Element (2005) . (Stream in HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Album Credits|Notes|Q&A|Bio) . (Buy from CD Baby|iTunes) 01 Severance (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 02 Alone (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 03 Remnants (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 04 The Paradigm (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 05 With You (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 06 A Cleansing Breath (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 07 Insurgent Few (Live) (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 08 Remnants (Kiyomi Mutation) (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 09 With You (Diminished Mix) (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 10 Paradigm (Base Pair Remix) (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes) 11 Remnants (Phil Anderson Remix) (HiFi|LoFi|Real) . (Notes|Lyrics) . (iTunes)
Album Credits
Coming soon...
Production Notes
Coming soon...
Q&A (Questions for Portal? E-mail us here.)
Barry Welch - Ashburn, VA So, I'm interested in "Element". Did you feel you didn't capture the spirit of the songs on the other CD's, or is it just a matter of wanting to polish some things up? I noticed "Shallow" (my favorite) isn't there either. Is there a reason you left that song out ? Just curious.
Kenton You hit the nail on the head with the reasons for Element, Barry. Since Portal is essentially a collective expression of our creative ideals, it should reflect our tastes in music. Thus, any recording that doesn't embody the intricate subtleties that we find so wonderful about the music we love simply won't cut it! Vast, for all of its (we believe) strength in writing, really missed the boat when it came to production. I, for one, was not satisfied with moving on until certain songs in particular were presented in a manner that did them justice.
Hopefully that clarifies why Shallow wasn't included, but you are in luck. A young man from Ontario named Jay Feldano is making an independent film and wanted to use Shallow for the opening sequence. Since we've already got the ball rolling on remixes this spring, I decided one more wouldn't be too much trouble. The guitars and vocals were not re-recorded, so it's not quite as full sounding as the material on Element, but the drums and bass sound much better. It's amazing what four years of learning and some slightly better gear can do. Shallow (Feldano Remix) will be available for preview on Garageband in the coming weeks, and available for digital download through ArtistsFirst.
Marlen Austen - Arlington, TX Um... these new cuts pretty much embarrass the old versions on Vast, which one would have thought to be an impossible task. But there's something bothering me. Why didn’t you guys remix ALL the tunes from that record?
Kenton Overly kind words regarding Vast, and much appreciated compliments on Element, Marlen. I am sorry we disappointed you, though. Here are some specific reasons/excuses...
'It's Time We Let Go' - I thought this was one of the better produced tracks on Vast and I didn't feel, initially, that there was much we could do to improve upon it. We never got our tracks from Homestead after recording the last CD, so I had to pay a good sum of money last July for the studio to take the time to burn them to DVD for us and, at that time, I didn't want to bother paying for It's Time We Let Go. By the time we got through the remixing stage, we had replaced about 90% of what we had recorded on Vast, and although things were sounding far better than I'd originally hoped they would, I still wasn't prepared to pay another $300 to get my hands on the tracks for that song, so we left it. Maybe we'll do a live cut in a couple of years for a full-length live CD. We'll see...
'Cathexis' - This song was written by our former guitarist, Arvind. While I have no particular problems with the tune, it was his baby, and to be honest, not at all my style. One of the main reasons for doing this CD in the first place was that we weren't happy enough with Vast to want to promote ourselves with it, so, after sitting on our hands for two years, I thought we should make damn sure Element represented our tastes, goals, and ideals as well as it could.
'Fallen' - I only included this song on Vast because I wanted to give our drummer Blair a bit of a challenge with the double-kick part. Unfortunately, for the same reason that a lot of stuff on that album needed revamping (in my opinion), the Vast version of The Fallen didn't even match up to the one on Taste as far as I'm concerned, with respect to groove, and the producer's attention to detail. This would be a fun one to do live sometime too, especially if we can get the same quality of recording and performance we did on Insurgent Few, but I didn't want to beat a dead horse for now. I don't think any songs should show up on three albums in a row.
If you're interested in specific things we looked for in the songs that were included on Element, we've done a write-up for each one on our audio page, which can be found here.
Will Greene - Youngstown, OH I notced "global instrumentation" mentioned in your bio for Element. I remember hearing some new drums in Alone when I heard it on that soundradio site, but was wondering if there were any other unique instruments used on the CD?
