February 10,
2006
"Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited" out worldwide 27th of February.
Tracklist:
1. FRANZ FERDINAND – JANE BIRKIN / A SONG FOR SORRY ANGEL
Original track : SORRY ANGEL
2. CAT POWER & KAREN ELSON / I LOVE YOU (ME EITHER)
Original track : JE T’AIME MOI NON PLUS
3. JARVIS COCKER & KID LOCO / I JUST CAME TO TELL YOU THAT I’M GOING
Original track : JE SUIS VENU TE DIRE QUE JE M’EN VAIS
4. PORTISHEAD / REQUIEM FOR ANNA
Original track : UN JOUR COMME UN AUTRE (sous titre de « ANNA »)
5. FAULTLINE, BRIAN MOLKO & FRANCOISE HARDY / REQUIEM FOR A JERK
Original track : REQUIEM POUR UN CON
6. MICHAEL STIPE / L’HÔTEL
Original track : L’HÔTEL PARTICULIER
7. TRICKY / AU REVOIR EMMANUELLE
Original track GOOD BYE EMMANUELLE
8. MARIANNE FAITHFULL / LOLA R. FOR EVER
Original track : LOLA RASTAQUOUERE
9. GONZALES, FEIST & DANI / BOOMERANG
Original track : COMME UN BOOMERANG
10. MARC ALMOND & TRASH PALACE / BOY TOY
Original track I’M THE BOY
11. PLACEBO / THE BALLAD OF MELODY NELSON
Original track : LA BALLADE DE MELODY NELSON
12. THE RAKES / JUST A MAN WITH A JOB
Original track : LE POINCONNEUR DES LILAS
13. THE KILLS / I CALL IT ART
Original track : LA CHANSON DE SLOGAN
14. CARLA BRUNI / THOSE LITTLE THINGS
Original track : CES PETITS RIENS
Also, Portishead now have their own Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/portisheadalbum3.
September
12,
2005
New Portishead
activities:
- Video
clips from the recording studio
- New collaboration with Massive
Attack planned for 2006
- "L'Annulaire"
("The Ring Finger"), Diane Bertrand's new feature film is out now with
a soundtrack composed by Beth Gibbons, including last year's
collaboration with Rodrigo Leao
- Beth Gibbons is also featured
on the
new Jane Birkin live DVD
April 25,
2005
From Les Inrockuptibles:
Le 25 avril prochain
sortira, en double DVD, une anthologie de documents vidéo
sur Serge Gainsbourg. Intitulée D’autres
nouvelles des étoiles et comprenant près de cinq
heures de documents et chansons filmées, elle montrera
– outre les interventions chantées de Gainsbourg
à la télé, de Discorama aux Enfants du
rock –, l’intégralité du
tournage de L’Histoire de Melody Nelson, filmé en
1971, deux documents inédits (Adieu créature et
La Nuit d’octobre), une douzaine d’interviews
captées entre 1965 et 1982, des extraits live (Casino de
Paris ou Zénith), des duos et trios (Jane Birkin, Brigitte
Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Jacques Dutronc, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Anna
Karina…), les clips de Lemon Incest et Charlotte Forever, le
tout accompagné d’un précieux livret
biographique.
On y retrouvera également une belle compilation de ses
morceaux enregistrés pour la
télévision, de Douze belles dans la peau en 1963
à Vieille canaille en 1986. Gainsbourg
sera
également honoré, avant la fin de
l’année, par un album hommage
préparé par Les Inrocks et auquel ont notamment
participé Cat Power, Placebo, Carla Bruni, Portishead,
Tricky, ou Kid Loco et Jarvis Cocker.
February
16, 2005
A second date featuring
the same band line-up has been announced for the 20th of February. For
more information, go to crisisinasia.com.
From the BBC:
Tsunami Benefit: Second
date confirmed
If you were one of the people disappointed that you couldn't get your
hands on the Tsumani gig at the Academy, then don't despair.
There will be a second night with the same band
line-up, on
the day after the first gig. Organiser Adrian Utley told BBC Radio
Bristol's Keith Warmington programme that the response left
them
little choice but to plan for the second date.
"I kinda thought we'd do okay - we thought we'd sell out, but
it
has been ridiculous. It's brilliant, in the same way that
everyone has got involved and helped us out has been amazing. There's
been a deluge of willing people."
He added that there may also be some surprises in store for
fans
who make it to the second date.
