Portishead were one of those amazing 90s acts that managed the strange feat of crossing over into the mainstream, although you should never make the mistake of calling them a ‘pop’ act – because technically, the trio’s melancholic sounds are the antithesis of everything that is mainstream pop music. And it was an unlikely but exciting meeting of minds to begin with Geoff Barrow is a trip-hop producer who’s not shy of using samples and beats from weird and wonderful sources. Adrian Utley is a jazz guitarist who has performed with Art Blakey, a performer held in the same regard as Miles Davis. And Beth Gibbons, whose distinctive voice is recognised the instant she sings her first note on any recording, is notoriously media shy in a world full of media whores. Their unlikely union created music that was esoteric, moody, dark and deep, yet strangely compelling. Ten years after their last album, Portishead return with a third album, somewhat unimaginatively called Third. But nonetheless, it’s a striking musical masterpiece that is anything but unimaginative.
But it hasn’t been 10 years in the wilderness being idle – this isn’t a comeback record, in as much as it’s a continuation of exactly where Portishead were going. Beth recorded her solo album in 2002, Geoff spent time in Australia, working on setting up Invada Records with Ashley Anderson AKA Katalyst and producing Stephanie McKay’s brilliant debut album Mckay. Adrian made film soundtracks with Nicolas Roeg (who made the 1971 classic Walkabout) and performed with a diverse range of artists. And their musical union never faltered either; they were always working with each other. Speaking from his London home with his daughter playing with his feet, Adrian tells me, “I kind of co-produce some tracks, and played guitar, on Beth’s album, and worked with Geoff on Stephanie McKay’s album. And we produced the band The Coral, and some others.” So for Portishead, it’s not like they’ve been apart and this is some kind of ‘grand reunion’ – even though it may appear so to many people.
The trio have deliberately tried to steer away from the Portishead sound, yet somehow they retain that brilliant uniqueness, albeit bringing a far darker, melancholic sensibility to it, and the influences are about as varied as one would expect from Portishead. “We got into bands like Om and Sunn O))), pretty intense noise metal bands,” he muses. “Also German Kraut Rock bands, and early electronic like Human League when they were first starting. And various weird electronic records we have in our collections – I can’t even remember what they are. And also psychedelic folk soundtrack type stuff,” he laughs. “Sometimes it’s a specific sound on a record that will inspire us, so it really is everything. What we listened to would have influenced each of us in its own way, and we’d be a reflection of that too, although we have never tried to copy anyone else,” he says, rather redundantly, as Portishead are without a doubt one of the most original sounding bands in the world.
On the darker side, Adrian takes a philosophical approach to the way the record has turned out. I posit to him that the deeply melancholy nature of this record could put people off. “I think we’ve always been in touch with the darker side of stuff,” he begins. “Our music has always been considered to be on the dark side, and I guess that’s how we make music. But I feel you’re saying it’s a negative thing. I think melancholy is a beautiful thing,” he counters. “Lyrically, Beth is not always incredibly hopeful,” he adds with a hint of a smile, “but lyrics are for interpreting and sometimes I think I see positivity, not just darkness. They’re addressing a problem, or just looking at something straight in the face. It’s looking at things and seeing the truth, and it’s an emotion that I can relate to, and loads of people do, I guess.
“While we were making this record, and it has taken four years or so, politically the world has been in turmoil,” he reflects. “I’m not saying musically this album is an overt reflection of what’s been happening in the world – it’s not a Bob Dylan protest kind of record – nevertheless we couldn’t help but be affected by the darkness in our world. What’s happening in your world affects you on a daily basis and our moods would be changed it, so through our music we interpret it. There’s a negative feeling here in England most of the time, a sense of things being out of control. Punk music in the 70’s had a massive political statement, and politically in that time we were fucked, England was a total mess, and I think now it’s as much of a mess and it’s a little bit sneakier and underhanded than it used to be. We feel disappointed with our countries, and I think everyone does. Do you?” He asks, suddenly.
I guess I do, and a lot of other people besides, and Portishead have indeed connected with us, because Third had over 327,000 listeners in just under 24 hours when it was released to Last FM, the music streaming website, and when it was launched it raced up the charts in the USA, UK and Australia, continuing to hover around the top 5. That’s despite the first single Machine Gun catching many fans off guard, being more industrial and heavier than anything they’ve done in the past. “It was unanimous to release that as the first single. We wanted to kick the door in before entering the room” he grins, “to show the change of where we are, and it is a harsh, big change from where we were really, although to us in many ways it doesn’t because we’ve been living with it for years now, but I can see how it would look like that to others.”
Even with the high expectations, Adrian is happy with the way the record has been received. “You like to think that you spent four years on a record and it’s going to be received well and people will buy it, you know?” And it had done very well, especially since it got leaked on the internet seven or eight weeks before its release date. “It was incredibly tedious beyond belief! I was really disappointed,” he sighs, “because with our other albums it never really happened. The internet wasn’t really prevalent back then and we didn’t have the bandwidth. We worked really hard on this, and there’s a regime about when we release it and a reason why we do that, and it pre-empts everything you do, really.
“And regardless of how much of an old hippy I am, if we’re giving music away for free I can’t feed my children. We work, we have to get paid to do it else we can’t live and make any more music. Yes, I’ve been given burnt CDs from friends, and there’s an attitude about it now, but I’m really anti downloading,” he states. “Do you remember in that Metallica film there’s a really funny section where Lars had publicly fucked off Napster and there was a cartoon section that said “Money Good, Napster Bad,” and we all laughed at that, and we were thinking ‘what’s wrong with you, haven’t you got enough money?’ but I’m starting to understand now what that was all really about,” he says, “Although they do have a hell of a lot of money,” he laughs, “and we haven’t!”
Talking of money, one way for bands to get a bit more cash is to license their music to film, adverts and video games. With Portishead being so cinematic in their scope, I wondered if they had given their rights away heedlessly and now regretted it. “We’ve always been very careful with that,” Adrian says. “We licensed something to Tank Girl, and I though it was a terrible film, and regretted that. In some Nicolas Cage film I watch, I was wondering “did we clear this? Did we really clear this??” as two prostitutes were getting it on during my guitar solo of Glory Box and I was like “oh my god!”, he laughs. “I remember going to Italy about 10 years ago with Geoff to do some press, and the press said our careers had been kicked off with Glory Box being on a car advert. We were really shocked, because we didn’t know and that had slipped past us some how. So, yes, we turn down ‘applications’, if you will, on a daily basis, and we are very careful with what we put our music to, so only on a few occasions have we bitterly regretted it.”
As to another money spinner, a possible tour of Australia, Adrian is the barer of bad news. “We’re not touring, unfortunately, and I wish I could say yeah, because I love Australia, and have spent quite a lot of time there. I don’t know what we’re doing next year, and Geoff and I are keen to play in Australia, but I can only be honest and say no, for the moment.” Which leaves me a little melancholy, but after talking to Adrian, I know that’s not such a bad feeling, after all.
Portishead’s Third is out now through Island Records/Universal.
