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Portico Quartet [CD]

Portico Quartet Audio CD
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Price: £10.04 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Music

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Photos

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Biography

Electronica meets future-jazz in Portico Quartet’s melodic, rhythmic music that mixes the inspiration of Steve Reich with a very contemporary kind of jazz improv. One that draws on electronica, ambient dance and rock music in an intense blend all their own. It’s the mix of ethereal sax, pulsing electronics, otherworldly loops, resonant hang, stripped back drum grooves and earthy ... Read more in Amazon's Portico Quartet Store

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Frequently Bought Together

Portico Quartet + Isla + Knee-Deep in the North Sea
Price For All Three: £28.74

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Product details

  • Audio CD (30 Jan 2012)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Real World Records
  • ASIN: B0062XH7PK
  • Other Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 21,214 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Window Seat
2. Ruins
3. Spinner
4. Rubidium
5. Export for Hot Climates
6. Lacker Boo
7. Steepless
8. 4096 Colours
9. City of Glass
10. Trace

Product Description

Product Description

Portico Quartet still sound like nothing you ever heard before. The Mercury nominated East London based outfit's unique music has expanded to embrace new sonic territories. Drawing on the inspiration of electronica, ambient, classical and dance music as they take their strange, beautiful, cinematic, future music to exciting new vistas where the inspiration of Burial, Mount Kimbie and Flying Lotus rubs shoulders with the textures of Arve Henriksen and Bon Iver and echoes of Steve Reich and Max Richter. But all underpinned by a shared joy in collective music making as the band push their inimitable music into the future.

Product Description

DISC 11. WINDOW SEAT2. RUINS3. SPINNER4. RUBIDIUM5. EXPORT TO HOT CLIMATES6. LAKER BOO7. STEEPLESS8. 4096 COLOURS9. CITY OF GLASS10. TRACE

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Shift away from Jazz to embrace Electronica. 6 Feb 2012
By Bruce TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
So after 2 albums of Jazz-influenced acoustic music, the Portico Quartet change their line-up and shift their direction. The question of course, is where to? But it's difficult to pin down and I still detect an element of improvisation, although it's a million miles from straight ahead Jazz.

The first 4 or 5 tracks embrace electronics, sampling and sequencing. The Jazzy elements are disguised, with less prominence to Soprano Sax and the sound of plucked Double Bass.

There is a tendency to set up a repetitive sequenced "hang" or other keyboard sample - this is synchronised with synthetic drum sounds, that were completely absent on the first two albums. After all - if you have a really good virtuoso drummer in the band - why do you need programmed drums? This gives the casual listener something to hang onto, but may deter Jazz fans.

The suspicion is that the band are turning their back on Jazz audiences and looking to attract people who would prefer DJ music in clubs. The sounds are intriguing and hypnotic. They could provide the soundtrack to an up-market, atmospheric thriller - but I suspect the real test will be seeing how the group approach this music live on stage. Will they veer into Free improv. territory or look to get the audience dancing to their programmed beats?

This is a direction that has been taken in European Jazz circles with artists like Nils Petter Molvaer and the sound has a quality that comes from an understanding of real instruments and a lot of playing. There is more interest than in most repetitive dance music.

"Sleepless" is where we veer most markedly away from Jazz and into trip-hop territory and could have appeared on a Massive Attack album, with no incongruity. In fact, the most apt description I could think of was that this album is like Massive Attack meets a European Jazz group - which is not altogether an unpleasant thought - for myself especially, being a fan of both that band and European Jazz.

All in all, this is interesting stuff and I will be fascinated to see how they progress - maybe a "work in progress" - but worth checking out, none the less.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding 11 Feb 2012
By Simon
Format:Audio CD
This is an outstanding record, one of the few that should be denoted a classic of the british music scene in the last few years. High praise indeed, given that I've only had it for a few days to absorb. It's pertinently the first record to prompt me to actually write a review about it on Amazon.

I cannot recommend this more highly, no matter what previous listening experience you have had. The musical innovation on the record is outstanding, particularly when you consider that this is a mostly performed record (see them perform material from this live and you'll understand what I mean, they have complete mastery of the raw materials). Anything that sounds even remotely similar to this, of which actually I don't think there is much, will more often than not be produced by one person in front of a computer screen. To be able to create this variety and complexity of rhythm and texture through a 4 piece live instrumental band is sheer musicianship and virtuosity, and to render it on record in such a perfectly produced manner is even more mind-blowing. It's refreshing to hear a record so cleverly crafted, one that takes the listener on a narrative journey, a rarity in these days of fragmented listening and single mp3s.

Ok, time to stop gushing. In short, this is a phenomenally insightful reflection on the myriad interactions between the varied uk dance genres of the last 5 years and a achingly beautiful minimalist instrumental aesthetic - you should buy this.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Anon
Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase
Has to be the worst pressing I've got so far from a new album

Don't bother buying this on vinyl or if you do be prepared to return.

For their supposed advertising blurb on their website about using advanced recording techniques for their range of artists, they should invest in better checks at their pressing plants.

This one has scuffs, dirty, scratches (not deep), fingerprints, lines across the surface and marking all over the lead in grooves..

Very poor !

Compared to the other pressing companies like MOV who are superb and their records are spotless, this looks second hand.

We want to support artists but ramp up the quality please guys.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars All their releases so far have been wonderful.
Criminally underrated group of musicians, whose music, at its peak, conjures transcendent and inspiring passages via groundbreaking jazz-fusion. Read more
Published 1 month ago by jj35
3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven and unconvincing
This is one where I wish I'd previewed a few more tracks before downloading it. I was hoping for something along the lines of the Cinematic Orchestra's first two albums, a mix of... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Marchespie
5.0 out of 5 stars good jazz
great album,what a find,just looking through jazz listings,and found this gem,will be looking for more!worth every penny,keep up the good work,
Published 3 months ago by John Bird
4.0 out of 5 stars More electronic, less jazz
I had the pleasure of seeing Portico Quartet on stage in Edinburgh a little while ago now, and their music persuaded me to pick up their available studio albums. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Connor D. Beaton
3.0 out of 5 stars new line up - new (ish) sound
On their third album portico quartet have made some changes and not all are good. Programmed beats I'm all for but here they sound tired and uninspired. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Alan Goodenough
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
I first heard this on Jamie Callum's jazz radio. I'm not particularly musical, so not really qualified to write a musical review. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Moose Papoose
5.0 out of 5 stars Moving in a new direction and producing their best music yet!
I had the priveledge of seeing the Portico quartet twice in Brighton after the release of their first and second albums, I was spellbound and eagerly awaited this their third. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. Thomas B. Bridle
5.0 out of 5 stars Just keep getting better
This is Portico Quartet's third studio album and it is so good on so many levels. It is refreshing to find a band which gets more experimental and takes more risks with each new... Read more
Published 14 months ago by J. A. Wade
3.0 out of 5 stars My first experience of Londons finest
Being a jazz fan in the 21st century is a curious position to find yourself in. I'd imagine it's not quite synonymous with being one in say the late 1960's when rock music had... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Kenneth
4.0 out of 5 stars Space Jazz
This is the first time I have really listened to Portico Quartet and I was expecting experimental Jazz. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Syriat
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