The Portico Quartet’s debut album “Knee-Deep In The North Sea” is one of 12 nominations for this year’s Mercury Music Prize. Up against the likes of Radiohead, Estelle and Elbow, the leftfield jazz foursome are hopeful the judges might take a punt on something different, with their sound being described as ‘hook-heavy post-jazz’. RealMusic Blog caught up with double bass player Milo Fitzpatrick to chat about their warp-speed rise to fame, UFO-style instruments, playing Glastonbury and the curse of the Mercury Prize…
Hey Milo - how are you?
“Good thanks - bit busy painting our new house, so it’s all a bit manic. I’ve subjected myself to a bit much Radio One today in the process so I’m going a bit mental…”
And you’re moving to Clapton in East London - is that to be nearer your spiritual home, The Vortex Jazz Bar?
“A couple of people have mentioned that! It’s definitely a great place to hang out and catch music, but we’ve got loads of friends, fellow musicians and artists around there, so it’s good to be part of a creative community.”
Let’s talk about the Mercury nomination - was it a surprise?
“We knew our record had been put forward and hoped it might get the leftfield vote. We were still surprised when the call came through though…”
It’s not the first nomination for your debut album “Knee-Deep In The North Sea” is it? You won a Time Out award for best Jazz, Folk and World Music Album…
“That was a real surprise - more than the Mercury nomination! - because it was our first award and Time Out is quite highly regarded.”
Do you think you’re going to win the Mercury Prize?
“I have to say yes don’t I? We have huge respect for all the other artists on the list though - Radiohead are great, Burial are highly tipped and I love his records, Laura Marling has a good chance. But the Mercury Prize is a funny one - it’s a bit cursed isn’t it? Some of the artists who win it tend to fall away afterwards, having had great momentum beforehand.”
So being nominated is enough?
“It’s great - especially for a band like us. It just propels everything forward like some sort of quantum excelerator. Apparently we got a 256% sales rise from whatever we sold before on Amazon. I’m not sure what that was though - it might have just been one - but still, that’s 256 records sold!”
Do you have your winner and loser faces at the ready for the ceremony on September 9th?
“I’m booked to go to Africa the next day to see my girlfriend, but if we win it, my face will be amazed and I’ll probably have to stay behind!”
Have you always been jazz fans?
“We don’t think we’re specifically jazz musicians - our music is more instrumental. We do have the sax and double bass which are iconic jazz instruments, but our music mirrors rock music, African music, new classical music. I’d say our sound is jazzy, but also classical and film soundtrack-like.”
And it’s based around a Hang - what’s that then?
“The Hang is a percussion instrument that’s shaped like a UFO - it looks like two woks that have been put together. It’s the inverse of a steel drum, so instead of being concave it’s convex. It takes its sound from gongs and steel drums, but the end result is softer and more ethereal in tone.”
The Vortex started a label to release your first album - that’s quite an honour. Will your second album be on the same label?
“It really was an honour for them to pick us. It’s a cool idea to have a live venue as your label, because it opens up your music and you can showcase it at the venue too. Whether we’ll stay with them for the next album hasn’t been decided yet…”
You honed your sound busking around Europe playing in churches and galleries - tell me a bit about that…
“A lot of our first pieces are short and hook you straight away and that’s what you have to do when you’re busking - so I guess our sound originated there, but we’ve honed it more since. We still busk occasionally when it’s a sunny Saturday or Sunday, but we’ve been a bit busy of late!”
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve played?
“We played in a really odd festival in Zagreb. We were all still at university and thought it would be wicked just to get away to another country and go to a festival. But when we got there it was like a fete and we ended up playing on a bandstand in a park to about two people just after it pissed it down with rain.”
But I bet playing Glastonbury this year was a bit different to that?
“It certainly was! We played the jazz stage and that was a real turning point for us - it raised the bar on the type of gigs we do. We played The Big Chill too, so we’re getting more used to the big stages at festivals. We really gave it some at that one and the crowd was great. We want to do more festivals now!”
Now you’re national celebs, do you plan to start larging it?
(Laughs) “Our heads are still so on the music and the sound right now - plus, the bucks haven’t started rolling in yet! We don’t have the money to live a lavish lifestyle - I’m still deeply in the red and surviving on breadcrumbs…”
Is there anyone you’d like to collaborate with in the future?
“A gazillion and one people! I want to try out a vocalist on one or two tracks on the new record to see how that fits - ideally someone a bit different like Bjork, Joanna Newsome or Roisin Murphy - someone with a distinctive voice.”
Finally, what’s the most played song on your MP3 player at the moment?
“Winter Hymnal” by the Fleet Foxes - it’s very Crosby, Stills and Nash and really haunting.”
Thanks for your time Milo - and good luck for the Mercury Prize!
“Thanks a lot!”
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Portico Quartet’s album “Knee-Deep In The North Sea” is out now. The Mercury Music Prize will be decided on September 9th.
(Clare Lydon)
