Tortoise (band)
Encyclopedia
Tortoise is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...

 band formed in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, in 1990.

Music

Tortoise's almost entirely instrumental
Instrumental rock
Instrumental rock is a type of rock music which emphasizes musical instruments, and which features very little or no singing.Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style, most notably Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Link...

 music defies easy categorization, and the group gained significant attention from their early career. The members have roots in Chicago's fertile music scene, playing in various indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 groups. Tortoise was among the first American indie rock bands to incorporate styles closer to Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...

, dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...

, minimalism
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...

, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

 and various jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 styles, rather than the standard rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 and punk that had dominated indie rock for years.

Some have cited Tortoise as being one of the prime forces behind the development and popularity of the post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...

 movement. Others, however, have characterised Tortoise's music as being heavily indebted to progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

.

Other groups related to Tortoise include The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake is an indie rock band with a pronounced jazz influence, which formed in the mid-1990s in Chicago out of the ashes of local bands The Coctails and Shrimp Boat. The group's name came from a willful reinterpretation of "The C in Cake", a song by Gastr del Sol...

, Brokeback
Brokeback (band)
Brokeback is a project of Doug McCombs, bassist of Tortoise and Eleventh Dream Day.- Featured artists :* Rob Mazurek* Noel Kupersmith* Mary Hansen * James McNew * Chad Taylor...

, Slint
Slint
Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...

, Isotope 217
Isotope 217
Isotope 217° is a Chicago based band composed mainly of members from Tortoise and the Chicago Underground Orchestra that was formed in 1997. The New York Times described the band as "..adept to varying degrees at rock and funk and jazz and electronics, turn those introspective moments into jams...

, Chicago Odense Ensemble and the Chicago Underground Duo
Chicago Underground Duo
Chicago Underground Duo is an avant-garde jazz duo consisting of cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer/percussionist Chad Taylor. They formed in 1997, having both been members of Chicago Underground Orchestra...

. Tortoise records on the Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...

 label.

History

The group's origins lie in the late 1980s pairing of Doug McCombs
Doug McCombs
Douglas McCombs plays bass and guitar with the instrumental rock band Tortoise and leads the instrumental band Brokeback. He is also the longtime bassist for the rock band Eleventh Dream Day.-References:...

 (bassist with Eleventh Dream Day
Eleventh Dream Day
-History:The band was founded by guitarists Rick Rizzo and Janet Beveridge Bean, who met at a place fondly known as 1069. This was a house/practice space/hang out in Louisville where at the time Janet was practicing with the band she was in with Tara Key and Tim Harris; the Zoo Directors. They...

) and drummer John Herndon, who imagined themselves as a freelance rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...

 (like reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 legends Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie
Sly and Robbie is the prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production team of drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare who joined in the mid 1970s after having established themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians...

). That idea never saw fruition, but their interest in grooving rhythms and recording studio trickery led to partnerships with drummer John McEntire and bassist Bundy K. Brown (both formerly of Bastro
Bastro
Bastro was an American post-hardcore band in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums.-History:...

) joining, followed by percussionist Dan Bitney. Though songs are credited to all the musicians, McEntire quickly became perceived as, if not the acknowledged leader, the group's guiding force. In reality his extra contributions mainly took the form of being the recording engineer and mixer.

Their first single was issued in 1993, and their self-titled debut album followed a year later. Instrumental and mostly mid-tempo, Tortoise
Tortoise (album)
Tortoise is the debut studio album by Chicago instrumental rock band Tortoise, released in 1994 on the Thrill Jockey record label.The album is dedicated to the memory Michael F...

slowly garnered praise and attention, due in part to the unusual instrumentation (two bass guitars, three percussionists switching between drums, vibraphones and marimbas). A remix album followed, Rhythms, Resolutions and Clusters.

Brown left and was replaced by David Pajo (formerly of Slint
Slint
Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...

) for 1996's Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Millions Now Living Will Never Die is the second album by the Chicago-based band Tortoise. Released in 1996 by Thrill Jockey Records, Millions... is renowned as a groundbreaking album for post-rock; an uncredited review from Outersound.com declares that not long after the album's release, the group...

, which showed up on many year-end best of lists, and the 20 minute Djed was described by critic John Bush as proof that "Tortoise made experimental rock
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....

 do double duty as evocative, beautiful music." Also in 1996, the band contributed to the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip
Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip
Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip is a compilation album from the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series produced by Paul Heck. It combines elements of ambient, spoken word, and trip hop to expand the ideas of artistic collage and spiritual transcendence of "the Beats"...

produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...

.

In 1998
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...

, Tortoise released TNT, arguably their most jazz-inflected album. Pajo had been replaced by Jeff Parker, who has a strong jazz background.
2001
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....

 led to Standards, where Tortoise incorporated more electronic sounds and post-production into its music than in previous works. In 2001 the band helped to curate an edition of the British All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

 festival. They then returned in 2004 to curate another day of the same event.

It's All Around You
It's All Around You
It's All Around You is the fifth album by the American post-rock band Tortoise.-Track listing:# "It's All Around You" – 4:09# "The Lithium Stiffs" – 3:59# "Crest" – 4:21# "Stretch " – 5:14# "Unknown" – 5:38...

was released in 2004. In 2006, Tortoise collaborated with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...

 on an album of covers entitled The Brave and the Bold
The Brave and the Bold (album)
The Brave and the Bold by Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy was released in 2006 on Overcoat Recordings. It is an album of cover songs. The album's name is the same as the DC Comics series in which different superheroes were teamed up for each issue....

