Portishead emerged in 1994 with a highly acclaimed debut album that helped define the amorphous Bristol electronic scene. Decades later, Dummy is still regarded as a landmark album. The trio of Beth Gibbons, Geoff Barrow, and Adrian Utley released two more albums, Portishead in 1997 and Third in 2008. But besides various one-off reunions over the years, they’ve all but broken up.
Geoff Barrow, however, says that’s not exactly true. Answering reader questions for The Guardian recently, the producer and multi-instrumentalist opened up about his new projects, as well as shed some light on several Portishead fans. For example, when asked if there would ever be new Portishead tracks, Barrow pulled no punches.
“No,” he said. “Not for me.” Instead, he elaborated on his interest in movie soundtracks, which he has been exploring through his new film Game. “There’s so much to learn in film and film music, so that’s where my heart is,” he said.
“But,” he added, in reference to Portishead, “we’ve never broken up. We just do different stuff. We did a gig for Ukraine and recorded ‘Roads’ for Brian Eno’s Together for Palestine concert. Those are the sort of things that get us together to do something.”
Geoff Barrow of Portishead and Beak> Hates When People Call His Music “Chilled”
Another reader question brought up the “sonic experiments” Portishead created on Dummy, incorporating hip-hop production and unusual samples. The album was recorded using analog techniques, and they deliberately distressed the vinyl records and used a broken amplifier to get the right vintage sound. The end result was totally unique and remains a much-loved classic.
But Dummy has a reputation for ending up on sex playlists, according to the reader’s question. They asked Barrow how he felt about Portishead being “the unsung hero of the 90s sex playlist.”
“I’ve heard that people were going out, doing ecstasy, coming back, smoking spliffs, and putting Dummy on. If you just listened to the music, you’d think: ‘That’s really chilled, man,’” Barrow answered. “However, the worst thing that anyone can say about my music is that it’s chilled! That makes me throw up.”
He continued, “They’re only listening to Beth [Gibbons]’s voice, not what she’s saying, which makes a huge difference. I’ve had people actually say, ‘My daughter over there was made to your music,’ and I’m like, ‘F*** off.’ I can’t think of anything worse to make love to.”
Photo by Wendy Redfern/Redferns
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