Portishead

Portishead is a group from Bristol, United Kingdom, formed in 1991. The core members are Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley, and the group also includes Clive Deamer and Dave McDonald. Its name comes from Portishead, Somerset, a town west of Bristol.

Style and development

Portishead works across downtempo, electronic, electronica, experimental rock, folktronica and trip hop. The group’s first album, Dummy, appears in 1994 and combines hip hop production with an atmospheric, cinematic feel shaped by spy-film soundtracks. It becomes a major release in the early trip hop scene, although the group does not identify with that label and later moves away from that sound.

Albums

The group releases three studio albums: Dummy in 1994, Portishead in 1997 and Third in 2008. All three receive strong critical attention. Portishead also releases the concert album Roseland NYC Live in 1998.