There was a mass sit-in at SOAS in protest at tuition fee hikes just days before two of the university college’s more recent alumni, Nick Mulvey and Jack Wylie, of Portico Quartet, took to the stage of the ICA.

The gigs, featuring guitarist/electronicist Leafcutter John as a guest on Friday, with middle eastern-influenced French quartertone trumpet stylist Ibrahim Maalouf joining on Saturday, attracted a student-heavy audience who I suspect would have been equally as happy at the sit-in and even more content if Portico had happened to be playing there (now there’s an idea for next time).

Minimalist grooves might not be the most obvious means of persuading politicians who are economical with the truth to change their insidious ways, but nonetheless the Quartet anchored by Duncan Bellamy on drums and steered by Milo Fitzpatrick on magnificent, dispassionate acoustic bass, has the capacity to hold an audience captive either as Mulvey mesmerises with the hang or as Wylie (let’s not call him just a saxophone player) takes on the role of singer manqué wearing his heart on his sleeve via tenor and soprano saxophones.

Portico release a new version of the album that made their name, Knee-Deep In The North Sea, in January complete with extra live tracks and a new mix by John Leckie, the Stone Roses producer who contrarily for a rock producer made the group more jazz-like on their superlative follow-up Isla.

Portico have made some small ripples in the States with a few appearances that garnered positive reviews and have successfully found a way of exporting their music to many other countries over the last year. While Maalouf made little impact joining on the splendid Susan Boyle, erm, meditation ‘Subo’s Mental Meltdown’, or on his iPhone-reliant warm-up set Portico Quartet themselves seemed to lack a little of the spark they displayed at shows last year at the Royal Opera House's Paul Hamlyn Hall or at their superlative secret show at the Vortex. Maybe all that touring has taken its toll. Nonetheless, the crowd responded unselfconsciously to ‘Dawn Patrol’ and ‘Knee Deep’ as iridescent balloons bounced a little lumpenly around the ICA to woozy delight. While Portico enjoyed the moment you couldn’t help feel that the band has now quite properly decided to move on to a new phase, that is bound to throw up some creative challenges for a band that has clearly found a signature sound.

– Stephen Graham

Photo: Tim Dickeson