Portugal. The Man

Growing up in an off-grid log cabin in the woods of Alaska, John Gourley was surrounded by huskies and wilderness with only his parents' collection of Beatles records for musical reference points. He dropped out of school at 15 to work for his father's construction business, but was inspired by hearing Oasis and Nirvana in the mid-'90s and teamed up with his bass playing friend Zach Carothers to form the raucous emo act Anatomy of a Ghost in 2001. They toured across the US and released an album but, after three years, the band split and Gourley and Carothers went on to form Portugal. The Man with the intention of exploring a wider, more diverse array of influences, including synth-pop, funk and soul. Early independent records 'Waiter: You Vultures!' and 'Church Mouth' got the band rolling and they moved down to Portland, Oregon before making a breakthrough with fourth album 'The Satanic Satanist' and the highly acclaimed 'American Ghetto'. Landing a major label deal with Atlantic Records, they worked with superstar producer Danger Mouse and made it into the US top 30 for the first time with the colourful swaggering sound of 'Evil Friends'. Their love of jaunty pop melodies, hazy sixties rock and dancey, funky rhythms all came together on their eighth album 'Woodstock', released in 2017.

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