Collaborates with Danger Mouse on New Album
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April 25, 2013 Portugal. The Man Team With Danger Mouse on Experimental 'Evil Friends' Portland-based band embraces pop charm on new album Last spring, two weeks and 10 songs into the recording process for their new album Evil Friends, Portugal. The Man scrapped nearly everything they'd accomplished. "We were super excited about it," bassist Zach Carothers tells Rolling Stone of ditching all but two songs they'd recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in El Paso, Texas. Instead, they started from scratch with producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton, an opportunity Carothers describes as "not anything that we could turn down." The five members of the Portland-based band subsequently relocated to Burton's home base of Los Angeles, where they recorded the bulk of their seventh album, out June 4th. Burton, best known for his work with Cee Lo Green and the Shins' James Mercer in Gnarls Barkley and Broken Bells, respectively – as well as his killer production work for the Black Keys – helped expand the already-experimental band's sonic palette. "It was really an interesting experience. We learned a lot," Carothers says. "[Brian's] a very smart guy. He knows music incredibly well." Gallery: Behind the Scenes With Portugal. The Man The result of the PTM-Danger Mouse collaboration is the band's most accessible and radio-friendly material yet. While still retaining Portugal's characteristically varied sound – from the undulating synths of album opener "Plastic Soldiers" to the Jane's Addiction-channeling punk title track – the hook-heavy material carries new mainstream appeal. Still, the outsider element remains in such material as "Creep in a T-Shirt," on which lead singer John Baldwin Gourley deems himself a proud loser. The band also experimented with their version of hip-hop ("Hip-Hop Kids"), which Carothers says directly reflects his and his bandmates' musical preferences. "We're huge fans of hip-hop," he says. "We listen to it every day. We've tried that kind of stuff before but we didn't know how to do it right." Burton proved a vital resource in this department. "He definitely helped with that," Carothers adds. "He really knew how to do it more than we did." The bassist says that he has zero reservations about Portugal's new material, the follow-up to 2011's glam-rock- channeling In the Mountain in the Cloud, being labeled as pop. "I love pop music, but I want to make good pop music," he says, pointing to the album's winsome lead single, "Purple Yellow Red and Blue," as a prime example. It's shortsighted, Carothers adds, for fans to expect a band to remain complacent and not aim for commercial success. "[David] Bowie had hits upon hits. But nobody ever said, 'Oh, I think Bowie's selling out.' He's just cool. I say, let's make the mainstream better. I would love to switch on any radio station in a city and hear something fucking cool that everybody knows." The new material is not a complete left-turn from Portugal's previous output. "We have a style but it seems no matter which direction we go, whether it's more hip-hop or electronic or more Southern rock or more our version of metal, whatever we do, we're lucky enough to have that sound where it still sounds like us," Carothers says. "We're very lucky to have that. A lot of bands don't." He says fans shouldn't expect Portugal's new songs to translate directly when played live. "We are pretty well known for changing all of our songs a little bit live," he says, adding that the band often alters their songs from one gig to another. "We want to showcase a song – not necessarily every part or every sound." Over the past two weekends at Coachella, Portugal road-tested some of their new material. The first weekend proved challenging: the band played nearly their entire set without monitors. "Honestly, I was freaking out a little bit at first," Carothers admits. "It was pretty much the most important show of our career and I couldn't hear myself or anybody else." The musician carried on though, despite the obstacle. "I played shows for the first five years without monitors," he says. "So I decided to say, 'Fuck it,' and I ended up having a blast." September 9th 2013 ‘Portugal. The Man’ Collaborates With Danger Mouse On New Album John Gourley was living in Wasilla, Alaska, when his family suddenly moved. “My dad just decided that he wanted to race sled dogs and when he did that, he took us out of Wasilla and we never really went back,” Gourley told Here & Now. Gourley and his family ended up living all around the state, but he and Zach Carothers — a friend from Wasilla — ended up forming what became the band Portugal. The Man. You get a call that Danger Mouse wants to check it out, you have to do it. –John Gourley. Now based out of Portland, Oregon, the five-member band has released the album “Evil Friends” — a collaboration with über-producer Brian Joseph Burton, better known by his stage name Danger Mouse. “We were in El Paso, Texas, we’re going to make the record ourselves, we’re going to self produce,” Gourley said. “But you get a call that Danger Mouse wants to check it out, you have to do it. He’s one of those kind of iconic producers of today.” Gourley compares Danger Mouse to Tony Visconti, who did arrangements for David Bowie and The Beatles. “Visconte would get up and he’d play the bass with Bowie. That’s really important in a producer — a producer that can step up and play a keyboard, play a bass, play a guitar and help you with things, instead of just saying ‘I think this could be better.’” Danger Mouse helped in similar ways. “Take ‘Modern Jesus‘ for example,” Gourley said, referring to a song on the new album. “He just stood up at one point and said ‘Man, I think I got something,’ and he played the keyboard hook in that song.” The band is touring Europe and the U.S. this fall. July 12, 2013 Portugal. The Man “Portugal. The Man” is an unforgettable band name, but it’s a strange one too. Maybe that’s why it took us so long to really sit down and pay attention to these guys – we’ve never been fans of punctuation. Anyway, it wasn’t until a few years ago that we finally got with the program, and by then the band was already on their fourth album. But once we got it, we got it. These guys are an incredibly smart, incredibly talented band with an insane live show. If you ask us, that period is the only thing between them and superstardom. Then again, we’re probably not the ones to be talking about what’s in a name. It takes a minute to sink in, but once you really give it the attention it deserves, Portugal’s unique brand of rock will seep into your being and sweat out your pores. Danger Mouse produced their critically acclaimed new album, Evil Friends, and its one of our favorite discs of the year thus far. Check out the video for “Purple Yellow Red & Blue” and then download Passion Pit’s remix of that same song for free. That’ll get you started. Also, watch this hilarious Evil Friends skit the band made with some of our favorite It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia cast members. Then once you’ve done all that, go back into their catalog and check out the Satanic Satanist album. That one’s in our Hall of Fame. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Portugal. The Man is not from Portugal. That’d be too obvious. They’re actually our favorite Alaskan import, aside from salmon and moose. Moose are f*cking awesome. A while back, the band moved to Portland, but they but also spend some quality time in NYC, which brings us to this post. Today, Portugal, specifically guitar player Noah Gersh, brings you their favorite spots for Friday Fives. Now we know what it’s like to eat and drink like The Man. Portugal. The Man’s “Perfect For” Picks Best Place To Get Coffee (or forget to order…) Mud Coffee (307 E. 9th St.) – “This is a good place to start. Coffee is a perfect morning thing, an essential, and Summer, the purveyor of coffee and all beauty in the world (except my girlfriend) is a legend. There’s a sort of mythology that has been built around Mud Coffee and Summer, a girl who works there. It runs between a few of us on tour and then if you ever mention it to people who live in NYC they’ll say something like, “OH THAT’S HER NAME?!”. We’ve gone in and talked before. Ryan, our old keyboard player, feeling the heat of her asking him what he wanted once, said that he didn’t want anything. It now turns out that she is a friend of a friend, a recent development, so if you are reading this please know we’re not that creepy. We just love you. The coffee is pretty good too.” Best Food, In the Day, By Yourself Dumpling Man (100 St. Marks Pl.) – “I used to be the Mayor of Dumpling Man on Yelp. No joke. I don’t have many other friends who I can convince that sitting in a really hot, narrow, below street level restaurant to eat dumplings first thing in the morning is a good idea, so I end up there alone.