Portico Quartet - Cittagazze
There are always a couple of wild cards on the Mercury Music Prize shortlist, usually something that can loosely be described as jazz or folk (the usual classical artist seems to have bitten the dust years ago). Some argue this is simply tokenism, others would say the Mercury panel are spreading the word about acts that haven't had the benefit of major label hype and whose work is deserving of more ears.
Among the acts to gain exposure this time around is the Portico Quartet, four fresh-faced mates who share a house, Monkees-style, in Clapham, south London, and who built up a following playing their 'post-jazz' compositions al fresco at London's South Bank, selling their recordings to passers-by. On the back of their performances, east London club The Vortex set up a label to give a proper release to their debut Knee-Deep In The North Sea.
They still busk, but their gigs have gone up in the world. Last month they played Glastonbury, this week it was iTunes Live. What Portico do is not simply jazz, it's well structured instrumental pop - sometimes upbeat and danceable like on Cittagazze; at other times dreamy, languid and atmospheric.
Tracks are built on a rhythmic soundbed of double bass, drums and the recently invented Swiss instrument the 'hang' (looks like an inverted wok and sounds not unlike a steel drum), with soprano sax player Jack Wylie building delicate melodies. Hang player Nick Mulvey is also a proficient guitarist who has talked about introducing guitars on future recordings.
