Portishead are cool, intense, and moody. Their strong connection with the colour blue in their works sets a clear tone for the experiences the albums have. Coming out of the 90s trip-hop scene with one of my favourite albums – Dummy (Portishead, 1994) – their body of work progresses from the exclusive use of samples of other musicians, to sampling themselves to capture the similar sound found in that first album. Haunting, soft vocals weave through the layers of mellotron style drones, allusions to jazz, and bittersweet tales. I find myself drawn to the intensity and vibe of songs such as Wandering Star and Roads (Portishead, 1994) in particular. One relentless in its low dirge whilst the other brittle and fragile, yet both carrying something that resonates deeply inside me.