Renowned Portico Quartet begins its 2010 North American Tour

The critically acclaimed U.K. group Portico Quartet begins its first ever United States shows supporting their album ‘Isla‘ (Real World Records).

The Portico Quartet are a group of musicians in their early twenties who play instrumental music. Formed four years ago from two sets of school friends, they share a house in East London, make recordings, and play festivals and clubs. Yet what distinguishes them from dozens of other Hackney hopefuls is the way they sound – a fresh, unclichéd resynthesis and reinvention of music that’s both pleasingly familiar and thrillingly new, like World Music from the future.

With largely acoustic resources – percussion, bass and wind instruments – they have conjured and refined a group signature that’s immediately recognizable. Thanks to the use of the hang, a tuned percussion instrument bought on impulse at a music festival, they have a sound that is instantly attractive, yet uncompromisingly individual, and it’s this, combined with the cheerful eloquence of their performances, that has brought Portico Quartet a long way in a short time.

The line-up of the band is Duncan Bellamy (drums), Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass), Nick Mulvey (hang and percussion) and Jack Wyllie (soprano, tenor saxophones and electronics). They cite such diverse influences as Steve Reich, Miles Davis, Philip Glass and Toumani Diabate. In just a few years, Portico Quartet’s hypnotic music has taken them from busking on London’s South Bank, to a Mercury Prize nomination, to recording Isla at Abbey Road Studio 2 with famed producer John Leckie (Stone Roses, Radiohead, Muse etc).

Portico Quartet North American Tour

Sep 22 – Minneapolis, MN at Cedar Cultural Center
Sep 24 – Cedar Rapids, IA at CSPS
Sep 25 – Chicago, IL at World Music Festival
Sep 27 – Kent, OH at Kent Stage
Sep 28 – New York, NY at Joe’s Pub
Sep 29 – Brooklyn, NY at Coco 66
Sep 30 – Philadelphia, PA at World Café Live
Oct 01 – Cambridge, MA at Lily Pad
Oct 02 – Montreal, QC at L’Astral

Buy the album:

• In North America: Isla. Other recordings available: Knee Deep in the North Sea
• In Europe: Isla. Other recordings available: Knee Deep in the North Sea

Portico Quartet Line Video