Kenton Glad you asked, Will. The drums on Alone might be a little more recognizable to most people than some. They're called timbales (or a timbale), and they are a Latin American drum with a metal frame which gives them a very piercing, resonant sound. And, you're right, that was probably the most prominently featured integration of cultural instrumentation on the new CD, but here are some other examples of things we used:
'Severance' - This song got a bit of a boost from some taiko drums, mixed underneath the toms in both the intro and outro. Taikos are a large Japanese drums, with a montrously tribal feel, and if you ever get a chance to see an actual taiko drum performance, I would highly recommend it! We also used a large orchestral bass drum to accent some of the downbeats throughout this tune.
'Alone' - Aside from the timbalis I mentioned above, a lot of texture and flavour was added to Alone with a number of short "cameos", including a djembe which was used in the into along with a rototom, an orchestral (or tubular) bell, and the same large orchestral bass drum used in Severance. And, while I wouldn't necessarily call it "ethnic", I think the cello added a nice touch where the drums and percussion come in.
'Remnants' - There's an instrument in the musical breakdown in this song that almost sounds like a xylophone, or marimba. It's actually a type of thumb-piano called a kalimba that originates from southern Africa. Much of my family spent a good portion of their lives in Zambia and Angola and have amassed a sizeable collection of southern African artifacts. It's difficult to visit any member of my family without finding at least one of these in the house.
'The Paradigm' - This song features two very similar sounding hand drums from two very different parts of the world. Each was recorded in sequence, and then the best takes were used, and I honestly can't remember which ended up being used more, but The Paradigm likely contains a healthy combination of the two. The first is called an udu, and originates from Nigeria in western Africa. The second, the tabla, is an Indian instrument which has earned a reputation as one of the more popular eastern instruments to have infiltrated western culture. Also featured in the intro for this song is a sitar, but sadly it is a sample. I hope to one day be able to afford a real one.
'A Cleansing Breath' - The stringed instrument which accompanies the acoustic harmonics in this song is called a koto. Traditionally a thirteen stringed instrument, the koto has also made its way quite prominently into Western culture. The udu, mentioned above, is also featured in this song, and this time does the percussion job on its own.
'Insurgent Few' - We're hoping to be able to incorporate a greater variety of instrumentation into our live performance as possible in the months and years to come, but the only unique instrument featured in this particular performance is my djembe, the same one used in Alone.
Kyla James - Buffalo, NY Your new bio mentions one of my favorite bands, VAST, but this is the first time I’ve seen their name on your site. What kind of influence have they had on you?
Kenton Actually, to be quite honest, I have yet to buy any of VAST’s CD’s. The more I read and hear, the more I’d like to get my hands on some, but VAST might be the one project Portal is consistently compared to that, to date, has truly had no influence on us. My first exposure to VAST was on a compilation CD that a fan (and friend) of ours put together back in 2001. Our first ever gig was at a launch party for Molson Tsunami, a beer designed by the marketing department at the University of Alberta here in Edmonton. Despite never having played a show before then, we had had a number of songs from A Taste of Things to Come… floating around on Napster for several months, and one gentleman at the show had clearly gotten his hands on them, because he was singing along with me on stage during “All We Knew”. I will never forget that feeling. His name was Jordan, and we ended up talking quite a bit over the next few months. He eventually burned me a couple of compilation CD’s of his favourite material, which included VAST’s “Here” and “11”. I liked what I heard, but have yet to pursue the project for further material. I intend to do so soon. Kevin and I will be on the road from late July to half-way through August. No better time to listen to new material than on a road trip, hey?
Incidentally, I haven’t heard from Jordan in a while. I suspected, based on the type of music he burned for me, that he didn’t much care for the direction in production that Portal took on The Vast Expanse Diminishing. I can’t say I blame him. Nevertheless, I hope we can draw him back into the fold with our current and future efforts.
Cory Mueler - Sacramento, CA Don't get me wrong, Element sounds awesome, but are you guys working on anything new? I've been looking forward to hearing what new direction Portal might be taking things.
Kenton I was already writing new material for Portal a few days after we finished our sessions for The Vast Expanse Diminishing, actually. Finances and an obsessive need for closure with respect to the material included on Element have played the biggest role in preventing further development of new ideas to this point, but we are starting to turn things in that direction again over the next few months, and hope to begin pre-production some time in the fall. We may feature a couple of pre-releases on Garageband sometime in the next few months.
