Portico Quartet and their ample amount of instruments

On Thursday 27 February, Mercury Prize-nominated instrumental band, Portico Quartet debuted new music.

The night began with Daudi Matsiko and his guitar. His calm demeanor on stage helped the audience feel instantly relaxed. The performance was so stunning, that the Metronome audiotirum was so quiet, you could’ve heard a pin drop. Every single person was completely tuned into Daudi. This was helped by the great repertoire he had with the crowd.

After Daudi had very effectively warmed up the crowd, the main men themselves snuck onto stage. The smoke and dim lights hid the band away, giving them a mysterious aura. But that didn’t cause the show to be at all stagnant, as the continuous light show matched the smooth and eclectic instrumental music set.

All four band members proved to be completely in sync with every instrument – even when they were playing more than one each. From saxophones to double bass, to drums, almost every instrument you could imagine was used throughout the performance. In fact, so many sounds could hear that it’s hard to believe only four musicians were on stage. Although they occasionally spoke to the crowd, they mostly let the music speak for itself.

Photo credit Michael Kane