The Portraits - 'Counterbalance'

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The Portraits - 'Counterbalance'

RELEASE DATE: 5 th NOVEMBER 2012

Sensorypulse Records

Format: 1CD & Digital Download

Cat # (SPCD004)

NEW ALBUM COUNTERBALANCE PAINTS THE PORTRAITS’

TALES OF JUSTICE

Alternative folk band The Portraits’ hotly awaited new album Counterbalance will be released on CD and download formats on 5 TH Novemberr, and launched at an exclusive concert at The Forge, Camden on 27 th September. The release follows an intense year of music-making by the band, taking in performances at 2011’s Glastonbury Festival and the writing and releasing of a brand new song every Friday throughout 2012 based on ideas sent in by fans.

The new 13-track collection is a melting pot of impassioned lyrics, vibrant orchestral textures and richly layered vocals, and has been dubbed the “Justice Album” as it includes songs about the attempts to silence Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, women’s battle to be judged by their ideas and not their appearance and the way in which religion can create more fear than it heals.

“We’ve been lucky to visit parts of the world that the west has almost forgotten,” explains songwriter Jeremy, “and we’ve seen what a raw deal some people get…I guess this has given us a ‘fairness gauge’ which inspires us to write about things that we think are unjust.”

Launched in 2005 by Irish singer Lorraine Reilly and Bristolian pianist Jeremy Millington, The Portraits’ warm upbeat sound which mixes folk with music theatre, jazz and classical styles has secured the band a big following in the UK and France. As well as being crowned Best International Artist 2011 by US station Radio Crystal Blue, The Portraits released a song, Liberty, for Burma’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, which was presented to her in person.

In 2013, The Portraits embark on a new challenge: to play one concert each week in the living room of one of their fans, in exchange for refreshments, donations and an enthusiastic crowd of friends. Singer Lorraine explains: “People can apply for us to play a House Concert in their home via our website www.theportraitsmusic.com. We’ve done a few of these kinds of gigs already, and they’re brilliant – it feels like a two-way conversation, and we’ve met some amazing people. There are few limits to where we will travel for a great audience – the more unique the home, the better!

The Portraits’ Forge appearance will be the latest in a series of adventurous, lyrical, emotionally enthralling performances at which the band will showcase their new songs, described as “musical exclamation marks” following the inequalities in the lives of so many. The Portraits play at the Forge, 3-7 Delancey Street, London NW1 7NL on 27 th September 2012. Doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets: Tickets £9/7 from www.forgevenue.org or £10/8 on the door.

www.theportraitsmusic.com

Press: Dave Clarke: dave@planetearthpublicity.com 07966557774

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