Tortoise, an instrumental rock band, formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1990.
Tortoise's almost entirely instrumental music defies easy categorization, and 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.
Some have cited Tortoise as being one of the prime forces behind the development and popularity of the so-called " post-rock" movement. Others, however, have criticized Tortoise's music as being derivative of progressive rock and argue that Tortoise have been subject to much undeserved hype for such a relatively new ensemble.
Other groups related to Tortoise include The Sea and Cake, Brokeback, Shrimp Boat, Isotope 217 and the Chicago Underground Duo. Tortoise records on the Thrill Jockey label.
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 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.