"We are going to do a second night of playing at the Academy,
with the same line-up. There will be a few tiny changes. We
are
trying to raise £100,000, but I think we are going
to go
over that because now we are doing two nights."
Adrian added that the webcast, which will be available for a
month after on-demand, will also be important.
"The most important thing we're doing is the live webcast, which for
£4.50 you can watch live. I think we could make a
lot of
money because that's worldwide, and we're getting our record
companies in America to do as much promotion on that
as we
can."
The gig will also feature t-shirts for sale designed by Bristolian
artist Banksy.
Here's a new photo of Massive Attack and Portishead:
Also, three new interviews
regarding the Tsunami gigs have emerged. The first one's from Venue, 11th February
2005:
The Unusual Suspects
The first one sold out so quickly they decided to put on another one.
Now heading up two wholly unique benefit nights for the
Crisis In Asia appeal at Carling Academy Bristol, Massive
Attack and Portishead tell Venue why they wanted to work
together to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami. And is
Robert Plant really going to show?
Bringing It All Back Home
Massive Attack and Portishead have never shared the same
stage before, but thats all about to change as both bands team up to
play the Academy in aid of the tsunami appeal. Anna Britten rounded
them up to find out how it all came together and what the lucky
ticket-holders can expect on the night.
The policeman that drives past Venue's photo shoot gives a
cheery wave in the direction of the thirtysomethings huddled against a
wall off King Square. Either he thinks they are
off-duty charity workers or, prior to signing up
for the force, he was a Dug Out regular.
For very few other Bristolians would be capable of
such nonchalance (not to mention safe driving) at the
unexpected and unique sight of both Massive Attack
(Robert '3D' Del Naja and Grant 'Daddy G' Marshall) and
Poitishead (Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow and Adrian
Utley) braving the chilly January air for some united pop
star mugging. "We stood like this in order to have the girl
in the middle," chirrups Del Naja to Venue's photographer. "
Sorry, 'woman' in the middle."
He then adopts his trademark pose - frowning with hands
folded across his groin, like a footballer in the
fullback position during a point-blank free kick. "
'Girl's better," cackles Beth Gibbons in response, and gives the
camera the pinched, tormented look we've known and loved
since 'Dummy'.
The reason for this high-profile shoulder-rub is - in case
you've been abroad for the last month - February 19
& 20's fundraising concerts at the Academy in support
of Oxfam's work in tsunami-ravaged Asia. Unbelievably, it
marks the first time Massive Attack and Portishead have ever
shared a stage - and is the latter's first gig since 1998.
Tickets for 19 Feb sold out in under two hours, hundreds of
thousands of pounds' worth of aid is expected to be
generated, and all stops are being pulled out to raise further funds
through a worldwide live webcast (details at end of page).
It is, then, a huge event in every sense.
Massive Attack and Portishead have never shared the same stage before,
but that's all about to change as both bands team up to play the
Academy in aid of the tsunami appeal. Anna Britten
rounded them up to find out how it all came together
and what the lucky ticket-holders can expect on the
night.No one realises this more than Massive Attack and
Portishead themselves. Sitting in a Stokes
Croft cafe-bar, Robert Del Naja, Geoff Barrow and
Adrian Utley (Beth Gibbons, being a
'recluse', disappears after the photo shoot, while
Daddy G saunters away with a laid-back "D [Del Naja] can
speak for me") lay down a ground rule:
they won't answer any questions about Portishead or
Massive Attack. As Venue mentally sets fire to
several notebooks, they explain they don't - understandably -
want to be seen to be getting publicity for their bands on the back of
the good cause they're promoting. " So we're not answering any
questions about the new record," says Utliey. "So there is one?"
Silence. Venue repeats the question. Barrow cups his ear: "Sorry? Can't
hear you."Utley steps in again: "Of course there'll be another record.
Why else would we still be together?" (Later he'll accuse
Venue of being 'very sly' in enquiring as to whether the set
lists will include oldies or new stuff.)
They also feel it would be 'bollocks' to discuss personal
feelings with regard to the tsunami. Says Del Naja:
"I think it's obvious why we're doing it because I think
everyone was affected by it and I think the fact the gigs are
going on and people are buying tickets speaks for
itself without going into any more details."
That little matter cleared up, Barrow explains how the
Academy event came about: "I was talking to Beth on the
phone, and she just mentioned what had happened and
we talked about it, then I got off the phone and
thought 'We've got to do something'.
