Keith Jopling: 0:00

Hello and welcome to The Art of longevity. I'm your host, Keith Jopling. Brown, the son of suede once said that all successful artists have navigated for career stages. The struggle, the stratospheric rise to the top, crashed to the bottom of a renaissance or the art of longevity. We talked to artists who spent decades in the music industry and discover what the journey has been like for them, and how they experience each of Brett's four stages. Along the way, there are some great stories of the ups and downs, and the roundabouts of a career in music, insights, fans and aspiring musicians. This is the art of longevity. We're on episode six of season two with Duncan Bellamy and Jack boilie of Puerto Rico, Cortez. Welcome to the Art of longevity. Hi,

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 0:59

Keith. Thanks for having us. Yeah. Hi, Keith. Thanks for having us on. How

Keith Jopling: 1:04

you doing this morning? Feels early. Yeah, coffee.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 1:09

I have coffee as we speak actually. Yeah. I actually haven't had coffee. So just moving to a new place. And I don't have a coffee maker to go and buy one out immediately afterwards.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 1:20

I think maybe I'm to blame for this early start. I sort of suggested cracking on at 10am. But maybe that was unwise.

Keith Jopling: 1:27

I don't know. Now we'll find out. Anyway, look, you've both been really busy. First thing just sort of bring us up to speed really, we're expecting a new album from you in a matter of weeks might even be out by the time we release this. So just bring us up to speed. What have you been up to very recently.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 1:47

So yeah, we've got this album monument coming out. But we recorded it. But this time last year, actually, I think we finished making it along with terrain as well. So we did two albums at the same time. Where we had terrain out in winter that come out. That was like may kind of time and April Okay, yeah. And then yeah. And then we've got this new one monument coming out like six months later. So yeah, two albums in quick succession. But yeah, all made at the same time last year in lockdown.

Keith Jopling: 2:17

So you've released two singles from monument, and they're very, very different. So it feels like it could be your first dance record in a way just based on the first two singles. So it's interesting, the recorded and at the same time.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 2:29

Yeah, I mean, there were two very different albums. We went in with the intention of making monument, the one that's coming out more like upfront, much more melodic tracks a shorter, more punchy, more kind of like radio friendly, I guess, we went in with the intention of making something like that. And then out of that, you know, we were kind of basically writing during the pandemic. And then we compose these longer tunes kind of as a way to go a bit deeper into some of them, some of the music that we were already making some new long form pieces that we had been making over the course of our career, we normally have one or some piece on each album. So we went a bit deeper into that kind of Yeah, like, as, I think it was a way to respond to the pandemic, a way to sort of, yeah, like immerse yourself in music and kind of like insulate ourselves from all the madness that's going on. And you felt like yeah, I felt like we should do something. Yeah, to respond to it. So then we had these two albums developing in parallel, basically. And so that's why we've got two very different records.

Keith Jopling: 3:39

Yeah, with terrain. So it was an album in sort of three movements or tracks, if you like, the loud and quiet review got it perfectly for me, which is described, it's more as a babbling brook than a cresting wave, which was perfect, because I think your signature sound is cresting wave, you know, it's it's about kind of crescendos and then quiet, you know, builds back up, whereas this one is, yeah, sort of felt like did you feel like listeners would cope with a quieter record? Essentially, because of we were all locked down and had a bit more time on our hands and needed to meditate somewhat? Was that the thinking behind it?

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 4:19

I'm not sure it was intentional as that in a way but but yeah, I think you're you're right in it. Things don't unfold in such a traditional sense, I suppose. With like peaks and the the structures are quite different Satan when human or to any other anywhere on the records, really. But yeah, I don't know. I think that kind of maybe it was quite disorientating time in a way and it's more like a series is kind of a stitch together series of events rather than, like a cohesive, AB or AB AB or AB CBA structure or something, you know?

