at the Vortex on 20 November and a support slot with Bill Bruford on 24 November at the Purcell Room.
Report: Stephen Graham
Report: Stephen Graham