"It was just before New Year. I phoned Ade and then rang Beth
back - so we were all on for it. We
didn't have a venue or anything, it was just an
idea. Phoned up D, because it was the obvious next place to
go, and D called me back, and said he was interested in
definitely doing it. I heard from a friend that John
Stapleton [BlowPop promoter] had been offered the
Academy to put together a fundraiser. I phoned him, he said
'whatever you want to do' and that was it, the
start of it."
Clearly not just fellow wearers of the 'pioneers of trip hop'
ankle tag, the two bands obviously enjoy
a close friendship, constantly trading genial digs
about everything from talent to whose turn it is to buy
lunch. On hearing Massive Attack have already started
rehearsals, Barrow deadpans " They need more than
us" and threatens to meddle with their monitors. "We knew
each other, over the years, as mates," continues Barrow.
"Basically, we knew if we were going to do something in
Bristol it'd be wicked to have them, it was obvious."
Utley picks up the story: "Geoff and I had just
been producing The Coral's new album, so we thought of them
straight away. We just decided to ring everyone we know and
ask them to do it. Same with D, [to Del Naja] you've ' been
bombarding mates..."
The resultant, wonderfully eclectic current line-up is Massive Attack,
Portishead, The Coral, Robert Plant (who was in the process of planning
his own fundraising gig in Bath when the call came) Fuzz Against Junk
and various special guests. So did anyone ring Tricky to see if they
could complete The Holy Trinity of Bristol music? They all look at each
other.
"I think it's normally, mostly, best when talking about
Tricky... ah, diplomacy," stumbles Del Naja.
Sorry? "Diplomacy is the best word to use when dealing with
Tricky."
"No comment," adds Utley.
"I ain't spoke to Trix for years," shrugs Barrow. "I think
he's living in the States and stuff. So I suppose it would be a
bit difficult really."
And, presumably, eat into valuable profits somewhat. A far
cry from Massive Attack and Portishead gigs of
yore, which respectively have included several
billion gigabytes of audio-visual jiggery pokery
("'Flashy?' They're information-based, actually,"
Del Naja protests) and full orchestras ("Have you
seen the size of the stage down there?"), these shows promise to be
stripped-down 'unplugged' affairs.
"We started off thinking we didn't want a massive, full production
with loads of gear," explains Utley. "So the
premise was we'd do it as acoustically as possible and add whatever
electronics we need. It's not really 'unplugged' but
very little is 'unplugged' now. It means 'not as
we've done it before'. It'll be a stripped-down
set-up, with shared equipment and shared musicians."
This is a particularly appealing prospect for a manifestly
tour-weary Del Naja. " We've toured for the last two years
non- stop," he says, "and this is an opportunity to do
something completely different - no production, no fucking
'concept'. The idea is to rearrange tracks, play them in a
completely different way with different people. It's exciting
for us. We're using a completely different band
from the people we've been touring with for the
last eight years since the 'Mezzanine' tour in '97. It's
gonna be me, Grant and Elizabeth [Fraser - ex Cocteau Twin
and regular Massive Attack guest vocalist]. No
others because it's such a short set. If we got
Horace [Andy] back from Jamaica, someone's gotta pay his air
ticket and his food bill and he eats a fair amount, Horace.
"It's gonna be a laugh in rehearsals. It'll be interesting
for everyone on the . night because they won't
have seen us that way and they won't have seen
Portishead that way for a long time."
Indeed - the 'Head's last live gig was seven years ago, in
Holland. Utley has just been sent a bootleg of
it, in fact. Many bands would be apprehensive about
treading the boards together after so long but, says Utley:
"It's gonna be nice even just doing rehearsals. I think we're
pretty quick to get back into our stuff because we're
actually not going to adapt it so much as [gestures to Del
Naja] you guys are gonna do. So I think we'll be on
it pretty quick. We're only playing four
or five tunes each, so it's a really quick changeover."
Can we expect some hits? "We haven't got any," says Barrow.
Venue tells him 'Glory Box' is on Classic FM TV. "I'll phone
up our accountant then. Thirty pound a pop, innit?"
he asks Utley.
"We don't want to give too much away because it takes away the fun
of the night," says Del Naja.
"We're gonna play each other's tracks... and then..." says
Barrow.
"....fuck those up," laughs Utley.
"We're gonna do 'Eye Of the Tiger'..."