Keith Jopling: 4:59

Yeah, it's great. is, as you say, it sort of takes you on a bit of a journey. It's a bit like sort of just going further down into into the depths in a way. Yeah, no, that's cool.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 5:07

I'd say yeah, there were like, you know, there's been points. And some of the other records that attract could lie in on Isla. And there's a track called rubidium on self titled album. And then the track called shed so on either as well, which are kind of like precursors to that album. You know, they're these quite long form pieces that are based on one repetitive part. And that is quite hypnotic. So that it kind of like it kind of grew out of that. We dug into that way of making music with terrain.

Keith Jopling: 5:41

Yeah, hypnotic, is think describes it really well. It reminds me a little bit actually of some of Miles Davis as I guess it was mid to late 80s, sort of stuff slightly more experimental, not necessarily, that sounds the same, it's got the same feel to it. Nice.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 5:59

That's good, good references,

Keith Jopling: 6:01

so that we go on a bit of a time machine, musical time machine on this show. So we skipped back and forth and wanted to go to 2009. When would the release of Isla, which think was the first album on real world that because I was I remember actually being at real world at the time I was I was doing some work on the WOMAD festival, and, you know, ended up in a conversation there about you. And I just felt like a was a good signing, and be that you had real potential for crossover success. You know, as an instrumental group. I just wanted to sort of go back and explore how the relationship was real world started.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 6:40

How did it start? I think they became aware of us after probably after the mercury nomination, that was in 2008. So it was off the back of our first album, and I don't know, can you remember the specifics of it doesn't?

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 6:56

I think our manager Kirsten might have. I think he might have had some kind of prior relationship with Amanda Jones, perhaps? I've got a feeling that yeah, under knew each other somehow, you know, I guess being in the in sort of similar worlds. I think. I think they knew each other somehow.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 7:17

Do you know what I think maybe he just did the classic thing of sending the record out to people that he thought might be interested in it. Yeah. And Amanda Jones picked it up. And there was like I said, there was a bit of momentum behind us then after the after Mercury Prize. So yeah, I think that's how I don't think it's particularly exciting.

Keith Jopling: 7:38

So well, yeah, I mean, you're right, there was that momentum, and I suppose the Mercury Prize is that kind of hint at for the instrumental groups, or the jazz artists that get nominated. That is their kind of touching crossover. But I mean, funnily enough, you know, they never win it, which I'm always sort of, kind of disappoints me, and in a way, so first of all, the mercury nomination with knee deep in the North Sea, and then the signing to real world just start started to open up opportunities for you. So just tell us what that was, like, as it unfolded.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 8:15

We'd put a lot of work in, you know, ourselves kind of the year before that. Me and Jack and the other two original members, Nick and Milo. And yeah, we've been kind of plugging away and kind of, you know, building things ourselves. And obviously, that we signed to a label label, who is the label of one of our bundling, who used to run the or moderate still does run the vortex jazz club endorsed and, and then obviously, at the mercury nomination, it just, you know, but yeah, we've been kind of building up to that. But obviously, you don't really expect necessarily to get nominated for the Mercury Prize, but I seem to remember at the time, it just being kind of quite young. I think we always said it was a surprise, but I think we're also kind of felt like well, that sort of rightfully so it's I think, you know, like, I don't remember feeling like it was I mean, it was obviously was like, huge, but it was it was like it felt very much within reach somehow, perhaps because of like, you know, people who had been nominated in the years prior like polar bear or acoustic Ladyland, or people like that, you know, it felt like there was precedent and actually Label Label who they'd all been nominated from that label. So it also felt like there was something kind of stirring there. But certainly, yeah, getting the Mercury Prize Did you know I'm sure we, we sold a lot more CDs and but we already did sell a lot more records and just you know, it did open up opportunities and give you that clout, I guess to go and take things up a notch. I

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 9:50

think it's kind of like what you maybe would have done over the course of 510 years or whatever it gets condensed into like, six months like The exposure that a band like us got in relation to what we would usually get, you know, it's just like, quite substantial. You know, I think for a band like Radiohead, or whoever some of the bigger bands, it's maybe not that much of a big deal. But for smaller jazz band to be pushed into the, into the limelight like that. Yeah, it's really, you know, just in terms of like, career wise and development as a, as a band or awareness of the band. It just happens much, much faster.

