Portico Quartet
Portico Quartet have defied categorisation over the course of six studio albums. From their 2007 Mercury Music Prize nominated breakthrough ‘Knee-Deep in the North Sea’ through to the longform minimalist inspired ‘Terrain’ in 2021.
Their latest electronic driven album Monument features the band at their most direct, with a streamlined, rhythmic sound. Full of precisely sculpted ideas combining human touch with electronic efficiency, ‘Monument’ displays the acclaimed widescreen minimalists at their very best and tonight’s show will feature music from Monument together with music from their illustrious back catalogue as Portico Quartet take you on a journey through their unique musical world.
Portico Quartet’s unique sound draws on electronica, jazz, ambient and classical influences in equal measure and has brought the band international acclaim. The band was formed from two groups of childhood friends (Jack Wyllie and Milo Fitzpatrick from Southampton, and Duncan Bellamy and Nick Mulvey from Cambridge) who met in 2005 while studying at university in London. The group initially honed their style by busking regularly outside the National Theatre on London’s Southbank.[5] At the time they all lived together in a shared house with Jamie Woon. Their debut album, Knee-Deep in the North Sea, was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize and was Time Out’s Jazz, Folk and World music album of the year 2007.[8]They subsequently signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records and released two albums: 2009’s Isla and 2012’s self-titled Portico Quartet. In 2011 founding member Nick Mulvey left the group to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter.[9] He was replaced by Keir Vine. In 2017, after a brief hiatus exploring experimenta op and electronica as Portico, they signed with Gondwana Records and released their fourth studio album as Portico Quartet - Art in the Age of Automation - which reached No.1 in the UK jazz chart. Their current line features founder members Duncan Bellamy on drums, Milo Fitzpatrick on bass, Jack Wyllie on saxophones and either Taz Modi or Keir Vine on hang drums and keyboards.