As for a new direction, I think the biggest challenge that I, myself, would like to overcome in the next recording is simply being true to each and every idea that surfaces. It’s very difficult to approach a new song idea with no pre-conceived notions as to what you’d like it to become, and simply let it develop on its own. There are songs like Severance that materialize over the course of a two hour jam session, compared to songs like Remnants, which took weeks to shape before we were satisfied with it. Some ideas flow more easily than others, but at the end of the day, the ones I’m happiest with, and the ones that seem to emote the most natural vibes, are the ones that are allowed to develop on their own. I’d like to approach the next CD with a laissez-faire attitude. If a song seems to want to turn into a three-minute, highly structured, radio-friendly piece, I will try not to let my tastes or outside criticisms get in its way. Conversely, if a riff wants to meander aimlessly for ten minutes, but keeps my interest throughout its journey, who am I to say it’s not allowed to do so?
Songs are best when they have a mind of their own. I hope one day to be able to approach my writing with the same unfettered liberalism that men like Trent Reznor and Jon Crosby seem to be able to do (I say ‘seem’ because it’s entirely possible they face the same challenges we do – I just don’t hear it in their finished products). I think that’s the last thing missing for me in all of this.
Biography (English, Polski)
A visit to Portal’s studio is not a typical look behind the scenes at the “rock-start” life style so often exuded by today’s young musicians. The posters of Maynard James Keenan and Trent Reznor, lava lamps casting predictable shadows across garage sale shag, and the musty aroma of “contemplative stimulation” are all noticeably absent in this particular cradle of creativity. Instead, the walls are adorned with maps and post-it notes, and servers and computer towers line the floor. With the exception of a few scented candles scattered across the desktops, at first glance one might think the business-like atmosphere a sterile environment for the cultivation of the mind, but the band insists that true inspiration comes from within, not from a contrived simulation of mood and emotion. If you’ve ever heard Portal’s music, it’s difficult to argue with them.
Portal is a propulsive amalgam of powerfully packaged grooves, insightful lyrics, and moralistic ideals. Intelligent by design and intellectual by nature, the band actively challenges listeners and members alike to demand more from music, more from society, and more from life itself. Portal deftly combines the progressive rhythmic complexity of Tool, the richly textured orchestration of VAST, the intricate production of Filter, and the raw emotive pull of Nine Inch Nails into a brilliant array of insightfully stimulating music. Add Portal's rich tapestry of global instrumentation and a socially conscious lyrical motivation, and one is left with a truly unique sonic and psychosomatic experience.
Portal began in 2000 as an exploratory outlet for founder and creative core, Kenton Thomas. Raised on classical piano, Kenton began developing technique and an appreciation for musical composition right from the young age of four, but it was not until his teen years that he started to explore the diverse world of popular music, eventually drawn in by the thriving west-coast grunge movement propagated by the Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden. It was the latter of these that sparked Kenton’s initial interest in unorthodox time signatures and complex rhythms, now a signature of Portal’s sound, and drove his exploration deeper into progressive and ethereal realms, unearthing the likes of Tool and Nine Inch Nails, and gaining his first in-depth taste of the digital music revolution. Recording gear and time away from university were a natural next step, and a year of recording and developing material eventually yielded Portal’s first EP.
From the band’s first live performance, a second place finish at the University of Alberta’s Battle of the Bands in 2001, to their win at the Adopt-A-Band Independent Artist Challenge later that year, to being selected as a finalist in the 2002 National Songwriting Competition, Portal has continued to evolve, grow and mature. Despite various successes and setbacks, Kenton feels each and every step has been building towards this moment. Even Portal’s line-up was not solidified until last year when guitarist Rosco Brooks and drummer Bill George were added to the fold, but its current incarnation is the most capable yet. “The last four years have been an unforgettable voyage, but it’s really been more of an education than anything else,” says bassist and original member Kevin Hoskin. “For Portal, the real journey starts here.”
