Isla

Portico Quartet | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 31, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: REAL WORLD
• ASIN: B003UI50UE
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,182 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Floating somewhere between jazz and classical music, this young group make a strikingly original sound." --The Times

"Fresh, fun and different...an ear for a highly quotable melody." --Jazzwise

Product Description

Portico Quartet are four young London musicians who live together and create ambient, instrumental music based around the resonant chiming of the Swiss-made hang. Their fresh, signature sound is evocative, cerebral yet poignant, a music that seems pleasingly familiar yet thrillingly new: post-jazz, world music from the future, defying categorization.Recorded at Abbey Road by producer John Leckie (Radiohead, Baaba Maal, Spiritualised), ISLA was sculpted with loops, real-time electronics and overdubs. The band's influences include Steve Reich, Miles Davis, Philip Glass & Toumani Diabate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great band!, October 31, 2010

By 

Nessy NH "Nessy" (Nashua, NH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isla (Audio CD)

I saw them live in Montreal one month ago wjere they played this album almost entirely. WOW! It was really pleasant surprise!
Those young guys play with soul and passion, and they are excellent musicians.
I've just ordered their album from Amazon and can't wait listening to it.
Highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazz meets Steve Reich, January 11, 2011

By 

MV (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isla (Audio CD)

A brilliant record, that cements Portico Quartet as one of the most interesting musicians in contemporary jazz. Free-jazz meets minimal, in this hypnotizing recording, that delivers from start to finish. I recommend this record, without reservations, to lovers of jazz and minimal classical/ post-minimal.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The future of jazz is bright, January 6, 2011

By 

Bryant Phillips (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Isla (Audio CD)

This band was an easy like for me. For the last few years I've been pulled into the developing world of modern moody and electronic jazz, and last fm delivered this little jewel to me. The steel drums work wonderfully with the other more traditional jazz elements on display from this quartet, and I've listened to this album and Knee Deep In The North Sea several times with only minimal complaints (the worst and only truly annoying tracks on either album are both Track 6, coincidentally) and a growing sense of admiration for how young and talented these musicians are. Their sound has an ageless maturity about it, polished and yet seemingly improvised, sounding like a film soundtrack and a sleepy jazz club jam session all at once. It's really a treat.

Similar bands: The Cinematic Orchestra, Bonobo, Skalpel, Xploding Plastix, Jazzanova, Contemporary Noise Quintet/Sextet, Hidden Orchestra.