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Tortoise’s almost entirely instrumental music defies easy categorization. The group gained significant attention from their early career. The members have roots in Chicago’s fertile music scene, playing in various indie rock and punk groups. Tortoise was among the first American indie rock bands to incorporate styles closer to krautrock, dub, minimalism, electronica and various jazz styles, rather than the standard rock and roll and punk that had dominated indie rock for years.
The group’s origins lie in the late 1980’s pairing of McCombs and Herndon, who imagined themselves as a freelance rhythm section (like reggae legends Sly And Robbie). That idea never saw fruition but in the summer of 2007 they formed the group Bumps and released a record with the same name on indie hip-hop label Stones Throw records, their interest in grooving rhythms and recording studio trickery led to McEntire and Brown (both formerly of Bastro) joining, followed by Bitney. Though songs are credited to all the musicans, McEntire quickly became, if not the acknowledged leader, then the group’s guiding force, at least via media perception. 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 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.
The group’s origins lie in the late 1980’s pairing of McCombs and Herndon, who imagined themselves as a freelance rhythm section (like reggae legends Sly And Robbie). That idea never saw fruition but in the summer of 2007 they formed the group Bumps and released a record with the same name on indie hip-hop label Stones Throw records, their interest in grooving rhythms and recording studio trickery led to McEntire and Brown (both formerly of Bastro) joining, followed by Bitney. Though songs are credited to all the musicans, McEntire quickly became, if not the acknowledged leader, then the group’s guiding force, at least via media perception. 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 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.
Shouts:
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Top Albums
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TNT
Tortoise
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Beacons Of Ancestorship
Tortoise Buy- Download Album
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Millions Now Living Will Never Die
Tortoise Buy- Download Album
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Standards
Tortoise Buy- Download Album
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Shoutbox
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RobertoReis wrote:
pure genius!
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sub-v-Ruiner wrote:
I'm on the moment that every album sounds stupendous.
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Biko_12 wrote:
soft, brilliant , deep, real music ...
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gingermustache wrote:
excited for reissues
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concretica wrote:
!!! 0||0 !!!
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RussellChap wrote:
Nice noodling noodlers :-)
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poeq wrote:
standards is the best. standards has six pack and eden 2 which have rich ass guitar tones.
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SkyFire2008 wrote:
Djed is the coolest.
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Revoluti0nNo9 wrote:
TNT is the coolest. [2]
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estemare wrote:
masterpiece!
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fmc200 wrote:
Yeah, TNT is the coolest.
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Psiloocybe wrote:
Argentina again PLEASE
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ISeeYouPan wrote:
fmc200 is the coolest
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poeq wrote:
whoa really???? wow man.
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fmc200 wrote:
I have TNT on CD.
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cowardclaws wrote:
Not everything would sound like a troopofechoes if there was a saxophone present.
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atroopofechoes wrote:
what if tortoise rocked a little harder and wrote shorter songs that all involved a saxophone? it might sound like this: http://atroopofechoes.bandcamp.com
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SLIGHTLYevil wrote:
I saw these fuys last year supporting Broken Social Scene....would be interesting to hear them in a festival seetting when they play at Field Day.
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Jamesismynamo wrote:
I don't always listen to Tortoise, but when I do, I listen to "Along the Banks of Rivers"
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ilpleutamourir wrote:
This is such a great band.
Videos
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Charteroak Foundation
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Play
The Fall Of Seven Diamonds Plus…
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gigantes
1 shout
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High Class Slim
Events
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Apr
25
Tortoise
The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, United States
1 going
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Apr
27
Tortoise
Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, Detroit MI, United States
13 going
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May
2
Tortoise
Majestic Theatre, Madison WI, United States
1 going
Listening Now
Top Listeners
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sub-v-Ruiner
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arythmisha
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sunriseinaries
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Recent Activity
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IovanniPadilla and nadoelo_vse added Tortoise to their libraries. 4 hours ago
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Nerv07 added Tortoise to the lineup of Tortoise at Sala Apolo. yesterday afternoon
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musicazul added Tortoise to the lineup of Tortoise at Rockitchen. yesterday afternoon
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CheezeDaily and yarbuknuk added Tortoise to their libraries. yesterday morning
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unimate added Tortoise to the lineup of Tortoise at Majestic Theatre. Monday evening
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giggshasscored and soulmosaic added Tortoise to their libraries. Monday evening
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LiquidPhill tagged Tortoise with ‘post-rock’. Monday morning
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veruskha09, danielleebauer, FarqyofFib and 4 other people added Tortoise to their libraries. Monday morning
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MuIambo tagged Tortoise with ‘experimental’. Sunday evening
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pinkrecoco and skylarforest added Tortoise to their libraries. Sunday evening
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