Keith Jopling: 10:29

It sounded like you weren't fazed in any way. I mean, from what you said, Duncan, it's kind of you were happy with that? Did real world set bigger expectations? I mean, because it was quite a step up, right? I mean, it's Peter Gabriel's label was that there's some pretty well known bands signed to that label.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 10:47

Funnily enough, my knowledge of Peter Gabriel was very limited that kind of aware of who he was. But, you know, it was one of those things, it was felt like more of a big deal to everyone. You know, I told it to Gabriel, but I didn't, I, you know, it's probably only like 19 or 20. At that point, I just hadn't really listened to, you know, shamefully I didn't I didn't know know his music. But I think certainly, you know, I can remember writing that record distinctly being quite a, does that feeling of like we you have to kind of deliver. And if you've had success on your first record, then suddenly there is, you know, there is a pressure to come up with something second time round, which isn't as difficult, isn't it? If you're not going to repeat exactly what you've done before? And if you want to try and develop it somewhat, Then how'd you do that? But do it in a coherent way? Yeah, it was. Remember, the writing session has been fairly intense?

Keith Jopling: 11:41

Yes. It's not the easiest thing in the world to set out as an instrumental group. And as you say, you know, Jack, you got that kind of accelerated track from from being on real world. Back in that time, I guess. And even now, it was that sort of attention economy is like, it feels like you have to maybe work a bit harder at your craft to kind of compete in that world. As an instrumental band. Did you feel like that was part of what you needed to do with the music? Or was it just a case of let's just get on and make the music we want to make and see what happens and not worry about, you know, the fact that we're now signed to a, you know, fairly well known label, and we just had the Mercury Prize, you know, did you kind of try and adapt to the circumstances?

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 12:29

There's definitely that sort of, you know, the kind of classic, difficult second album, pressure, I think we were, you know, we really kind of happy making the music that we were making, we tried to, you know, change it and have some sense of development to it, but I don't, we weren't thinking about it that much more than that. I mean, I think one of the key differences that made Duncan said made the writing sessions quite intense, was that we were just in a studio, right in this, where's the first album, we basically wrote it busking on the Southbank and much more relaxed, we just kind of jamming for hours, and these tunes would slowly come out of that. And with this album, we were just all in a studio, in our back garden, that we living together. Yeah, so this this, you know, like, we had like a gold go Convert garage in the back of our house. And we've so the studio was kind of like in the house, and we were living together and Ryan together. It was pretty intense. Actually.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 13:35

Insane, isn't it? Yeah, it's mental. But funnily enough, I do think those are the kind of things actually that you kind of, you know, you just sort of put up with and you do when you're younger. But there is something I think too, like, you know, you kind of hotbox your creativity in a way you kind of it's like a incubator or something, you know, it just I think it does force things to happen. And things can happen quite quickly. And you're kind of you know, you're talking about it the entire time. And, you know, you put it's probably unsustainable, but on some kind of level, it's probably quite productive as well. Wake up to breakfast, and you're kind of talking about the music and passing it and then you're gonna get on with it. It's not easy, but like, I do think there's a real focus isn't there, I suppose. Yeah.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 14:19

I think what's difficult about that kind of writing in your house living with everyone is that you have these musical distributed disagreements that kind of, it's quite difficult for them not to spill over into your personal life or your residential, or whatever, you know. Yeah. It's

Keith Jopling: 14:37

almost like going to work with your family. And I couldn't imagine doing that.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 14:41

Yeah, exactly. You know,

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 14:45

but it's funny yeah, that's what I mean it's unsustainable, but it can be for like periods it because I when I look at that album, I do actually think it's a pretty focused, mature album actually, for that ties a lot more than the knee deep and I'll see you know, it's really Yeah, it's quite lean and interesting. But I think it just comes from like, Yeah, we really did just session it every day for a few months. And

