Hint's debut album, Portakabin Fever, was released on the Hombre independent record label in association with Ninja Tune on 22 April 2003.
The album reportedly got its name as it was recorded in a Portakabin. The album's inlay features a cartoon drawn by graphic artist Will Barras, in which Hint is depicted fishing in the (imagined) swamp outside his home. The cartoon prompted a comic strip loosely based on James' lifestyle, which was serialised in Japanese magazine, "Plus 81".
The album was mixed at State of Art, the Bristol-based studio owned by Geoff Barrow of Portishead.