Results for "Portico Quartet"

Portico Quartet

The Portico Quartet are a bunch of guys in their early twenties who play instrumental music. Formed four years ago from two sets of schoolfriends, 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

Jack Wyllie: Eternal Spring

by Maciej Stasiowski
September 7, 2026

Starling murmurations are an amazing sight and a wonder illustrating swarm intelligence. How come none of the birds collide with their peers? Decoded by computer modeling, emergent behavior in complex systems unveils patterns that go well beyond single-component contribution. It is tempting to hear out flocking behavior that transforms individual instruments into a rich tapestry--a wall ...

Vilnius Mama Jazz 2026

by Ian Patterson
June 11, 2026

Vilnius Mama Jazz Lithuanian National Drama Theatre25th Edition Vilnius. LithuaniaMay 22-24, 2026 Vilnius Mama Jazz turned 25. In festival terms that is early middle age. When you consider that 25 years is roughly a quarter of the entire history of jazz, the significance of the milestone assumes greater meaning.

Mammal Hands: Circadia

by David Bruggink
March 7, 2026

On their sixth full-length release, Mammal Hands moves from Manchester's Gondwana Records to the German jazz powerhouse ACT. The former indie label proved an excellent fit for their contemplative piano-saxophone-drums format, which draws from jazz, modern classical, and post-rock in a manner both sensitive and cohesive. ACT's association with the Esbjörn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.) makes the partnership ...

Konrad Ciesielski: Koniec

by Geno Thackara
December 14, 2025

Konrad Ciesielski looks like a man of contradictions: an extreme-metal drummer who also plays some Southern stoner rock on the side, loud and powerful yet fluidly graceful, finally making a solo debut and titling it Koniec (The End). In a somewhat sideways step from his past history, this is a sweeping musical panorama that feels downright ...

Vega Trails: Sierra Tracks

by Andrew Hunter
May 26, 2025

There is something about watching the evening sunlight move across a distant mountain range that draws a response from even the most jaded soul. The colours, the shimmer in the air, the sense of scale--it is a scene made for peaceful introspection and contemplation. Sierra Tracks by Vega Trails is Milo Fitzpatrick's response to moving to ...

Paradise Cinema: returning, dream

by Geno Thackara
September 21, 2024

Was this made in a studio or beamed in from a jungle on some faraway planet? Perhaps a little of both--Jack Wyllie's saxophone does often find some alien- sounding contexts, as often shown by the futuristic electro-jazz-ambient sound sculpting of Portico Quartet or the wilder psychedelic fusion of Szun Waves. When it comes to Paradise Cinema, ...

Matthew Halsall: An Ever Changing View

by Chris May
August 28, 2023

Based in the northern English city of Manchester, trumpeter Matthew Halsall debuted on record in 2008 with Sending My Love (Gondwana), a stylish take on the meditative end of the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders. Halsall's emergence pre-dated by over half a decade that of the London alternative scene vanguarded by musicians such ...

Jazzkaar 2023

by Martin Longley
June 10, 2023

Jazzkaar Tallinn, Estonia April 23-30, 2023 Jazzkaar has now lost two days, this exceptional Estonian festival running at eight rather than ten, but still remaining epic when compared to most others. The opening Sunday might have only featured a single concert, but as the fresh week progressed, the scale incrementally increased, hitting ...

Terrain (Extended)

By Portico Quartet

Label: Gondwana Records
Released: 2022
Track listing: I; II; III.