Grime Time For Portico At The Royal Opera House

Slightly incongruously, at the weekend as if to underline their ever growing appeal, the band gave a sneak preview of Isla following grime stars Chipmunk, Wiley and promising R&B singer Emeli Sandé on to the stage of the Paul Hamlyn Hall at London’s Royal Opera House. So, one moment it was the sound of Sandé’s song ‘Diamond Rings’ written for teenage sensation Chipmunk and then it was ethereal hang-flavoured jazz delivered by the four-piece based not far away from the heartland of grime itself in east London, a world away, if not a million miles, from the luxury of Covent Garden.

As previously reported on jazzwisemagazine.com back in July the four piece – saxophonist Jack Wyllie, hang player Nick Mulvey, bassist Milo Fitzpatrick and drummer/hang player Duncan Bellamy – recorded their new album with former Stone Roses producer John Leckie at Abbey Road studio 2, the studio closely associated with The Beatles.

The late-night Portico set came at the half-way point of the three-day cross-discipline Ignite festival at the Opera House. It began in Jan Garbarek territory with an airy atmospheric mood led by the increasingly gnomic-sounding saxophonist Jack Wylie whose role in the band has changed subtly since Portico’s debut album Knee-Deep In The North Sea.

The quietly lapping sound of the hang of course heavily influences the overall sound of the band although it seems more integrated now. Yet the older material was not forgotten so the set included old favourite first album title track ‘Knee Deep in The North Sea’, Isla song ‘ Line’, which drew whoops from certain sections of the audience, and the lovely set-closing ballad ‘Life Mask’ previously titled ‘Piano Ballad’ which they played at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival back in the spring. Its naïve-sounding glockenspiel refrain was here a close echo of one of the highlights of the new album. Other songs on the Ignite festival bill on Saturday night included introspective new album track ‘The Visitor’ and bass-led ‘Dawn Patrol’ with Milo Fitzpatrick impressive.

– Stephen Graham

Upcoming Portico Quartet dates include a mini-tour of Somerset this month visiting Wootton Courtenay Village Hall on 23 September, Wookey Hole Club (24 September), Churchinford Village Hall (25 September), Williams Hall, Stoke St Gregory (26 September) continuing next month at The Princess, Burnham On Sea (1 October), Lydford Parish Hall (2 October) Chilcompton Village Hall (3 October) and East Quantoxhead Village Hall (4 October).