"The main issue," Del Naja butts in seriously, "is I'm just a
bit concerned that on the night the big Portishead 'P'
doesn't float down from the top of the lighting rig
during our set. So we've got a big flame that we're getting
built that's gonna be hidden in the rafters which
we're gonna drop halfway through their set."
Another avenue of questioning deftly headed off at the pass,
then, but Barrow will give ticket holders one - rather
cryptic - tip: "You should definitely get there
early because you wouldn't expect people to be
playing where they're playing."
"Don't wait till the end of the night to turn up and see the bands
you might want to see," interprets Utley.
So are they going to decide on the night who goes on first?
"Probably."
"It depends on the special guests as well," says Del Naja,
"because they're just gonna turn up on the day and do what
they want. When Geoff first suggested it,he said to me
'Let's make it ramshackle', and I was like 'Yeah, fuck
it - let's make it ramshackle. Let's have fun'."
Want in on this fun but missed out on tickets? Oxfam are
auctioning a handful on the website, along with
"20 or 30" limited-edition, hand-painted T-shirts
by Del Naja and Banksy. Otherwise you can console yourself with
a live webcast for £4.50 (see details at
end), something the bands are promoting heavily both here and
across the globe. "It's only £4.50," says
Utley. "Even if you only watch ten minutes of it, do it."
"It's cheaper than a packet of fags," reasons Barrow.
The charity work won't end when the lorry pulls out of
Frogmore Street in the early hours of February
21. Says Del Naja: "We're going to be working with
Oxfam over this year on their Make Poverty History programme. We're
thinking of maybe doing something at Christmas -
maybe focusing on the Aids in Africa issue. We want to keep
something going now we've set the website up, and
make this an ongoing event. Once you've got a formula in
place, it means there's more opportunities. There's
so many talented people in Bristol and it's a great way of
pulling together to do the right thing."
So there you have it: Massive Attack and Portishead, at it
again, together at last, and they want you to
watch. Freed from interview duties, Barrow, Utley
and Del Naja head off to collect the T-shirts they'll be
customising for the online auction. " Make me sound
intelligent," Barrow calls out as Venue waves goodbye.
MASSIVE ATTACK, PORTISHEAD,
THE CORAL, ROBERT PLANT AND SPECIAL GUESTS PLAY THE CARLING ACADEMY
BRISTOL ON SAT 19 &SUN 20 FEB.
FOR MORE INFO AND TO VIEW THE LIVE WEBCAST, LOG ONTO
WWW.CRISISINASIA.COM
Second one's from the BBC:
Geoff Barrow: The vibes
man
by Rob Ellis, website contributor
Excitement is building as Bristol prepares for two enormous evenings of
entertainment at the Bristol Academy.
Pioneering Bristol acts, Portishead and Massive Attack, will be sharing
centre stage with a number of top draw acts, including Robert Plant,
for two evenings of acoustic performances set to raise cash for the
Tsunami Relief Appeal.
The first gig sold out in just 90 minutes as people frantically bought
up the £30 tickets; eager to catch a rare glimpse of the
artists
in action and on home turf.
We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to talk to
Portishead’s Geoff Barrow about the gigs and the ways that
you
can avoid missing the event even if you didn’t manage to get
a
ticket. But not about any forthcoming albums or anything remotely like
that...
We’re here to talk about the Tsunami gig you and Portishead
are
involved in, alongside Massive Attack, Robert Plant and The Choral. How
did the whole thing come about and how did Robert Plant end up getting
involved with it?
Well, basically, I was talking to Beth over Christmas about the
disaster and we decided that we should do something about it. So I got
on the phone to our agent, then to Massive Attack and The Coral, and
since the guys in Robert Plant’s band are the same guys that
play
in our band, and he’s locally based at the moment –
or has
been for a while now - we got in contact with him and he said
he’d love to do it. He’s been very generous with
his time.
Are you prepared for the gig as a band?
No – not at all – but we will be!
Has it been a while since you’ve all played together then?
Ade went on Beth’s tour so they’ve kind of played
together
but I haven’t actually been on stage for seven years. But
then I
don’t know how much stuff I’m actually going to do;
‘cos it’s quite acoustic, there’s not a
lot of need
for my electronic talents.
So you’re going to be the ‘vibes’ man
then?
Ha ha! They’ll most probably give me a maraca and tell me to
sit
at the back of the stage!
Will we hear any new material at the gig?
