Tortoise started in Chicago in 1990 when bassist Doug McCombs and drummer John Herndon began working with John McEntire, Bundy K. Brown, and Dan Bitney. Long heralded as the poster band for post-rock, Tortoise took a daunting array of influence and crafted a unique sound that astonishingly avoids any sense of pastiche. All of...More
Tortoise started in Chicago in 1990 when bassist Doug McCombs and drummer John Herndon began working with John McEntire, Bundy K. Brown, and Dan Bitney. Long heralded as the poster band for post-rock, Tortoise took a daunting array of influence and crafted a unique sound that astonishingly avoids any sense of pastiche. All of Tortoise’s founding members come from punk and indie rock scenes, but by fusing together their love of '70s German psych, electric jazz, minimal composition, dub, progressive rock, hip-hop, avant-garde electronics, film music and traditional American music, the band deftly crafts a sound that is hugely unique and instantly recognizable.
They released their debut album, Tortoise (Thrill Jockey), in 1994. Soon after Tortoise was released, the band enlisted friends and its own members to remix songs from the record. The result is the out of print Rhythms, Resolutions And Clusters (1995 Thrill Jockey) and the beginning of their long relationship with remixing. Before the recording of their second full-length, Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996 Thrill Jockey), Bundy K. Brown left the band and was replaced by guitarist David Pajo. Pajo left the band during the recording of their third album, TNT (1998 Thrill Jockey), and was replaced by long-time friend and improvisational jazz guitarist Jeff Parker. Tortoise’s sixth full-length release, Beacons of Ancestorship, was released in June 2009 on Thrill Jockey.
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