Formed between Manchester, UK, and Israel, PORTNOY is the culmination of two brothers, Israel & Mendy, making music together for as long as they can remember. Two out of nine kids in a very musical family, their body of work spans many genres and includes one album under a different band name ‘Learn To Love’ (2016, The Portnoy Brothers), one EP ‘The Garden Sessions’ (2019), countless covers and an upcoming release of a debut album, ‘No Complaints.’ Recorded and produced in Nashville TN, mixed and mastered in Israel this exciting new album is expected to be released in September 2019.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with PORTNOY about the new release, challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We are originally from Manchester, England – though currently, living in Israel. In regards to the style of music we create, we have always found this question hard to answer as we definitely don’t fit into any strict boxes, but there’s definitely a strong sense of nostalgia with an emphasis on energetic vocal harmony in every song we sing.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Our dad, who is an Orthodox Rabbi used to be an orchestra conductor, so we like to think that it’s kind of genetic. We never really studied music formally, it’s just in our blood, and it would be pretty challenging to try and do anything else, to be honest. The past several years have had their fair share of turbulence. Moments that make you want to give it all up. But then you write a new song, record a killer string arrangement in the studio or perform live and get a ton of great feedback, so you realize that what you’re doing matters and makes a difference in peoples lives.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
With our first album, we crowdfunded just enough money to get the record done but didn’t leave ourselves any budget to try and get the album out there. So as crazy as this sounds, we never officially even “released” anything – I mean, we put it all on Spotify and what not but there was no real push. That was a massive learning curve for us, I think we learned quite a bit from that experience – which on just a practical organizational level makes the release of this single, “Spotified” and our upcoming album “No Complaints” such a bigger deal. It’s the first time we’re going beyond our comfort zone, our friends and family and really making an effort to share our music with the world.
Musically, We made a very conscious decision with this song to go for a somewhat “Mainstream” vibe – whatever that even means – and stretch the limits of the type of music we’ve been recording to date. This choice is also reflected in the story within the lyrics of a musician trying to make it, in a highly saturated streaming wold. In the context of an album, Spotified will stand out a bit, but will still work with the more Nashville sounding style of the other songs in it.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I mean the answer is in the question really. We’re competing with so many people all the time. Anyone with an iPad can record an album and its ever so easy to share it with the world. Sometimes it feels like it’s no longer solely about the music that you create. You have to put so much effort, resources, and attention to really be heard – and that can be a very daunting task.
Its kind of funny because the answer to the second part of the question is similar to the first part. Technology has helped us in that a musician no longer need a giant record label to fund the recording of an album in a big fancy recording studio – you can do it in your house, on the road, or anywhere else for that matter. We as indie musicians really have access to so many tools to share our music, our stories our passions and life’s work with all the tools that are also making it so difficult to be heard.
It’s the same with video. Obviously, some bands spend millions of dollars on music videos, but you don’t really need to. If you have a phone with a decent camera, you can make excellent music videos too.
What was the last song you listened to?
Mendy: Georgia, on my mind. Ray Charles
Israel: Keep On by Sothern Avenue
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I think the sound and experience of listening to a vinyl can’t be replaced. I guess the flipside is that no matter how big your record collection is, you’ll never have as much to choose from as you do on your phone. Pretty crazy when you think about it like that.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
We both found Spotify to be the most user-friendly. I think with the sheer amount of apps that come out in every field on an almost weekly basis, once people find one that they’re into, they don’t even bother trying the rest unless there’s a really compelling reason to do so.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
We’re just about everywhere; @portnoymusic on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tinder. (The last one’s a joke we’re both married.) We have a website: https://www.portnoymusic.co.uk/ and you can find PORTNOY on Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Deezer and all the rest!
Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you, Nashville, for having us while we recorded our album in your midst. We hope everyone enjoys our new single, Spotified – and look forward to sharing the full “No Complaints” album with you all in September!