No you won’t - we’ll just be playing familiar
tracks.
How will the evening pan out then?
The way that the gig is actually lined up is: ourselves, Massive
Attack, The Coral, Robert Plant, and one or two special guests as well.
It starts about 8 o’clock and finishes about 12 or 1
o’clock. There’s a lot of bands to get in, in that
space of
time so the sets have been broken down a bit. It’s not the
big
production thing going on here – it’s just us doing
our
thing.
Do we get any clues about the special guests?
No! That would spoil the element of surprise!
The performance is also going to be available online I hear –
tell us about that.
Tickets for the gig sold out in 90 minutes but you can watch the
performance online for £4.50; it means you can also directly
contribute towards Oxfam. Even if you’re out that night, down
the
pub or whatever, you can still watch it the day after and settle your
hangover.
How long will the download be available for?
I think it will be available for up to a month afterwards. If you go to
www.crisisinasia.com, it will tell you all the ways that you can watch
it, how you can donate and what is happening with the gig –
who’s been added to the bill – all that stuff.
Here's the third one
from
the
British
Teletext:
"It's bigger than worrying about being on stage. There's
things more important than trying to play together again. Beth might
get a bit nervous, I guess."
None of the gigs to raise money for victims of the tsunami disaster has
been more surprising than Portishead's first gig for seven years. They
play with Massive Attack and The Coral at Bristol Academy on February
19.
Guitarist Adrian Utley tells PS that Portishead are finally nearly
ready.
Portishead's gig with Massive Attack at Bristol Academy on Feb 19 is
sold out, but is webcast at crisisinasia.com.
"We're joining in on each other's sets," says Adrian Utley. "We tried
to do a show together for the homeless in Bristol, but it's the first
time we've been able to get organised properly.
"There won't be any new Portishead songs, as they're not ready. Sounds
rubbish, doesn't it? I wish they were, I don't want to be playing old
songs."
The $64,000 question - is the new Portishead album ready yet?
"No," says self-deprecating guitarist Adrian Utley. "It'll be sooner
rather than later.
"I'm not going to say how the new songs sound. Sorry to be cagey, I
don't want to pre-empt anything in case it changes. There's days when
it feels like it's been eight years since the last record, we had no
idea it was going to take this long."
Just why has it taken Portishead so long to finish a new album?
"After our tour in '98, we were shattered," says Adrian Utley. "We felt
like we'd said all we had to say. We didn't want to do it any more.
"Having said that, all the way along we've never wanted to split up.
There was never any feeling that we wanted to let it slip out of our
hands and call it a day. We've kept on working on new songs, believe it
or not."
Portishead admit they've had severe writer's block in trying to follow
1997's eponymous second album.
"Me and Geoff were in Australia for nine weeks," recalls Adrian Utley.
"It was like wading through mud every day.
"We've done tracks that were good, but nothing that excited us. Then,
last summer, the two of us worked on four songs and I suddenly felt,
hang on, we're really buzzing here. And we've been buzzing ever since."
Are Portishead worried any new album will have to be extra special to
make up for the eight-year wait?
"Oh, we've worried about that, we've worried about whether we've got
any fans left, worried about everything you can think of," chuckles
Adrian Utley.
"We've had some big money festival offers come in recently. We're not
doing any more shows until the album is ready, but it's flattering they
think we can still sell the tickets."
Portishead's Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley have produced the new album
by the notoriously prolific The Coral.
"I am moderately jealous of how quick they are," says guitarist Adrian.
"We went to see them and they performed the album, in full, harmonies,
the lot.
"I don't know how they do it. I'd go home at the weekend, knackered,
they'd come back on Monday having written two new songs. I've already
heard some demos for the album after this one."
How can Portishead justify taking eight years to make an album?
"I know we're privileged to be allowed to take so long," muses Adrian
Utley. "I wake up every day feeling lucky, even when we've struggled
for songs.
"But we've never done this for money or status. It was never an option
to put out songs we knew were only OK. We'll only come back when we're
happy, even if the outside world must be thinking right now, 'God,
they're precious'."
Thanks to the kind
people
on
the official message board for pointing these out!
January
20, 2005
From the official
Portishead site:
We are playing live for the first time in 7 years as part of a fund
raising concert for the Tsunami Crisis in Asia at the Bristol
Academy on February 19th – we'll also be sharing a stage with
Massive Attack for the first time. And more artists will be added to
the bill very soon.