Keith Jopling: 15:07

yeah, I totally agree. I think it sort of you seem to find hit your stride and find a signature sound. And I think for me, the those years at real world just seem to be incredibly developmental. So just wanted to sort of come on to that. Because when it when it comes to the next album, which was the self titled, album, I remember hearing that. So that was a couple of years later. And that really blew me away. I mean, that's the opening tracks, you got window seat ruin spinner. It struck me at that point, how far you've come, I thought, Well, these guys are sort of landed on another planet. I mean, did it feel like, as you say, you know, Duncan, you kind of hothouse that it feels like you were making a lot of forward progress at that point.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 15:54

Yeah. It's funny. Actually, I never really think so much about that transition. But you're right, that that is a pretty crucial transition. And I think we can't talk about it without talking about Nick leaving. And, Nick, I can't remember what year that would have been. If I look him up to those nine. And the self departed album came out in 2012, then it might have been late 2010, early 2011. The Nick left knee left. Yeah, I can't actually remember the chronology now. But I think me Jeff and Milo was still you know, we're very determined to carry on and, and I think part of the reason that Nick felt uncomfortable is because, you know, the kind of electronic side or like our interest in electronic music and kind of augmenting the kind of core lineup at the bandwidth electronics Jack was doing, Jack was kind of like the first to really make that leap. And he used is loop station and delay on his saxophone. And he was kind of getting into making kind of like, ambient textures and whatever. And soon, we all, you know, I had like a little contact mic and Ben have some effects. And I think that kind of only that was the only reason but I think it's part of the reason, Nick wasn't so into any more. But I think that leap there actually, yeah, it's kind of weird, actually, to think of Eiler to self titled record is actually quite a huge, like, sonically it's quite a big leap on. And I don't know, did we have an awareness? I think we were just really interested. I think we, you know, we were like, obviously, like, kind of, we had a point to prove, I suppose, because we had a point to prove that we could still make music that was recognizably portico, and it was still good. But I think also, you know, our tastes developed, and we, we wanted to use a lot of the new skills we developed, I guess, you know, you know, with that my drum machine, and whatever, you know, it was that kind of time of the XX and all those kind of bands. And I was kind of like, interested in other ways of making music. And a lot of that actually ended up being you know, because Nick had left it was like, doing things like sampling the hang drum and like having those things running on, you know, on loops in the background, or whatever, or Jack having like a pad on his sax that fills out the middle register or something. No, they were basically like, in a way it was like creating music and then trying to fill in have this other person, but just how could you do that. And a lot of that was sort of electronic gladed,

Keith Jopling: 18:30

I think was that embracing of the electronic side of things that just felt like the sound had developed into somewhere different, but you've successfully kind of still kept the organic side. And the hang just seemed to sort of suddenly be imbalanced with a lot of other things where it'll always come to the fore of your music, and you're kind of known for, for the hang. And I suppose that was sort of to do with with Nick's departure as well.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 18:55

Yeah. And there were, there was definitely a sense that we didn't want to be known as the hang band, we didn't really want to find fine instrument. So we were like, quite deliberately trying to move it away from that, and also move it away from the saxophone a bit because I think we were also quite conscious of being a jazz band, but not necessarily being really jazz. Yeah, we were quite conscious about being seen as a jazz. And we were like, Oh, we, you know, we feel like we're more than that. And, you know, the saxophone being so idiomatic is. So you know, we did use it, but we were trying to I was trying to try to change the sound of it a bit, make it a bit less jazzy play in different ways. That reflected our interest in other kinds of music. So that was a quite a conscious decision to try and move on and move away from the jazz world as well. At that point,

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 19:43

yeah, I

Keith Jopling: 19:43

felt like you've managed that part really successfully, creatively because it's not like the jazz world rejected you. I mean, they've always embraced you. You've always, you know, being really well reviewed by the jazz publications and you know, embraced by that committee. Unity, but you've always worked to a more accessible sound, which is not easy to do.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 20:07

You know, I think there were parts of the jazz world that weren't really into what we were doing because it's, it isn't particularly harmonically complex. I don't think that's the only reason I think that's part of it. And so I think there are a passage won't be like, these guys are just making nice little melodic tunes. But I think what was interesting for us was the like, yeah, Maria kind of textual side of our music and being able to engage with other kinds of music, particularly electronically, that type,