, and released A Lazarus Taxon
A Lazarus Taxon
__notoc__A Lazarus Taxon is the name of a box set by Chicago post-rock group Tortoise, released in 2006 on the Thrill Jockey label.The set contains three CDs, one DVD and an accompanying 20-page booklet...

, a box set containing two CDs of single tracks and remixes, a third CD with an expanded Rhythms, Resolutions and Clusters (long out of print) and a DVD of videos and film of live performances. In 2001, the band recorded "Dideridoo" for the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...

's compilation album Red Hot + Indigo
Red Hot + Indigo
Red Hot + Indigo is the 13th entry from the Red Hot AIDS benefit series of compilation albums produced by Paul Heck. It marks the tenth anniversary of the Red Hot Organization , an international organization which uses mass media as a fundraising tool for its efforts at increasing public AIDS...

, a tribute to Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

, which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 awareness and fighting the disease.

Bitney and McEntire also contributed to the Bright Eyes album Cassadaga
Cassadaga (album)
Cassadaga is the seventh studio album by Bright Eyes, released on April 10, 2007. Around 25 to 30 songs were recorded in 2006, with 13 of these appearing on the final track list...

. The group has worked with multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...

 Paul Duncan of the band Warm Ghost
Warm Ghost
Warm Ghost is an American alternative music group based on the multi-instrumentalist Paul Duncan who specializes in eclectic sounds from a variety of music genres and who has a background is sound design. Duncan teamed with Oliver Chapoy and records music under the moniker Warm Ghost in 2011...

.

Tortoise released their latest album Beacons of Ancestorship
Beacons of Ancestorship
Beacons of Ancestorship is an album released in 2009 by the Chicago instrumental experimental/post-rock band Tortoise.- Track listing :All tracks by Tortoise# "High Class Slim Came Floatin' In" – 8:14# "Prepare Your Coffin" – 3:37...

on June 23, 2009. The band toured the Midwestern US in September and October 2009, and then in Europe in November and December.

The band performed at the ATP New York 2010
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

 music festival, which is held in Monticello, New York.

Studio albums

  • Tortoise
    Tortoise (album)
    Tortoise is the debut studio album by Chicago instrumental rock band Tortoise, released in 1994 on the Thrill Jockey record label.The album is dedicated to the memory Michael F...

    (1994)
  • Millions Now Living Will Never Die
    Millions Now Living Will Never Die
    Millions Now Living Will Never Die is the second album by the Chicago-based band Tortoise. Released in 1996 by Thrill Jockey Records, Millions... is renowned as a groundbreaking album for post-rock; an uncredited review from Outersound.com declares that not long after the album's release, the group...

    (1996)
  • TNT (1998)
  • Standards (2001)
  • It's All Around You
    It's All Around You
    It's All Around You is the fifth album by the American post-rock band Tortoise.-Track listing:# "It's All Around You" – 4:09# "The Lithium Stiffs" – 3:59# "Crest" – 4:21# "Stretch " – 5:14# "Unknown" – 5:38...

    (2004)
  • Beacons of Ancestorship
    Beacons of Ancestorship
    Beacons of Ancestorship is an album released in 2009 by the Chicago instrumental experimental/post-rock band Tortoise.- Track listing :All tracks by Tortoise# "High Class Slim Came Floatin' In" – 8:14# "Prepare Your Coffin" – 3:37...

    (2009)

Other releases

  • Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters
    Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters
    Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters is a remix album by the Chicago-based band Tortoise, which is currently out of print. It consists entirely of remixed versions of songs from their first album...

    (1995) – remix album
  • In the Fishtank (1999) – EP, collaboration with The Ex
  • The Brave and the Bold
    The Brave and the Bold (album)
    The Brave and the Bold by Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy was released in 2006 on Overcoat Recordings. It is an album of cover songs. The album's name is the same as the DC Comics series in which different superheroes were teamed up for each issue....

    (2006) – covers album, collaboration with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
    Will Oldham
    Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...

  • A Lazarus Taxon
    A Lazarus Taxon
    __notoc__A Lazarus Taxon is the name of a box set by Chicago post-rock group Tortoise, released in 2006 on the Thrill Jockey label.The set contains three CDs, one DVD and an accompanying 20-page booklet...

    (2006) – compilation box-set of rare material, 3 CDs and 1 DVD
  • Yanni Live at the Acropolis (2010) - part of Beck
    Beck
    Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

    's online musical project Record Club
    Record Club
    Record Club is a musical project initiated by Beck Hansen in June 2009.The purpose of the project is to cover an entire album by another artist in one day, using an informal and fluid collective of musicians...

    ; collaboration with Beck, Thurston Moore
    Thurston Moore
    Thurston Joseph Moore is an American musician best known as a singer, songwriter and guitarist of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside of Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label...

     and Brian LeBarton
    Brian LeBarton
    Brian Manuel LeBarton is a keyboardist, composer, and electronic musician from Los Angeles, California.-Work with Beck:Brian LeBarton is the keyboardist and musical director for Beck...

  • Metro: The Official Bootleg Series, Volume 1
    Metro: The Official Bootleg Series, Volume 1
    On July 22, 2010, Metro Chicago celebrated its 28th Anniversary by releasing a live benefit compilation called Metro: The Official Bootleg Series, Volume 1 featuring The Flaming Lips, Guided By Voices, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists, Indigo Girls, Alejandro Escovedo, The Sea and Cake, Tortoise,...

    (2010) - live compilation

External links

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