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: \/ F A N G \ / : '
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\ / presents \ / .
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: Artist......: Portico Quartet
: Album.......: Art in the Age of Automation :
: Label.......: Gondwana Records .. .:.. .
Genre.......: Electronic :
Catnr.......: GONDLP018 .
' Source......: LP ,
; Rip.date....: 2018-02-02
Str.date....: 2017-08-25
Quality.....: 241kbps/48.0kHz/Joint Stereo . :..
.:. Url.........: http://porticoquartet.com '
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\ / # title time \ /
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Disc 1 / 2
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1. Endless 4:24
2. Objects to Place in a Tomb 5:26
3. RGB 4:32
4. Art in the Age of Automation 4:55
5. S/2000S5 0:37
6. A Luminous Beam 6:02
Disc 2 / 2
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1. Beyond Dialogue 6:42
2. Rushing 6:19
3. Current History 6:07
4. Mercury Eyes 1:36
5. Lines Glow 3:48
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\ / ________ Runtime 50:28
,\ /... . . .... .... \ / ' Size 92.60 ______
:\/ ', \ / , \ /
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: Release Notes: \/ , \/ ,
' '
,: Mercury Prize-nominated Portico Quartet has always been an :,
: impossible band to pin down. Sending out echoes of jazz, :
:' electronica, ambient music and minimalism, the group created ':
,: their own singular, cinematic sound over the course of three :,
: studio albums, from their 2007 breakthrough æKnee-Deep in the :
:' North SeaÆ, and 2010 John Leckie produced æIslaÆ, to the self ':
,: titled record æPortico QuartetÆ in 2012. Now rebooted as Portico :,
: Quartet after a brief spell as the three-piece Portico, the :
:' group are set to release their fourth studio album Art In The ':
,: Age Of Automation this August on ManchesterÆs forward thinking :,
: indy jazz and electronica label Gondwana Records. ItÆs an :
:' eagerly anticipated return, with the band teasing both a return ':
,: to their mesmeric signature sound and fresh new sonic departures :,
: in their new music. So much so that their four-night run at :
:' Archspace E8 (June 22-25) sold out in less than an hour as fans ':
,: from around the world scrambled for tickets to hear the return :,
: of Portico Quartet. :
:' ':
,: Recorded at Fish Factory Studios in London at the beginning of :,
: the year and mixed at Vox studios, Berlin, Art In The Age Of :
:' Automation finds the band building on the sound world they ':
,: first explored with their eponymous 2012 release Portico :,
: Quartet, mixing the cinematic minimalism, that first made their :
:' name, with electronic and ambient textures alongside a welcome ':
,: return for JackÆs ethereal saxophone and DuncanÆs unique mixture :,
: of live and electronic drums as well of course as the bandÆs :
:' signature sound, the chiming other worldy tones of the hang ':
,: drum. ItÆs hard music to define, as Jack acknowledges. ôOur :,
: sound falls between many genres, jazz, electronic music even :
:' minimalism in places, but naturally itÆs an amalgamation of ':
,: everything weÆve listened toö. And as you would expect from a :,
: band that have evolved with each recording, this is no barren :
:' retread of the past, instead it represents another step forward ':
,: sonically and musically in the bandÆs ongoing evolution, as Jack :,
: explains. ôWeÆve really gone into detail with the sounds and :
:' production, building dense layers and textures but retaining a ':
,: live, organic feel to it. We wanted to use acoustic instruments :,
: but find ways in which they could interact with more modern :
:' production techniques and technologies to create something that ':
,: was identifiably us but sounded fresh and exciting, futuristic :,
: even.ö Its an ethos that also informs the albumÆs title and the :
:' distinctive artwork by Duncan Bellamy (under his Veils Project ':
,: identity) that adorns the albumÆs cover ôThe artwork came about :,
: when I started to explore the idea of scanning moving images. :
:' The resulting image is exactly that - a film playing on a ':
,: tablet whilst the scan is in action. So the image is something :,
: created by the scanner itself, and in this way it establishes a :
:' relationship with the title of the albumö. And itÆs the mix ':
,: between the human and the electronic that makes the music on :,
: AITAOA so fresh and exciting as Portico Quartet one again evolve :
:' their music into the future. ':
,: :,
: The album opens with insistent, catchy Endless, which references :
:' the classic Portico Quartet sound, but expands outwards into a ':
,: hypnotic, blissful collage of strings, hangs, electronics, :,
: saxophones and BellamyÆs unique drumming. ItÆs a sound that :
:' permeates the whole record, feeling both familiarly Portico ':
,: Quartet, but transformed into something bold and new, sounding :,
: somehow bigger than ever but even more detailed. Elsewhere :
:' Rushing draws on the bands love of minimalist music, a repeated ':
,: piano motif merges with a contorted vocal sample that twists its :,
: way through juxtaposed spaces to reach an uplifting resolve. :
:' Meanwhile the title track offers a moment of down-tempo ':
,: respite: the hang drum is joined by a full horns and string :,
: section, culminating in a orchestral outro where cellos and :
:' violins blend with saxophones and hang drum to form a densely ':
,: layered blanket of sound. The sound of strings are prevalent on :,
: much of the record, and as Jack explains they add an extra layer :
:' of humanity to the music ôItÆs exciting working with a string ':
,: section and to hear the ideas you sketch on a computer being :,
: played on acoustic instruments, then being able to direct them :
:' in a way in which is just not possible on a computer, it brings ':
,: a real emotional depth and nuance to the recordö. On A Luminous :,
: Beam an infectious drum grove drives the piece while synths, :
:' flutes and strings are layered with the saxophone floating ':
,: freely over the top. Beyond Dialogue is classic Portico Quartet, :,
: exploiting the ethereal, otherworldly timbre of the hang drums :
:' and JackÆs saxophone to create a hypnotic track that references ':
,: minimalism and ambient music to create something beautiful and :,
: new. Current History has nods towards more electronic and urban :
:' music as drum machines underpin a collage of hang drums and ':
,: saxophones. The album finishes on the aptly tilted Lines Glow, :,
: the saxophone weaving its melody over an organ and string :
:' section culminating in an epic, euphoric moment of release. ':
,: ItÆs a fittingly uplifting way to end an album that announces :,
: the return of one of the UKÆs most singular, and influential :
:' bands, one that a decade from their founding are still pushing ':
,: the boundaries of their music into the future and still sound :,
: like nothing you ever heard before.á :
:' ':
: '
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\ / \ /
\ / Shout out to all our homies from: \ /
\ / \ /
\ / iPC BOSS HiT2000 1way UKi i8 RNS \ /
\ / RAGEMP3 MANDY DV8 pLAN9 BUTT \ /
\ / \ /
\/ ____ ____ \/
\ / F A N G \ /
\/ 2 0 1 8 \/