Portishead – In Session for Peter Tong – 1994 – BBC Radio 1 –
Portishead to the middle of the week. One of the pioneering forces in the Trip-Hop movement, Portishead, propelled by the searingly emotive voice of Beth Gibbons, they are not only a landmark group, they are truly unique – at worst, mesmerizing – at best, transformational.
Together since 1991, I first became aware of them via their debut album, Dummy along with the single Sour Times. It was totally new to me – it was riveting. I had always been on the fence about Hip-Hop; much of it felt one-dimensional and antiseptic to me. But this added dimension, and the soundscapes being created – along with Beth Gibbons voice made me an instant fan. And it made me want to explore other artists cut from the similar cloth – that was how I came to know Massive Attack – between the two of them, they had changed the direction of Contemporary music – from what could be construed as mainstream automation to this fully beating heart and soul that fairly breathed life into music. Sculpting Electronica in a way that expanded the playing field – took the emotion and painted a luxuriant landscape with it.
This session, done for Peter Tong came just at the time of the release of Dummy; the album which initially spearheaded their success. It was glowingly received by the press both in the UK and the US, with Rolling Stone designating it as one of the 500 Best albums of all time. This incarnation of Portishead would continue until 1999, when a hiatus was called. They resumed in 2005 and have been going strong ever since. We’re fortunate – we’re lucky.
If you missed this session the first time around – crank it up and have a seat.
Get ready for the weekend – it’s coming – honest.
As you know, we’ve suspended indefinitely our ads in order to make Past Daily a better experience for you without all the distractions and pop-ups. Because of that, we’re relying more on your support through Patreon to keep us up and running every day. For as little as $5.00 a month you can make a huge difference as well as be able to download all of our posts for free (news, history, music). You’ll see a banner just below. Click on that and become a subscriber – it’s easy, painless and does a world of good.
