Listen: Portico - "Memory Of Newness" (feat. Jamie Woon) [Premiere]

02 March 2015, 15:00 | Written by Rory Foster

(Tracks)

(Jamie Woon) (Portico)

Portico Quartet were a fascinating band who pushed their forward-thinking jazz over three fantastic albums and got a Mercury nomination in the process. Following the departure of Nick Mulvey after two albums the band are now just Portico. More recently, their direction is further towards what was hinted on the third and last LP Portico Quartet - a move away from their modern jazz credentials and towards the electronic ago. The fact that Ninja Tune have picked them up for this new release only cements the possibility of a truly special album to come.

"Memory Of Newness" is the latest take from their upcoming record Living Fields, due to be released on March 30 and rooted with three guest vocalists: Jamie Woon, Jono McCleery and Joe Newman (alt-J). The track, rather than replicating the urgency of "Bright Luck" or the clutter of "101", is a sparse affair, down in part to Jamie Woon's calm delivery. With the quartet-era band living with Woon during the production of his debut LP, there's a clear mutual understanding of vision; the singer's soulful melodies stoke the minimal production as needed but not so much to disrupt the track's foundations. What's exciting here is that not only is "Memory Of Newness" a re-emergence of Woon, but a side of Portico that continues to excite.

Living Fields is out 30 March via Ninja Tune. Catch the band in the UK on the dates below. March 13 - Guildford, Boiler Room 16 - Ramsgate, Music Hall
18 - London, Village Underground for Convergence
18 - Bristol, Colston Hall
19 - Brighton, The Haunt
20 - Dublin, Whelans April
21 - Leeds, The Wardrobe
22 - Sheffield, O2 Academy
23 - Norwich, The Waterfront
25 - Nottingham, Rock City Basement
26 - Manchester, Academy 3
27 - Liverpool, Kazimier
28 - Birmingham, Hare and Hounds