Creating Community Within Music, Portobello Blends the Personal With Influence
A COLORFUL BLEND OF INFLUENCES — Portobello produces alt-pop that is funky and feel-good. Each of the London-based five piece consisting of Reuben Gower (guitar), Joe Day (bass), Andy Burns (vocals, keys, and guitar), Lucy Bisset (vocals and keys) and Joe Friend (drums), draw influences from a range of genres, such as jazz, indie-pop, and soul to create their unique sound. From the melodic guitars of the likes of Tom Misch to the soulful yet delicate female vocals inspired by artists such as Mahalia and Jorja Smith, the depth and breadth of the artists who inspire them provide the band with a colorful palate of sound to draw ideas from when collaborating on their songs.
“Everyone kind of contributes in different ways — it never really takes influence from one place,” Gower shares. “Songwriting begins with an individual’s initial idea based on their instrument, then from that it would be a collaborative effort with everyone adding their own input — and it becomes a Portobello song rather than an individual’s song,” Day adds. This is evident when listening to their EP Portobello, in which the band has written together in a way that allows for a band member's individual flair to be showcased.
When Gower initially had the idea for the opening riff in “Speak My Mind,” he was not in a band at the time, so the idea was sat on. However, a year later, Portobello had formed, and Gower played the riff in rehearsal — and the band members immediately heard its potential. They began working on ideas and adding to the song until it all came together as the funky, indie-pop song it is now. What makes “Speak My Mind” and Portobello’s other songs particularly interesting is how they use the different vocal abilities of Bisset and Burns to fit perfectly into a song, with each of them taking the lead or harmonizing in different tracks. “You can tell at the start whether this one is more of a Lucy vibe or a Burns vibe,” Bisset says. With both singers ultimately working for the other to help create depth and complexity to the music, the outcome is a litany of songs that feel both personal and communal. In “Speak My Mind,” Bisset takes the lead with the vocals while Burns provides added depth. However, Burns’ vocals do not act as backing vocals — they add to and compliment Bisset’s vocals rather than simply boosting them up. The opposite is true for “Santa Fe,” as Burns’ vocals and style are prominent as Bisset adds the extra layer.
“Colourblind” is the first song on Portobello and is a brilliant introduction into their sound. With a heavier riff and a gradual build to a big finale, it is a favourite of the band to play live, in particular for Friend, who gets to display some of his heavy rock roots. Part of creating this “bigger” sound revolves around the chorus, where initially the band were struggling with developing the sound they desired. In order to achieve it, they invited others such as partners and friends to come and sing on the chorus vocals. As a result, the song is an accumulation of emotion — and sounds like it in the best way.
The band members all met at Birmingham University, where their sound quickly became popular with the students before they gradually began to grow a fanbase in the city center. Their growth was helped by the various supportive communities around Birmingham such as Valefest and B29, both of whom gave Portobello key headline spots at important gigs such as the London Night of the B29 tour. The community spirit in the Birmingham music scene seems to be a particularly strong one that reoccurs with each generation passing through the university. The band mentions the talent emerging from the B29 postcode — especially from the artists they toured with — and spoke about the fun they had on tour, as well as the support all the bands have for each other.
Pre-lockdown, the band moved on from the university and moved to London in order to expand their music there. They explained that it has been daunting, but they are spurred on from the success of their B29 London show and the increasing popularity of Portobello on Spotify. Due to this popularity, the importance of an online and social media presence is even more apparent to the band, and they have begun working with other creatives to construct more visual content for their new music. In keeping with the development of the band’s style, the new visuals will match the feel of the music and give listeners a visual preview into the sound. Using social media to promote and give a behind-the-scenes look at band life will create a discoverable platform for their music, but also create an ability for fans to build their relationship with the band on a more personal level.
With more music in the works, the band has used their COVID-19 lockdown to focus on writing and developing it, which entailed many rehearsal Zoom calls. This has forced the band to work in new and different ways, spending more time alone creating music based on logic rather than writing collectively as a band. This, combined with the experience gained from recording Portobello with producer Dan Williams — whose multi-instrument talent inspired both Burns and Bisset to pick up a trumpet and sax respectively — promises to generate a record that Bisset describes as “a more honed-in version of us.” It has also been over a year since the songs in Portobello were written, meaning the band’s natural development as independent musicians and as a collective will produce better material. Due to coronavirus, it’s been almost 2 years since Portobello has released music or played a live show, so the band are very excited to get back on stage and show their fans what they’ve been working on.
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