We'll each play a short set, around 20 minutes and we'll be performing
songs you know – very nearly unplugged. As so many of you are
based outside of the UK the whole event can be viewed as a live
web-cast and we'll be posting more details of this here so keep
checking the site.
More information at crisisinasia.com
Just before christmas
this message was posted on the board:
"As 2004 draws to a
close it seems like a good time to update you all on what Portishead
have been up to this year. Beth has written songs for Joss Stone
&
Jane Birkin,
collaborated with David Steele & Rodrigo Leao and also written
a film soundtrack for a French film "L'Annulaire" - more about all this
at www.bethgibbons.com
Geoff & Adrian have been producing a new album for 'The Coral'
which will be released on Delltasonic in Spring 2005. And they have all
been working on tracks for a new Portishead album.
Work on this will continue next year and we expect the album to be
completed by the end of 2005. We'll be posting regular updates next
year - thank you all for your
patience: we appreciate your support.
Happy Christmas"
Geoff has also given an interview
to the BBC about the comeback:
Portishead back after
eight years
Portishead won a Mercury in 1995 for their debut album Cult British
group Portishead have revealed they are writing their
third album, their first in eight years. Founding member Geoff Barrow
told BBC 6 Music the record was well on
the way to being completed. "We're actually into it as we speak. We
took some time off for
Christmas, but generally we're doing another record," Barrow told the
digital radio station.
News of their album plans comes after confirmation the Bristol band
will play a tsunami charity show next month. Portishead will play
alongside fellow Bristol band Massive Attack at
Oxfam's Tsumani appeal, held at the Bristol Academy on 19 February.
Barrow said he was surprised people thought the band, who won a Mercury
Music Prize in 1995 for their debut album Dummy, had split up.
Influential group
"We've just had our heads down really, we've never actually broken up,
or parted, or whatever. "So for us it just seems, even though we
haven't played for years, we
still see each other and write - we just haven't released a record for
a long time."
Portishead will not play any new material at next month's concert,
which will feature singer Beth Gibbons playing with an acoustic
backing. Other acts appearing include Liverpool band The Coral and
former Led
Zeppelin singer Robert Plant.
Portishead became an international success and a deeply influential
band despite their scant recorded output. Dummy was a critics'
favourite in 1994, hailed for its blend of
menacing sounds and hip-hop beats married to old soul samples. The
follow up, Portishead, was released three years later.
November
9, 2004
From Beth's official
mailing list:
"Beth has been very busy this year taking the opportunity to work with
other artists - writing the track 'Killing Time' for Joss Stone's new
album Mind, Body & Soul, writing and performing backing vocals
on
the track 'Strange Melody' for Jane Birkin's new album 'Rendez Vous',
co-writing and performing the track 'Lonely Carousel' with Rodrigo Leao
for his new album 'Cinema' and co-writing the track 'Love Is A
Stranger' with David Steel (of Fine Young Cannibals fame) for his
current Fried album.
Currently in the midst of completing a film score for a French Film
'L'Annulaire' to be released in 2005 Beth is remarkably also finding
the time to work on new tracks for Portishead!
Beth will be performing on November 20th and 21st in Lisbon and
November 25th in Oporto, Portugal with Rodrigo Leao and there are
unconfirmed plans for a one-off performance with Jane Birkin in Paris
before the year end."
August
4, 2004
According to reports
Beth
Gibbons has co-written a song for Joss
Stone's new album entitled
"Mind, Body & Soul", set for release
on September 27th.
The NME
reports that the War Child album which featured "Mourning Air" back in
1995 will get re-released online at warchildmusic.com.
Recorded
and released in one week in September 1995, "Help" was put together by
the War Child charity to raise money for the victims of the war in the
former Yugoslavia.
You can download a Portishead soundpack for your computer here.
[Thanks
Wayne!]
July
15, 2004
Adrian Utley has
contributed to the new Marianne Faithfull album "Before The Poison",
due out in September.
Credits:
Songs 1/2/5/6/8 produced by PJ Harvey, recorded and mixed by Head at
The Fallout Shelter, London (June/July 2003), with PJ Harvey, Rob
Ellis, Adrian Utley. PJ Harvey appears courtesy of Island Records Ltd.
