The Portico Quartet, a Hang sighting and adventures in jazz
Last Wednesday I was hanging around the South Bank, eating a sandwich ahead of going into the National Theatre. A busker was making a beautiful noise with something that looked not dissimilar to a handle-less wok and after listening to this for about 10 minutes I asked him if this was one of those special Swiss instruments used by the . The , as it is known, looks like a traditional instrument - a cousin of the steeldrum perhaps - but sounds more ethereal and is generally played with the hands and fingers rather than being struck. It's surprising to find that it was invented in 2000 and that the instrument enjoys what can only be described as .
Hangs are handmade by the inventers Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer in a workshop in Berne and this has limited the number in circulation, stimulating fevered interest in when more are likely to be produced. When I over the weekend that the Portico Quartet also busk regularly along the South Bank I initially wondered if the Hang player was actually a member of the group doing a lone session, but . Perhaps the Culture Show Busking Challenge will take on new life as Hang players compete for coins along the Thames.
The Mercury Prize is interesting because there are always a couple of nominations on the list that sit at the experimental end of the musical scale. I've been enjoying The Portico Quartet and decided to ask our resident music expert Clare for suggestions of bands who are also doing interesting things either within jazz or on its fringes. This is the list she came up with: Soil and "Pimp" Sessions, Little Dragon, (a project fronted by Polar Bear founder ), and folk-jazz fusion piece . I've just really upset myself listening to some of the tracks on Fulborn Teversham's MySpace page, which seem to be overlaid with descriptions of particularly horrible factory farming practices, but I'm liking the sound of Little Dragon. Soil and "Pimp" Sessions make for an exciting initial listen, combining delightful melodies with periodic frenzy. Very good party music - I wouldn't say the same for Fulborn Teversham, unless you have very, very intense parties.
Comments