Keith Jopling: 20:38

as you say, coming from essentially from a jazz background or being placed in that world, but then, you know, essentially just crossing over, but always with an accessible film. And that's what Yeah, I find it Yeah, it's just what's attractive about your music. It's, yeah, I'm a jazz fan. But actually, I'm a fan of Radiohead and electronic music. So there aren't that many bands that can successfully operate in both those worlds.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 21:05

Yeah, it's a cliche in a way to say it now. But like, you know, because things have changed so much with streaming, which threat for music is available, I do think there is something that like, with our generation, you know, particularly is that I think people are more comfortable crossing genres, you know, because I don't feel like we've forced it that much. You know, it's not like, you know, when you see you kind of see things that like, you can really see the constituent parts, you're like, oh, that's your jazz bit. And then that's your sort of beats bit. And then that's your, I suppose what I'm trying to say is we weren't trying to make like a crossover project, it was just the means that we were making, I think maybe it's benefited in from that, because it wasn't, so it wasn't calculated

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 21:49

that way. I think as well, like a lot of jazz around 10, at least, or at least the ways that like, people become jazz musicians was to go through the, like Academy system and you do, you know, you do a degree in jazz, and you'd learn how to play hardball. And you'd be very in the jazz world. But none of us did that. So we were like, We were much more our interests for much wider than just chairs, and we weren't, like studying it very academically. So we were just naturally much more open and interested in other kinds of music. And I think actually,

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 22:26

well, funnily enough, like, if I really think back on it, I think that you're a Knicks initial grounding. So SNF musicology I know it wasn't what you like, using a bit in the module a bit, but I do think that kind of had some you might have had the like, the Southampton youth Jazz Orchestra thing, which to me was kind of always blew my mind because I never studied any music. So it was always seem you had at least a bit of a grounding in that world. Yeah. So us, you suddenly had like, getting exposed to like gamelan, and to a lot of African music, West African music and all these different kind of traditions. I remember Nick, and you know, like, kind of pulling out Steve Reich, at a time when it felt like, at least amongst younger people, it wasn't like a common thing to do. So, yeah, it was a lot of this stuff kind of swirling around.

Keith Jopling: 23:14

Keith here, thanks for listening to the art of longevity. I hope you're enjoying the conversation so far. Please tell your friends, listen back to the other episodes. And don't forget to subscribe on whatever podcast platform you listen to. Back to the conversation. Well, let's go back to the beginning. Because like many people, I first came across you on the Southbank, doing your busking up in the National Gallery, and bought that first CD, which I think was like a four or five track thing for a fiver. No, I didn't realize at the time I read later that you sold 10,000 of those. And you kind of had a sort of light industry thing going on with CD burners in flattened stuff. I mean, I was just blown away by that. Because, in a way, so if you sold 10? I mean, did you sell 10,000? It's

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 24:10

probably a rough guess. Yeah, it was. Yeah.

Keith Jopling: 24:14

I just had to do the maths on that. So that's the equivalent of basically, I mean, you'd have to do 10 million streams to get the equivalent in sales. Yeah. And if you actually if you're on a label, so you're on a label, so you'd have to split it with a label. So that's 20 million streams, add in publishing is a bit more. I mean, in a funny way. You had a bit of business model back then then that exists now.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 24:37

Yeah,

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 24:38

I see. You've probably got the CD burner out again.