Element is, without a doubt, Portal’s most mature anthology to date, and one that Kenton and the band consider to be the first true representation of their visions and tastes. The album is a collection of songs from Portal’s last release that the band painstakingly picked apart, rebuilt from the ground up, and moulded into a product they can finally call their own. “The purpose of Element was experimentation, through and through,” says Kenton. “From vocal approach to percussive instrumentation, mixing techniques and graphic design – nothing was sacred. We used six different snare drums during the recording process. I wanted us to fully explore our individual and collective tastes, as well as our capabilities and limitations, and come out the other side with a much better idea of where we’ve been, where we’re going, and who we are. If nothing else, we achieved that goal beautifully, and we will be more successful in the years to come because of it.”
In an age when decisions are all-too-often governed by beaurocratic executives, disconnected pop producers, and the proverbial “bottom line”, the artistic integrity that Portal has displayed through their work on Element is an inspiring demonstration of a focussed dedication to one’s craft, and a meticulous attention to detail. Five years of growth and maturation, three years of creative development, and ten months of hard work have finally come to fruition. This is Portal, in the state of mind and environment they find most comfortable.
This is Portal, in their element.
Biografia
Kanadyjski zespół Portal powstał w roku 2000, z inicjatywy Kenton'a Thomas'a, który zaczął przygodę z muzyką już w wieku czterech lat. Pierwszym instrumentem Kenton'a było klasyczne pianino, i na nim powstawały jego pierwsze kompozycje. Będąc nastolatkiem, zawróciły mu w głowie grunge'owe kapele z zachodniego wybrzeża Stanów, takie jak: Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots i Soundgarden. Chęć eksplorowania szerokiego wachlarza zespołów z pogranicza rocka i metalu doprowadziły go do grup Tool, Vast, Filter i Nine Inch Nails. Te inspiracje najbardziej uwidocznione są w brzmieniu grupy Portal.
W swojej rodzimej Kanadzie Portal uzyskał wiele nagród na różnych festiwalach; drugie miejsce w Battle Of Bands (2001), wygrana Adopt-A-Band Independent Artist Challenge (2001) i finał National Songwriting Competition (2002). Zespół nieustannie szukał swojego miejsca na rockowej scenie, przez pierwsze dwa lata pozycje gitarzysty i perkusisty podlegały licznym rotacjom, aż w końcu, w 2003 roku jego skład ustabilizował się, kiedy do Kenton'a i basisty Kevin'a Hoskin'a dołączył gitarzysta Rosco Brooks i perkusista Bill George. W roku 2005 grupa wydała własnym sumptem ep-kę 'Element', którą uważa za swoje najbardziej reprezentatywne wydawnictwo i pierwszą prawdziwą wizytówkę ich potencjału.
Na ep-ce 'Element' znajdziemy zbiór utworów z całej historii zespołu, które zostały przebudowane od podstawy i nagrane z największą dbałością o szczegóły, tak by wreszcie stworzyć produkt, który z dumą może być markowany znakiem Portal. Płytę można nabyć za pośrednictwem strony portalband.com lub CD Baby. Znajduje się na niej 6. utworów studyjnych, jeden koncertowy i kilka remiksów. Całość wyprodukował sam Kenton Thomas.
Po umieszczeniu kilku utworów Portal na stronie ActiveRocka, pojawiła się bardzo miła notka na portalband.com "Dziękujemy ACTIVEROCK.CIV.PL dla sprzyjania PORTAL w Polsce. My nigdy nie miał tak wielu Polscy goście PORTALBAND.COM i my jesteśmy bardzo wdzięczny za pomoc." Bardzo urocza polszczyzna i dowód na to, że stosunek tej grupy do fanów jest absolutnie wyjątkowy.
"Celem płyty 'Element' było eksperymentowanie", mówi Kenton Thomas. "Od podejściu do wokali, poprzez szerokie instrumentarium, techniki miksowania i oprawę graficzną; nie było rzeczy niemożliwych. Użyliśmy sześciu różnych werbli w trakcie nagrywania płyty. Chciałem byśmy w pełni pokazali swoje indywidualne i wspólne gusta, a także nasz potencjał i ograniczenia, zdanie sobie z tego sprawy pomoże nam stanąć po drugiej stronie i zastanowić się kim jesteśmy i dokąd zmierzamy. Jeżeli to się uda, osiągniemy w pełni nasz cel i będziemy dzięki temu w przeciągu kilku następnych lat odnosić więcej sukcesów."
opracowanie: Sebastian, activerock.civ.pl.