Portishead is the brain child of multi-instrumentalist Geoff Barrow and vocalist Beth Gibbons.  They met and began working together in 1991.  They initially recorded jazz tracks and played around with some hip hop sound, finally landing on an alternative/indie sound.

Portishead

With inspiration-- you don't have to hear it in the music. It can be a reason to stay alive, and that can be an inspiration. If you hear something better about your own being, that's an inspiration to you.

The Beginnings

Portishead is the brain child of multi-instrumentalist Geoff Barrow and vocalist Beth Gibbons.  They met and began working together in 1991.  They initially recorded jazz tracks and played around with some hip hop sound, finally landing on an alternative/indie sound.  In England, they are categorized as trip hop, which is a kind of fusion of hip hop and electronica that was very popular in Europe in the late 1990s.

Gibbons and Barrow developed and released a short film, To Kill a Dead Man in 1994 for which they composed and performed all of the music.  This led to a recording deal with Go! Beat Records, and their debut album, Dummy, was released was released that summer.  The album was globally successful, certifying double platinum in the UK, platinum in Canada,and gold in the United States.  The album was awarded the British Mercury Music Prize.

Life On Top

Enjoying the popularity and fan base afforded them by the success of Dummy, they released their second album, Portishead in 1997.  The album went gold in the US and Canada; it peaked at #2 in Canada and #1 in New Zealand. They followed this up with Roseland NYC Live, featuring live recordings of some of their more orchestral performances.  A DVD of the performances was also released.

During this time, members of Portishead were working on side projects as well as their band's recordings.  They collaborated with Tom Jones on a song for his album, Reload, and contributed a cover of Serge Gainsbourg's Un Jour Comme Un Autre on the tribute album, Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited.  

Still Pressing On

Portishead's most recent album, Third, was released in 2008.  The single, Machine Gun, was released as a 12” vinyl record.  The album peaked at #7 in the United States.  Also in 2008, the band headlined at the Coachella Music Festival, an annual three-day concert event that takes place in in the Inland Empire Coach Valley in California.  Geoff Barrow announced in early 2009 that they are working on their  next album, which is due out some time in 2010.

In addition to recording albums, Porishead has recorded multiple remixes over the years.  These can be found on various music websites and are available for mp3 download. These remixes include collaboration with Depeche Mode, Gravediggaz, Whores of Babylon, Something for Kate, and Earthling, to name a few.  Additionally, they have worked on music production for Stephanie McKay and for The Coral.

Did you know . . .

1. Barrow and Gibbons met at meeting for a government business start-up scheme.

2. Portishead has had singles featured in fifteen movies and four television shows.

3. The band hated the single, Glory Box, and did not want it included on the album; it eventually became their biggest hit to date.

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