Keith Jopling: 24:42

done the Southbank. You'd have to burn vinyl now, I guess. Yeah. Burn

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 24:47

your own vinyl. That would be

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 24:50

I mean, we were only we were selling them for a fiver It was great. It's really fun. You know, we'd go and buy the flag CDs up Maplins get these you know, the big stacks isn't so like, next to nothing. And then yeah, we had this CD burner that we bought for about denote a few 100 quid, do a at a time that it do them in about two, three minutes. You just sit there and they'd all just stack them up and then go and sell them on the Southbank Centre. About 200 a day, I think 150 200 a day. So, yeah, I mean, it was as a student, it was like, it meant I didn't have to have a student job. Didn't have to work in a bar. And so, yeah, it's great, really fun. The

Keith Jopling: 25:33

ARC of this show is sort of meant to, you know, it's based on something I read the Brandis in a suede said about, you know, the four stages, there's the struggle, the rise, and then because of a crash to the bottom in the Renaissance, but it felt like that as for the struggle bit, you were just far too industrious to be struggling, you had your own sort of light industry going on.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 25:55

I often look back at it and think like, why didn't we just maybe it wasn't as easy as that. Because it you know, sometimes look back and be like, why don't we just get like 1000 CDs burn and invest in it, you know, and just not have to burn them in our CD burner. But I guess that was the year of CDs were quite dominant, then still, maybe it wasn't that maybe it wasn't as cheap. There was a point when I started to get the covers printed, that we get like the CD was printed at the beginning, it was literally like I go into printer, print on total Court Road and get a load of photocopies done, and then kind of paint them in by hand. But I guess that looking back on it, that probably gave it a certain charm. You know, also looking back at it, I remember, you know, coming out some Martens and talking about road and walking up and the Arctic Monkeys had sold out the story without having a label and, you know, sort of my early MySpace days and people will kind of you know, I guess it's probably something like, what's happening on tick tock now, you know, people getting discovered they're being unsigned and kind of a bit of a dry spirit, you know?

Keith Jopling: 26:55

Yeah, I think you're right, that dry spirit is kind of come back now. But it's just horrendously more complicated and competitive. Now.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 27:03

It's so funny, when I look back and look yes, going busking and all the the strange lengths we went to, or like the way we went about it is feels very, I should say homemade, doesn't it? It's kind of quite funny compared to what you would do now to break out.

Keith Jopling: 27:19

I think, at the time you were able to make a living out of it. But I mean, seriously, now it's, you know, we're 15 years old, almost. So you've got to a point where you get into that age where you need to make a sustainable living, and how does that work as an instrumental band on streaming? I mean, is it is it come down to the sort of classic situation of commercially it's about playing live? It's

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 27:42

a bit of a combination between I mean, we do we actually do a write on streaming? And then, you know, physical sales as well. And yeah, a knife is, is a is a big part of it. And the between Yeah, between those three things, bit of PRs stuff, you can kind of make it and I think the thing is now we're like, what album we are now,

Keith Jopling: 28:04

I think monument be number eight. Number eight, blimey,

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 28:07

yeah. Do you know, there's all those albums there that are just streaming, like, all the time, and you get little bits of royalties? And it does add up? It doesn't it does add up. So Right. It's not like we're making huge amounts of money. But

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 28:20

I think we all that we do, like Jack said, we're lucky and we are someone who we actually stream relatively well, shall we get on to algorithmic playlists and people will listen to us on Spotify. So but that doesn't mean it works for everyone. You know, it's a bit of a I don't know what all the factors are. I think it's probably pretty complex. Isn't it really to, to measure that, but kind of fortunate, at least that that is something that works for us.

Keith Jopling: 28:47

Your music? Is that sort of Scott, that kind of it sinkable? Has it been a route for you?

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 28:53

Weirdly, like it's been all over the BBC, the BBC don't have a deal with PRs, where they can kind of blanket license. Yeah. So but from that, like, we get the occasional thing, but not that much. But it is, you know, it seems on the BBC a lot. But we haven't really done that well at thinking, get the occasional thing here and there, but nothing, you know, any big films or anything like that, unfortunately,

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 29:20

maybe it's our peers. Yeah, maybe maybe it's our generations of like, gets older, perhaps that's when things will start happening,

Keith Jopling: 29:27

you know, are gonna bring us sort of more back up to speed and come full circle, but 2017 You had a relationship with a new label, Gondwana, that feels like a good place for you, you know, in terms of the community of artists that are on there. You're getting into being a band of real longevity here, you need been independent, you've had an early relationship with Babel and then real world and how does this feel for you and in a new commercial relationship?

