Portable interview – “I moved for love to the city of love… As is the custom”

We catch up with city hopping South African producer Portable

“In the past, I used to get annoyed when I wasn’t being inspired or motivated to compose music,” says Alan ‘Portable’ Abrahams, reflecting on a winding musical journey that’s seen him compose a treasure trove of material across four European capitals. “Over time, I’ve learned to flow with the natural rhythms of this process.”

DJ, producer, and Khoikhoi label boss Abrahams’ evolving sound has been echoing across the dance underground for more than two decades. Most commonly recording under his widely-admired Portable moniker, he’s released genre-defying music on labels including Perlon, K7, Live At Robert Johnson, Background and Dial Recordings. The loose African rhythms and experimental electronic textures that go, at least some way, to defining his musical aesthetic continue to strike a chord among selectors and dancers alike, ensuring his gig diary has remained suitably crowded throughout his career. Save, of course, the obvious baron spell each of us have recently endured. “I suppose [the pandemic] gave me more time to flesh out ideas,” says Abrahams. “Touring had practically stopped, so I was in my studio all the time.”

The latest Portable long-player is primed to drop via French label, Circus Company, in early February. My Sentient Shadow sees Abrahams draw upon the many stylistic shades through which his music has skirted. “With this album, I’ve tried to draw from all the relevant ‘scenes’ I’ve been associated with throughout the years – be it clicks and cuts, minimal, deep house, electronica, or avant pop, etc. – and I’ve tried to put it into my own unique perspective as much as I could.” While it’s true that his music has been variously associated with any number of sub-genres, Abrahams feels that none of the categories he’s been affiliated to are entirely representative of his creative intention. “I’ve always felt that I never quite totally fit into any of those relative boxes, only slightly, so now with ‘My Sentient Shadow’ I’ve drawn from those genres the textures that suits me most and moulded them into the album presented.”

The LP arrives as a powerful concept piece, with a title that hints at the inner muse that’s accompanied Abrahams throughout his artistic voyage. “[The] ‘My Sentient Shadow’ title refers to my intuition – a guide that is often there during my creative process,” he says. “I’ve been composing music for most of my adult life and now it’s become such a ritualistic process.” As anyone who’s ever struggled to channel inspiration will attest, there are times when the creative charge can feel frustratingly elusive. Through his years spent committed to his craft, Abrahams has found ways to surf the waves of his artistic cycle. “I have periods of the month when the creative energy to compose music is at its highest, and then other times when I just can’t access it. So now, during ‘off’ periods, I make short films – a few of which have been officially selected for video art festivals. [Otherwise] I work on my 3D art and training, which I also compose the soundtracks for. It still involves music, though not necessarily dance music.”

The new album features 10 typically hard to define tracks spread over two 12’s. From the delightfully idiosyncratic electronica of ‘The Simulacrum’ to the deep house flex of ‘The Self Assembling’, the blissful introspection of ‘Cages’ to the acid wobble of ‘Fractal Distortion’, the album explodes with individuality throughout. With the collection presented behind such a vivid concept, it’s interesting to learn how Abrahams goes about attaching a narrative to the music. “The concept always comes after,” he says. “Once [I have] a batch of songs I feel represents a portion of my life, I can perhaps look back to and say ‘yes, this was that period.’ For example, My last album ‘The Transit of Mercury’ on my Khoikhoi imprint was completed around the period when Mercury was transiting the moon – a once in a lifetime event.”

Born and raised in post-apartheid South Africa, Abrahams was attuned to his creative calling from an early age. “I had a nine to five job when I finished school and realised I never wanted to end up like most of my colleagues,” he says. “Music was my passion, so I taught myself to compose, saved up my money and set out a plan to attain [my goal].” Fuelled by a desire to position himself into the sub-cultural mix, he relocated to London to immerse himself in the subterranean fog, and it was from here that his career began to blossom. In 2002, he launched the revered Süd Electronic label – alongside co-founder, Lakuti – going on to release a stream of his own productions alongside lovingly received titles from the likes of Akiko Kiyama, and Ruf Dug. After ten successful years spent based in the UK capital, Abrahams felt the time was right for another move, opting to swap the London clamour for the relative calm of Lisbon. “I kind of had enough of the grey and the rain and needed to be close to the ocean again and in the sun.”

From his new Portuguese base, he manifested his dance-focused BODYCODE alter-ego – under which he produced a pair of exceptional albums for Brooklyn-based label, Spectral Sound, before adding to his tally on a number of fine imprints, not least Japan’s Mule Musiq. It wasn’t long before Abrahams began to crave the dynamism of an established musical capital, and by now his quasi-nomadic tendencies were shifting further into focus. “I needed to be in a city where music was key, so Berlin seduced me.” Positioning himself in the European techno capital proved to be an inspired move, helping to generate a new level of exposure to all things Portable. His 2014 track ‘Surrender’ received a Best New Track designation from Pitchfork, later appearing in a re-edited form on DJ Koze’s critically acclaimed DJ-Kicks mix. Soon afterwards in 2016, Portable was signed to benchmark label, K7!, from where he released his sixth studio album, ‘Alan Abrahams’. His roving tendencies didn’t evaporate in Germany, though, and today he finds himself living in yet another European capital. It was, however, a different kind of passion that inspired his most recent move. “Now I live in Paris, ’cause that’s where I met my husband. I moved for love to the city of love… As is the custom,” he laughs.

Turning to the present and near future, Abrahams shares that some remix projects are on the way, before teasing with news of a decidedly futurist concept project. “I have an AIMI experience online, whereby I was asked to make a set of music, after which an AI rearranges it and it gets played in a different way each time you hear it.” (https://www.aimi.fm/artists/portable/) On top of this fascinating virtual experience, he adds that he’ll soon be on the road again doing what he was born to do. “Most importantly I’m able to perform live again. Throughout the pandemic was virtually impossible, [but] now things are restarting again Next stop, Mexico!”

Patrizio Cavaliere

Portable’s My Sentient Shadow album is out on February 4 on Circus Company