“Elliot Smith once said ‘Playing it safe is the most popular way to fail.’ That really resonated with me and is the mantra that I’m holding close while working on new music.”
Adam Scott-McGuinness (Porcelain Pill)
Biography
Porcelain Pill is the folktronica project of Adam Scott-McGuinness, a musician/producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Tasmania, Australia. Starting as a duo with Madeleine Becker in late 2012 the group released two EP’s and played a plethora of live shows across Australia showcasing a unique combination of synthesisers, drum machines, looping technology, cello, guitars and ukulele.
Porcelain Pill creates a lush musical landscape that blends traditional acoustic instruments with glitchy electronica incorporating lyrics that have a dream-like quality that deeply connects with the listener.
Following on from Porcelain Pill’s 2013 win as Raw Artists Musician of the Year (Melbourne) the group went on to complete their second EP “Sometimes It Is.” During the writing process Adam was invited to embark on a song writing mentorship with a roster of award winning Australian songwriters (Charles Jenkins, Adalita (ex- Magic Dirt), and Darren Middleton (ex- Powderfinger)). The result was a highly polished and emotionally diverse set of recordings that made up the “Sometimes It Is” EP.
Porcelain Pill has been on hiatus since 2016 while Adam focuses on life as a new father and a career in audio for video games and virtual reality.
The project’s next release (slated for 2019) will combine the love of game audio and the emotive style of folktronica. Porcelain Pill has worked alongside visionary Italian game studio Storm in a Teacup to create the theme song for their upcoming game “Close to the Sun.”
The break from live performance has allowed Porcelain Pill to focus on a studio sound that does not necessarily need to be replicated live. This freedom has lead to epic string arrangements and instrumentation that was previously impractical. The “Close to the Sun” single is Porcelain Pill’s most ambitious and fully realised piece of music to date. Mixed by ARIA award winning mixing engineer Phil Threlfall and mastered by acclaimed mastering engineer Adam Dempsey.
Testimonials
“Porcelain Pill’s music creates some kind of beautiful atmosphere that I could see myself floating away in” – Darren Middleton (ex- Powderfinger).
“The band’s sound is both twee and melancholy. Scott-McGuinness has the Patrick Wolf thing going on: fierce one moment and then laconic and poetic the next.” – tonedeaf.com.au
“It’s always refreshing to hear a band that ventures outside the usual guitar/drum/bass arrangement and Porcelain Pill carry it off with finesse, each instrument adding to the dreamy feel of the song rather than being included for novelty” – Claire Barley (adamnoteve.net)