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 29:57

It's really good actually, I really do. We Like being on the webinar, I mean, they're just to kind of let us hear they let us do what we want. Just really supportive. And, yeah, let's make the music we want to make. And they really, you know, really on it and organized, and they're really growing the label as well, which so it's great to be with them.

Keith Jopling: 30:20

The Art in the Age of automation, I think is awesome. So you came back to that record after taking some time out, as portico as well. And again, just sort of diving deeper into electronics. But with Art in the Age of automation, was that a statement as well, in a way of where we're at in terms of you know, you make this incredible music in a very, where music is the art is somewhat productized? Let's say was that a statement?

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 30:50

That, in a way, it was more like a question. You know, it was just even a title and one of the pieces that was almost a bit flippant when we wrote it, but then it just actually seemed to kind of fit and it were, it seemed to kind of allow away music for people and kind of pose this kind of like, Yeah, almost like a question, you know, what does it mean to make art in this age, and wasn't really like, you know, pointed reference or anything to like, the industry, but you could certainly perceive it as such. And, you know, it was, suppose ultimately, it's the kind of question that a lot of people kind of grapple with, which is like, yes, the relationship between kind of a human touch and a world that is increasingly defined by technology, and its limits, wouldn't necessarily say to me, that was really like, you know, it's not like a piece of exactly about that. But it just seemed like a nice way to sort of sum up the record and to pose this question that allow people to consider music from a certain vantage point.

Keith Jopling: 31:54

I like the concept of it being a question. Yeah. Because nobody knows the answer. Yet.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 32:02

There probably isn't really an answer. It's more just like this. Yeah, it's generally consuming the pertinent, isn't it? Yesterday,

Keith Jopling: 32:09

I was running a workshop in Dublin with some publishers, and the Irish equivalent of the PRs. And it was all about sort of nurturing new talent and songwriters, and also getting them to understand royalties and how music works. It struck me there's so many challenges at best. And at worst, it looks like it's a really sort of tough time for artists that are coming through. And it's ultra competitive. And you know, you got to find an audience, and then you got to find a way of making some money. And you guys have sort of, you've done it, you've done it several times over, you started out, you know, printing your own CDs, then you sort of stepped up into the mainstream. And you've you know, 10 years later, you're making great music on a label where you've got sort of like minded artists, so it feels like you've arrived in a good place, and you're here for the long game. There, you must get asked, is there any advice that you can pass on to artists starting out in life?

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 33:08

It's a tricky question. And I feel like maybe jack or have a more ready made answer. And maybe I can think of one because I do you think the context in which we kind of like, developed those formative years is so different to, to now, you know, and, you know, the way we sidestepped that, I suppose, was by going busking, but that isn't necessarily like a route you can really like recommend to everyone, because it's so strange neither syncretic and, you know, I think as much of the success of that really was about being in London for one est and being, you know, outside the National Theatre, the British Film Institute, the Tate, you know, we weren't stupid, we knew there for a reason, because that was where we get the footfall of people who were kind of culturally sensitive and potentially interested in, in this kind of thing. But that isn't available to everyone, you know? I don't know Jack, have you got any immediate plans?

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 34:06

Not really, I don't know. I always think it's, yeah, I mean, this might sound like a really obvious answer, but like, trying to do something that's kind of different from everything else that's going on. There sat Brian Eno quote, what do you say is like you shoot your arrow and then paint your bull's eye around there. And then you've hit the target dead center, something like that. So you know, like making your own thing and then creating your kind of worlds. Yeah, rolled around, around that. And I think that's kind of what we did. In a way we did something like very different and like created our own, seeing our own little cottage industry. Start and then build from there.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 34:45

Crucially, though, we didn't. It's kind of it. I totally agree with you, but it's like, it wasn't forced in that way of like, we're gonna go and do something different now.