Publishing Hot Head Music Ltd / Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Songs
3/7/9 produced by Nick Cave and Hal Willner, recorded and mixed by Rik
Simpson at Mayfair Studio, London (October 2003), with Nick Cave,
Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos. Nick Cave, Warren
Ellis, Martyn P. Casey and Jim Sclavunos appear courtesy of Mute
Records. Publishing: copyright control / Mute Song Ltd. Songs 4/10
produced by Rob Ellis and Head, recorded and mixed by Head assisted by
Andrew Rugg and Rik Simpson at The Fallout Shelter, London (September
2003), with Adrian Utley, Rob Ellis, Catherine Browning, Andy Nice,
Diana Gutkind. Publishing: Copyright Control. All songs, mastering by
John Dent at Loud. Photos by Jean Baptiste Mondino. A
François
Ravard production.
Tracklisting:
01. THE MYSTERY OF
LOVE (3.53)
Lyrics & Music by PJ Harvey
02. MY FRIENDS HAVE (2.48)
Lyrics & Music by PJ Harvey
03. CRAZY LOVE (4.04)
Lyrics: Marianne Faithfull / Music: Nick Cave
04. LAST SONG (3.19)
Lyrics & Music: Damon Albarn / Additional Lyrics: Marianne
Faithfull
05. NO CHILD OF MINE (6.15)
Lyrics & Music by PJ Harvey
06. BEFORE THE POISON (4.10)
Lyrics: Marianne Faithfull-PJ Harvey / Music: PJ Harvey
07. THERE IS A GHOST (4.32)
Lyrics: Marianne Faithfull / Music: Nick Cave
08. IN THE FACTORY (3.51)
Lyrics: Marianne Faithfull-PJ Harvey / Music: PJ Harvey
09. DESPERANTO (4.22)
Lyrics: Marianne Faithfull / Music: Nick Cave
10. CITY OF QUARTZ (3.45)
Lyrics: Marianne Faithfull / Music: Jon Brion
Adrian was also thanked in the liner credits of the new PJ Harvey
album, "Uh Huh Her" which is out now.
June
25, 2004
The
Observer listed their "100
greatest British albums" and Dummy
placed 81st.
"81 Dummy, Portishead
Go! Beat, 1994; chart position: 2
Coffee table? Not really
Forty-three minutes of damaged turntable soul, moody jazz guitar and
Beth Gibbons's chilling voice: to some Dummy remains the apex of
innovative British dance music, to others it is still unbeatable for
doomy wallowing of the highest degree.
(EW)
Burn it: Sour Times; Glory Box; Numb"
In the panel's personal top 10s musician Nitin Sawhney and Mike Skinner
of the Streets both ranked "Dummy" on their lists, at numbers 5 and 9.
Sawhney had this to say about the album:
"5. Portishead: Dummy
Beth Gibbons' voice simply resounds with emotion and pain like no
other. Incredible ideas and production make this an album that has once
again inspired many producers to attempt something as original and
effortlessly credible. Portishead along with Massive Attack simply took
British production to a new level."
March
13, 2004
The Beth Gibbons and
Jane
Birkin duet I reported about earlier is called "Strange Melody". Beth
wrote it especially for Jane and she also features on backing vocals.
The track is featured on the CD Objectif 2004 vol.1 that came with the
Les Inrockuptibles magazine issue 430.
Jane Birkin's album "Rendez-Vous" will be released March 30th. You can
pre-order it from Amazon.co.uk.
March
4, 2004
Check out
"More
Than a
Woman -
Female Artists Covered by 19 Male Bands"
Dutch band Raskolnikov's cover of "Glory Box" is featured on the album.
Also, Damien
Rice, the Irish
singer-songwriter and winner of last year's Shortlist Music Prize, has
reportedly performed the song on his world tour.
February
21, 2004
From www.janebirkin.net:
"Rendez-Vous" release on 30 March 2004.
Following the "Arabesque" adventure (Golden record with 100 000 copies
sold in France alone and 200 concert dates in France as well as around
the world), Jane Birkin will be back in 2004 with a very special record.
Gonzales et Renaud Letang have orchestrated a series of original and
enticing "rendez-vous" with a whole host of stars: from Mickey 3D to
Alain Souchon, passing by Miossec, Alain Chamfort, Brian Ferry, Beth
Gibbons, Etienne Daho, Arno, Paolo Conte, Manu Chao, Caetano Veloso,
Brian Molko...
Original compositions in unexpected arrangements, "Rendez-Vous" will
make us discover an irresistible and surprising Jane Birkin...
