The Baby Namboos

Formed as a trip-hop outfit, Baby Namboos brought together programmer and songwriter Mike Porter with vocalists Claude Williams, Leo Coleing and Aurora Borealis, plus drummer Mad-dog and bassist Julian Brooke. The project took shape in 1998 after Porter traveled to New York City to see his cousin Tricky, whose encouragement prompted Porter to pursue his own musical ideas. Shortly thereafter Porter and his friend Coleing started laying down material in a Manchester studio and continued recruiting musicians as sessions progressed. Tricky kept supplying advice and support, appeared on several tracks, and ultimately put out the group’s debut album Ancoats 2 Zambia through his Durban Poison label.