All in their twenties, Jack Wyllie (saxophones, electronics), Milo Fitzpatrick (double bass), Nick Mulvey (hang drum, percussion) and Duncan Bellamy (drums) describe themselves as an "indie-rock" band playing post-jazz. Loops, ethereal saxophone lines, that famous hang drum that seems to come from another world, the subtle clicks of the drums and the power of the stripped-down double bass – the unique combination of their instrumentation gives their music an inimitable sound. The four friends formed Portico Quartet after Duncan Bellamy bought a hang drum. Their intuitive music references jazz and African music, but it's the repetitive phrases of this retro-futuristic instrument, with its trance-like, floating quality, that propels them into worlds reminiscent of Philip Glass and Steve Reich, but also Radiohead or the "Scandinavian touch" of the e.s.t. trio. Portico Quartet creates a unique style: accessible, open atmospheric jazz that the band plays just as well in the streets as in unusual spaces, churches or galleries. In just a few years, after having played extensively in London's South Bank area, their hypnotic music earned them a Mercury Prize nomination and a recording at Abbey Road with the famous producer John Leckie, whose name is associated with The Stone Roses, XTC, Rodrigo & Gabriela, Radiohead, Papa Wemba, Muse and many others. Almost all of the tracks were recorded "live", and the album also features a string quartet, arranged by Milo Fitzpatrick.
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