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 34:56

He's like, no, no, no, no, no.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 34:58

But that's the tricky thing, isn't it? It's the truth. Do something kind of honest. But that probably is different. Because if it wasn't

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 35:04

like we were just doing something like wacky and different, like, you know, we had that hang drum that sound does sound like very, because it doesn't have it's quite new and it doesn't have much the history. It's doesn't have many connotations to it. So that formed a big part of ourselves. And yeah, so yeah, like, you know, you're totally right. It's not like we went out of our way to do something different. I think that Well, yeah, I don't know. I don't think we did. But at the same time, we did end up doing something,

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 35:34

I think, is good, isn't it? In luck, some of it as

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 35:39

you know, yeah. Absolutely. Big, big those. Definitely a lot that we, you know, it's

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 35:44

luck that you met Nick, on the first day of university, and that somehow we all were drawn together, you know, it's like,

Keith Jopling: 35:51

yeah, it's sort of making your own luck, isn't it? Because at the time you had that thing, so it was, it was a little combination of stuff. It was the Southbank? It was the hang it was you created that word of mouth. And I think you're right, you can't force it. But I think there is an essence of knowing that you have to do something different. I mean, you can't just sort of plugging away on the various platforms and hope something happens, because that's less than 1%. Yeah,

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 36:18

I think there's such thing as well about, like about doing something new is like how there's curiosity as well. And I think we were all quite like, at that age, we were all quite sort of curious. And like finding out about all these different kinds of music that led to us making the music that we made. So having that kind of like, curious engagement with music, I think was quite crucial.

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 36:40

You know, the best thing was probably finding each other in a way and kind of finding, you know, like, before, I suppose I knew Nick already, but like, I didn't know, I didn't really know about Steve Reich. Until, you know, Nick had music for 18 musicians that he got from his Mama's thinking and, you know, like, I'm sure you in Milo introduced me to a lot of jazz that I wouldn't have known or there was a discovery between us, I think, and that sharing, sharing things between us. And I think also, you've got to be kinda like, it's maybe it's a bit because a bit of a cliche, but I do think you've just got to be kind of just a bit obsessed about it in a way. If you sort of lacked that basic passion or obsession, or obsessions, or whatever. But like, No, we spent a lot of our time pursuing it and doing that, you know, and like, I think that's probably an important component as well. Having that drive to do it, you know, because you're not necessarily gonna make it because it's like, feels important, because, you know, it's playing the music's important or whatever. That's it.

Keith Jopling: 37:39

You gotta give up the day job and dive. It's got to be all in. I think that's what you kind of had at the time. Yeah, we

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 37:46

were lucky enough to, I guess we were studying. So it felt like we had the time to do that. Yeah. I mean, you you were so

Keith Jopling: 37:53

young. That's the things that we're talking about longevity, and you've had a career, you're eight albums in, but you've got a long way to go. So what's next?

Jack Wylie, Portico Quartet: 38:00

So yeah, we've got the album coming out quite soon. And then we got a handful of shows for the end of the year. I think we've got like, four or five more shows. We've got our show in London coming up on the 29th of October. That's like a big London show where we'll be performing terrain in full. Yeah. And then I think, you know, we'll talk till monument next year. And then yeah, and then from that point, I'm not sure probably start to write another album, maybe or take a little bit I think that I would you recommend?

Duncan Bellamy, Portico Quartet: 38:36

Yeah. Yeah, like we got Yeah, I don't know. We've had these two records. And then I suppose. Yeah, I haven't really thought about it. To be honest. I guess it has been quite immersed in that. Yeah. This year, we released two records, and there's been quite a lot to do and prep for that and whatever. So maybe just the point now really started to think about kind of what next and what kind of I think privately maybe, you know, maybe I don't even really fully formed thoughts but you know, got like, vague ideas of like, what I thought might be cool or to do or but you know, I suppose some point we have to talk about that and hatch a plan. Well,

Keith Jopling: 39:19

listen, thanks for joining me, I thoroughly looking forward to monument can't wait to see, you know, just to experience the difference between that and terrain and seeing you live and whatever you do next, be excited to experience that and wish you both all the best and good luck and thanks a lot for for coming on to the show and talking to us about longevity. Yeah. Thanks for having us. Great to see you soon.